Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

TV: Sisters. Soulmates. Killers? Bad Sisters is a deliciously dark family comedy

© Press Association ImagesBad Sisters
Bad Sisters

Five sisters, two life insurance investigators and a dead husband. These are the decidedly awkward foundations upon which Sharon Horgan’s latest twisted comedy is built, a series which combines dark humour and decidedly sinister themes.

An adaptation of the Flemish series Clan, Bad Sisters is written by, and stars, the Bafta Award-winning Motherland and Catastrophe actress. A complex dive into the unwavering bond of sisterhood, it is a gripping story with at its heart a host of contrasting personalities.

“The subject of sisters is something that’s been explored really well in other shows, but here, the sheer number of the sisters and the connections between them, is what got to me,” says Horgan, herself one of five siblings.

“Who looks after who? What’s the relationship between the eldest and the youngest? How does the middle child feel? It’s endlessly interesting to me.”

Bonded at a young age by the untimely death of both parents in a freak accident, the Garvey quintet’s connection is one they believe to be steadfast.

Except that all changes when one of the sisters, Grace (played by Anne-Marie Duff), finds herself estranged as a result of her sociopathic husband John Paul Williams’ coercive behaviour. When John unexpectedly winds up dead, everything changes. With his widow grieving, John’s life insurers arrive on the scene, launching a rather unorthodox bid to uncover malicious intent.

“I love the passion of these sisters, how they would do anything for each other,” says Horgan. “And, in fact, they do – they would kill for each other.”

While eldest sister Eva (Horgan) remains the family’s level-headed matriarch, we rewind the clock and witness her siblings’ scheming over the group’s annual Christmas swim.

What starts as a frustrated off-the-cuff quip about John’s demise quickly gathers momentum, developing into what can only be described as a murderous plot.

After all, killing the root of the problem seems the only viable way to save their sister from increasing isolation.

“We’re used to seeing these sorts of relationships in very gritty realism, so there is an element of this that is a sort of thriller-y caper,” says Duff, 51, who stars alongside Brooklyn actress Eva Birthistle and Normal People’s Sarah Greene.

“To have a very abusive relationship as the sort of spinal column of that story is clever, because it challenges the genre in a way, which is fun, but also heightens the stakes. It’s not an art heist or a bank robbery. It’s the rescuing of a woman. That’s what makes it very sly and clever.”


Bad Sisters, Apple TV+, from Friday