Irish bestseller The Rachel Incident coming to screens as new series
Dominique Farrell
Filming has begun in Ireland on The Rachel Incident, an eight-part drama series based on the bestseller of the same name by Irish author Caroline O'Donoghue, who has adapted her book for the screen.
The Dublin-based Element Pictures (Bugonia, Poor Things, Normal People) is among the producers of the new series, which Channel Four has said is "aching with unrequited love, shot through with delicious, sparkling humour about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three".
Announcing the series, the UK broadcaster said: "Leading the cast is Máiréad Tyers (Extraordinary, The Walsh Sisters) as Rachel, who stars alongside Ellis Howard (What It Feels Like for a Girl, Red Rose) as James, Sarah Greene (Bad Sisters, Normal People) as Deenie and Daniel Ings (The Gentlemen, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) as Dr Fred Byrne.
"Set in Cork in 2010, Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James - and it is love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate, and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork City, trying to cultivate a bohemian existence while the reality of the recent financial crash looms over them.
"When Rachel admits to a huge crush on her married professor, Dr Fred Byrne, James helps her devise a launch for his new book at the store, with the hope that she might seduce him afterwards… But Fred, as it turns out, has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred's wife Deenie, an incredibly cool and well-connected literary editor.
"Also joining the stellar line-up is Cúán Hosty-Blaney (Say Nothing, House of Guinness) as Carey, Ciarán Dowd (Bad Sisters, Marriage) as Ben, Helen Behan (Malpractice, The Virtues) as Bridget, Ardal O'Hanlon (Sherlock and Daughter, The Woman in the Wall) as Paul, Jeanne Ní Áinle (Hidden Assets, North Sea Connection) as Sabrina, Molly McFadden as Sinead, Maria Doyle Kennedy (KIN, Recipes for Love and Murder) as Vivian and more."
Writer, creator and executive producer O'Donoghue said: "Máiréad Tyers is a star and has always been my first choice to play Rachel. She and the phenomenally charming Ellis Howard create what feels like an instantly iconic double act, fizzing with all the love and panic that makes being in your early twenties both nightmarish and amazing.
"To have the brilliant Sarah Greene and Daniel Ings as Deenie and Fred is a dream, and I'm gushing with enthusiasm for the rest of the cast who make the world of The Rachel Incident feel so alive and full of energy - including but not limited to Ardal O'Hanlon and Maria Doyle Kennedy, actors I grew up loving and still can't believe are joining our team."
Star Tyers said she is "so excited and grateful to be part of this project.
"I "read the book when it first came out and fell in love with Caroline's writing and this story.
RTÉ Entertainment.