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2022 Apple TV+ series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bad Sisters is an Irish black comedy television series developed by Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer. Set in Dublin and filmed on location in Ireland, it is based on the Flemish series Clan, which was created by Malin-Sarah Gozin. The first two episodes aired on 19 August 2022. Apple TV+ renewed the series for a second season on 8 November 2022, [1] which is set to release on 13 November 2024.[2]
Bad Sisters | |
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Genre | |
Based on | Clan by Malin-Sarah Gozin |
Developed by | Sharon Horgan and Dave Finkel & Brett Baer |
Starring | |
Opening theme | "Who by Fire" by Leonard Cohen, performed by PJ Harvey |
Country of origin |
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Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Running time | 49–58 minutes per episode |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Apple TV+ |
Release | August 19, 2022 – present |
The series received a positive reception from critics and won a 2022 Peabody Award. It received a leading twelve nominations at the 19th Irish Film & Television Awards, winning four including Best Drama, and received the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series at the 2023 BAFTA Awards alongside two additional wins. The series received four nominations at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Horgan.
The five Garvey sisters—Eva, Grace, Ursula, Bibi, and Becka—live in present-day Dublin. After Grace's abusive, controlling husband John Paul dies unexpectedly, the sisters find themselves at the centre of a life insurance investigation. The series flips between timelines—one before John Paul's death, in which Grace's sisters plot to murder their brother-in-law, and another after his death, in which a determined insurance agent tries to prove the sisters' malicious involvement to save his struggling business.
No. | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by | Original release date | |
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1 | "The Prick" | Dearbhla Walsh | Sharon Horgan and Dave Finkel & Brett Baer | August 19, 2022 | |
In a flashback, the Garvey sisters hold a holiday party at Eva's house, where John Paul insults and angers almost everyone. The next day, he refuses to let Grace meet her sisters at the Forty Foot for the Garvey family's annual Christmas morning swim. The other sisters lament how much Grace has changed due to "the prick" John Paul. When Ursula says John Paul will die eventually of natural causes, Bibi says they could "give nature a helping hand." The sisters jokingly suggest ways to kill their brother-in-law. In the present, the sisters gather for John Paul's funeral. Running late, Becka steps in front of a motorcyclist, Matt, causing him to swerve and crash. Matt and his half-brother Tom, insurance agents for John Paul's life insurance policy, attend the funeral and talk to Grace and her sisters. Matt later meets Becka again at a bar, not realizing she is Grace's sister, and she gives him her number. Tom explains to Matt that the family business will go bankrupt if they have to pay out on John Paul's substantial life insurance policy. The Claffin brothers must prove foul play in order to avoid a payout. | |||||
2 | "Explode a Man" | Dearbhla Walsh | Dave Finkel & Brett Baer | August 19, 2022 | |
In flashback, Ursula has sex with her photography instructor Ben. Walking through Dublin afterwards, Ursula and Ben meet John Paul, who regards them with suspicion. Eva takes Blánaid shopping in advance of her confirmation ceremony. John Paul later notices a bra in Blánaid's bedroom and confronts Grace about buying inappropriate lingerie for a child. Blánaid reveals she asked her aunt Eva to buy her a bra because she couldn't ask her parents. At the confirmation after-party, John Paul accuses Eva of sexualising and grooming Blánaid, while Grace accuses Eva of stealing her moment by buying her daughter's first bra. John Paul mocks Eva's infertility and calls her a "frigid bitch." Eva and Bibi then plot to blow up John Paul while he is staying at his remote cabin in Wicklow after a hiking trip. Eva buys concert tickets for Grace and Blánaid to see Lizzo on the same night. When they believe John Paul to be asleep, Eva and Bibi sneak into the cabin, turn on the gas, and light a candle. The cabin soon explodes and they hear John Paul screaming. Unable to sleep due to his painfully blistered feet, he went outside to call Eva and was unharmed. In the present time, Matt and Tom interview Grace and suspect that she is hiding something. | |||||
3 | "Chopped Liver" | Dearbhla Walsh | Sharon Horgan | August 26, 2022 | |
In the present, Matt and Tom interview Ursula. In flashback scenes, John Paul spies on Ursula as she emerges from a hotel with Ben and kisses him. John Paul confronts her, threatening to tell her husband Donal unless she ends the affair. When Ursula tells Eva and Bibi, they reveal their murder plot, but Ursula declines to become involved. At the family's Easter gathering, John Paul furtively checks Ursula's phone and finds a sexting exchange with Ben. After changing Ben's number in her phone to his own, he tricks Ursula into sending him a nude photo. He forwards the image and her sexting messages to Donal. Ursula races to the hospital where she and Donal work, retrieves his phone from his locker, and deletes the messages before Donal can read them. After this incident, Ursula commits to Eva and Bibi's plan and acquires poison to make John Paul's death look like cardiac arrest. Eva switches poisoned liver with the liver in Grace's fridge, knowing Grace and Blánaid will be unharmed because only John Paul eats it. However, Grace drops the liver on the floor while preparing dinner and feeds it to their dog. The next morning, Grace tearfully calls Eva to tell her the dog has died. In the present, Becka and Matt go on a date and kiss. | |||||
4 | "Baby Becka" | Josephine Bornebusch | Karen Cogan | September 2, 2022 | |
In flashback, Becka pitches her massage therapy business plan to John Paul and is delighted when he agrees to help her. Resenting their neighbor Roger's frequent visits, John Paul joins an online forum for Roger's church group, posing as a 10-year-old boy. Blánaid criticizes Grace for having no job or pursuits outside the home, unlike her friends' mothers. Minna shows Becka an old photo album containing pictures of John Paul dressed in his sister's clothes; Becka learns that John Paul used to drown frogs in milk. After Becka puts a non-refundable deposit for a studio rental on her credit card, John Paul sends Grace to tell Becka that he never intended to help her financially. Upset by John Paul's betrayal, Becka talks to Ursula, who tells Becka about her affair and how John Paul tricked her into sending him a nude photo. After John Paul and Grace lose a pub quiz to Eva and Bibi, John Paul publicly castigates Grace. Becka confronts John Paul about the loan in the pub toilets. After the other sisters learn that John Paul has a nude photo of Ursula, Eva confronts him and breaks his phone. Eva reluctantly agrees that Becka can become involved in the plot to kill John Paul. In the present, Matt and Tom go to meet with the youngest Garvey sister to inquire about John Paul's death; Becka and Matt are both surprised to see each other. | |||||
5 | "Eye for an Eye" | Josephine Bornebusch | Ailbhe Keogan | September 9, 2022 | |
The Garvey sisters are invited to go paintballing for John Paul's birthday. Flashing further back, John Paul drives recklessly to terrify Bibi, knowing her parents died in a car accident. John Paul crashes the car, costing Bibi her right eye and leaving him with a hole in the back of his skull. Bibi, a decorated archer, plots to kill John Paul by shooting frozen paintballs through the soft spot in the back of his head. While she is aiming, Becka pushes her. Bibi misses John Paul and blinds another man in one eye. She is devastated to have inflicted the same injury on someone else. Eva goes on dates with her coworker Gabriel. They go back to Gabriel's houseboat and kiss, but when Eva moves to undress, Gabriel confesses he is gay. In the present, Matt and Tom interview Bibi, whose wife Nora reveals they both hated John Paul. Tom's wife tells Matt how to access a locked drawer at the Claffin & Sons office, where he discovers his father's suicide note. Having believed his father died of an accidental overdose, Matt angrily punches Tom for concealing this information and the brothers argue. Tom reveals that their father used his clients' insurance premiums to fund his lifestyle, without filing their policies. John Paul's policy, with a death benefit of €875,000, has never been filed. | |||||
6 | "Splash" | Josephine Bornebusch | Daniel Cullen | September 16, 2022 | |
John Paul returns home to see Grace dancing in their garden with their single neighbor, Roger. John Paul makes an anonymous complaint that Roger is a paedophile, which leads to Gardai arresting and questioning Roger and seizing his computer. The Garvey sisters come up with a new plan to drug John Paul and have him drown in his bathtub. They sneak into his house and drug his nasal spray; he returns early, which forces them to hide. After he takes the nasal spray, he passes out on his bed. The sisters prepare to move him into the bathtub, when he awakes suddenly. In a drugged state, he urinates in his closet, then gets into his car and drives to the marina. The sisters watch as he gets onto his boat, but falls overboard. | |||||
7 | "Rest in Peace" | Rebecca Gatward | Perrie Balthazar | September 23, 2022 | |
The sisters watch as Gabriel, from his nearby houseboat, dives into the water and rescues John Paul, who later awakens in a hospital under suspicion of trying to commit suicide. He insists that someone is trying to kill him. John Paul returns to work, where he and Eva interview for the same promotion. John Paul tells Gerald about Eva's previous mental health struggles and alcoholism in an attempt to convince him not to give her the promotion. Becka gives a massage to Minna, John Paul's mother, when she mentions the freezer in their basement that John Paul always goes to. After Minna falls asleep, Becka investigates the walk-in freezer, where she finds the frozen corpse of George, John Paul's father, hidden beneath taxidermy specimens. In the present, Thomas convinces Inspector Loftus to approve the exhumation of John Paul's corpse. He tells Matt to stay away from Becka. Matt ignores Becka's calls and stands her up on their date plans. | |||||
8 | "The Cold Truth" | Rebecca Gatward | Paul Howard | September 30, 2022 | |
In a flashback, John Paul visits his father George, who is working in his basement taxidermy studio. John Paul asks for a loan of several thousand euros to meet expenses, but his father refuses. George then begins choking on a glass taxidermy eyeball. John Paul considers performing the Heimlich maneuver, but instead lets George die and hides the body in the walk-in freezer. Becka decides to kill John Paul by locking him in the same freezer. At work, John Paul gets the promotion over Eva, which causes Gabriel to confront John Paul. John Paul, who had observed Gabriel on a date with another man, tells Gabriel that Eva had revealed that he is gay. Upset, Gabriel leaves work and tells Eva he does not wish to speak to her. Becka hides in a closet, and when she sees someone go in the freezer, she locks the door. In the present, Inspector Loftus and a Garda team exhume John Paul's body. Matt visits Becka, who tells him she sat home the previous night waiting for him. They then share that they have real feelings for each other and initiate sex, but Matt cannot achieve an erection. When he goes to the kitchen for a glass of water, Becka checks his phone and sees a text from Thomas saying that John Paul's body has been dug up. Becka rushes to the cemetery, where she sees the Garda team around John Paul's grave. She alerts Eva, Ursula, and Bibi, who panic and worry about going to prison. Eva finds out that Becka has been sleeping with Matt Claffin and quarrels with Becka and her other sisters. | |||||
9 | "Going Rogue" | Rebecca Gatward | Sharon Horgan & Ailbhe Keogan | October 7, 2022 | |
John Paul arrives at a gathering at Eva's house, and Becka realizes that she did not lock him in the freezer. She races to Minna's house, only to find that Minna was frozen to death in the freezer. Becka escapes and watches John Paul discover his mother's body; he moves it to her bed and calls the police to say that she had died in her sleep. He hides his father's body in the pond behind their house. Becka is distraught, and believes that she killed Minna. John Paul and Grace go up to their newly-rebuilt cabin and invite the rest of the Garvey sisters to meet up with them the following day. The sisters all go their separate ways, and wake up with suspicious circumstances. They go to the cabin, where they find a crying Grace saying that John Paul is dead. | |||||
10 | "Saving Grace" | Rebecca Gatward | Sharon Horgan | October 14, 2022 | |
John Paul and Grace have a night in. While there, Roger arrives and confronts John Paul, saying that he knows it was him who framed him for paedophilia. Roger says he forgives John Paul and walks away; Grace sees him through the window. Grace and John Paul have dinner and she attempts to have sex with him; when he refuses, he blames his erectile dysfunction on when Eva seduced him. He reveals that he raped Eva but attempted to blame her. Grace grabs his pyjamas and strangles him. She goes downstairs and begins knitting; she watches the film Isadora, where Isadora Duncan is killed by her scarf becoming entangled in the axle of her car. She and Roger dress John Paul, put him on an all-terrain-vehicle, and wrap a scarf around his neck and the axle, making it look like that was his cause of death. She admits this to her sisters. Matt, investigating the death, finds the movie and the yarn, and realizes how John Paul's death was staged. Becka attempts to commit suicide over guilt in Minna's death, but her sisters stop her. They discuss how Grace killed John Paul, only for Matt to overhear their conversation. He burns the evidence, and they agree to not make a claim on their life insurance policy. Grace and Blánaid move in with Eva. |
In September 2021, it was officially announced Sharon Horgan would co-write, produce and star in a series for Apple TV+ developed by her production company Merman. The series, which had a working title of Emerald, was an adaptation of the Belgian series Clan.[3][4] Malin-Sarah Gozin, the creator of Clan, joined the project as an executive producer alongside Bert Hamelinck and Michael Sagol for the Belgian Caviar Films. Other producers were Faye Dorn and Clelia Mountford for Merman as well as Brett Baer and Dave Finkel.[4] The series was created as part of Horgan's Apple TV+ deal.[5]
The cast was initially believed to include Assaad Bouab, Eve Hewson, and Brendan Gleeson in early reports.[3] The cast was later confirmed in March 2022, with Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, and Sarah Greene, and Hewson set to star alongside Horgan. Claes Bang, Brian Gleeson, Daryl McCormack, Bouab, and Saise Quinn complete the ensemble.[6]
Principal photography for the first season took place in 2021. Cast and crew were reported filming in and around Dublin at locations such as Sandycove, the Forty Foot, Howth, and Malahide in August. They would also film in Belfast.[7]
The title sequence depicts a physical Rube Goldberg style machine made from dangerous objects and props from the show that foreshadow narrative elements in the main storyline.[8] The sequence was mostly hand-made,[8] designed and made by Peter Anderson Studio.[9][10] The theme music is a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Who by Fire" performed by PJ Harvey.[11]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.2/10, based on 52 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Dark secrets are a family affair in Bad Sisters, a riotously funny murder mystery that makes fine use of its gifted ensemble while exemplifying creator and star Sharon Horgan's penchant for salty warmth."[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 79 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[13] IndieWire graded it B and says:
Aside from a few minor red herrings, "Bad Sisters" sets a trajectory and sticks to it for much of the run. As a dramedy of errors, "Bad Sisters" doesn't always feel like the freshest or most elegant execution. But as a family showcase, the engine is there to power this show through an ordeal of any length.[14]
The Hollywood Reporter called it "Fun but Empty" and said:
...it's a bit of an oddity — easy to breeze through but a little too mordant to be sincere, a little too heavy to be hilarious, a little too sour to be purely fun.[15]
The Atlantic called it "a semi-comic murder caper" and said:
The setup of Bad Sisters is deliberately absurd, a throwback to sillier shows such as Desperate Housewives and Why Women Kill. The ease with which the Garvey sisters decide to kill John Paul, and their resoluteness when their attempts repeatedly and catastrophically fail, are pure fantasy.[16]
Variety said:
Bad Sisters is less about the mystery than its cutting, empathetic take on all the relationships that tangled into such an overwhelming knot along the way.[17]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2023 | Peabody Award | Entertainment | Bad Sisters | Won | [18] |
Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Drama Series | Bad Sisters | Nominated | [19] | |
Best Actress in a Drama Series | Sharon Horgan | Nominated | |||
Writers Guild of America Awards | New Series | Brett Baer, Dave Finkel, and Sharon Horgan | Nominated | [20] | |
Episodic Drama | Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer (for "The Prick") | Nominated | |||
Royal Television Society Programme Awards | Writer – Drama | Sharon Horgan | Nominated | [21] | |
British Academy Television Awards | Best Drama Series | Sharon Horgan, Dearbhla Walsh, Faye Dorn, Brett Baer, Dave Finkel, Johann Knobel | Won | [22] | |
Best Supporting Actress | Anne-Marie Duff | Won | |||
British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Director: Fiction | Dearbhla Walsh | Nominated | ||
Best Scripted Casting | Nina Gold, Lucy Amos | Nominated | |||
Best Titles & Graphic Identity | Peter Anderson Studio | Won | |||
Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Streaming Series, Drama | Bad Sisters | Nominated | [23] | |
Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama | Sharon Horgan | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama | Anne-Marie Duff | Nominated | |||
Eve Hewson | Nominated | ||||
Hollywood Critics Association Creative Arts TV Awards | Best Casting in a Drama Series | Bad Sisters | Nominated | ||
Irish Film & Television Awards | Television Drama | Won | [24] | ||
Director – Television Drama | Dearbhla Walsh | Won | |||
Script – Television Drama | Sharon Horgan | Nominated | |||
Actress – Television Drama | Won | ||||
Supporting Actor – Television Drama | Brian Gleeson | Nominated | |||
Daryl McCormack | Nominated | ||||
Michael Smiley | Nominated | ||||
Supporting Actress – Television Drama | Eva Birthistle | Nominated | |||
Anne-Marie Duff | Won | ||||
Eve Hewson | Nominated | ||||
Sarah Greene | Nominated | ||||
Production Design | Mark Geraghty | Nominated | |||
Ivor Novello Awards | Best Television Soundtrack | PJ Harvey and Tim Phillips | Nominated | [25] | |
2024 | Artios Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Drama Pilot or First Season | Nina Gold | Pending | [26] |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Sharon Horgan | Nominated | [27] | |
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Dearbhla Walsh (for "The Prick") | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer ("The Prick") | Nominated | |||
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series | Nina Gold and Lucy Amos | Nominated |