Crime drama fans, listen up! The BBC is gifting us with the series of dreams (in our opinion!) and it goes by the name of Tall Tales & Murder. The Ireland-set series mixes a Thursday Murder Club-esque plot with stars of Black Doves, Motherland and Peaky Blinders - and quite frankly, going by the cast alone, our expectations are pretty high.
Fortunately, the creative team is on point, too. The drama has been written by Stuart Carolan, who wrote and created smash-hit crime drama Love/Hate, while story is based on the much loved eight-book Dublin Trilogy by Caimh McDonnell. The team have obviously done something right because it’s already been green-lit for a second series before the first has even aired!
With the series due to arrive on our screens this autumn, here's everything you need to know about Tall Tales & Murder, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What is Tall Tales & Murder about?
As we mentioned, the six-part series is based on the popular books in Irish author Caimh McDonnell’s The Dublin Trilogy. The Bonnie and Clyde-style adventure features bent cops, kidnapping, underworld fixers and the dilemmas of unconventional heroes and villains.
At the centre of it is Bridget (Ella-Lily Hyland), an unconventional nurse who works the night shift at a Dublin nursing home. She reads the residents bedtime horror stories, arranges clandestine late-night dances and euthanises them if they ask nicely... yes, really. We'll also meet Paul (Casey Walsh), a young man stuck stealing cars to repay a debt to crime boss Ma Baker (Philippa Dunne).
Above anything, Paul is desperate to stay out of prison and needs a legitimate job to keep him safe, so he calls on his guardian-angel-of-sorts, an irascible detective called Bunny Ryan (Brian Doherty). Bunny uses his personal history with the Matron of Bridget’s nursing home (Aisling O'Sullivan) to pull in a favour - and it's one that will cost him dear.
What to read next
On Bridget and Paul’s first shift together at the nursing home, a mysterious, comatose patient known only as ‘Anonymous’ (Aidan Gillen) wakes up and reveals he’s the long-lost gangster Grinner McNair, with a buried hoard of Celtic gold. The question, is could this treasure be the answer to all Bridget and Paul’s troubles? And will they risk everything to find it? Or will vicious gangster Wesley Swanson (Packy Lee) and his henchmen get there first?
Writer and Executive producer Stuart Carolan has said "it’s been incredible fun working with him to bring this insane story to life," while Chris Addison, Director and Executive Producer, added: “I’m frankly giddy with delight to get to team up with the twisted and highly original mind of Stuart Carolan to create this show. We’ve taken Caimh’s wonderful novel as a jumping off point and ended up with what I like to think of as a dark and delicious screwball drama.”
BBC Northern Ireland and RTÉ have commissioned two six-part series of the new drama and Eddie Doyle, Head of Content Commissioning at BBC Northern Ireland, has teased that it's "storytelling at its darkest, funniest and most surreal."
He continued: "We’re looking forward to bringing audiences with us on this wild and thrilling ride from Stuart Carolan and Chris Addison, masters of their craft. There’s a fantastic cast already on board and we can’t wait to work with Avalon, in association with Metropolitan Pictures, and RTÉ to take it from script to screen.”
Who’s in the cast of Tall Tales & Murder?
The cast of Tall Tales & Murder includes:
- Ella Lily Hyland (Black Doves, Towards Zero)
- Aidan Gillen (Love/Hate, Game of Thrones)
- Philippa Dunne (Motherland, Derry Girls)
- Packy Lee (Peaky Blinders)
- Aisling O'Sullivan (Raw, The Clinic)
- Brian Doherty (Blackshore, Fair City)
- Newcomer Casey Walsh
Are Caimh McDonnell's books any good?
Yes – Caimh McDonnell’s The Dublin Trilogy books have been a huge hit. Don’t let the word “trilogy” throw you off, though, as there are eight books in the series. Set in Dublin, they revolve around the crime-solving trio of Paul Mulchrone, Brigit Conroy, and Bunny McGarry. McDonnell himself has TV writing experience – and is a former stand-up comedian – so you can expect the series to have plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
How can I watch Tall Tales & Murder?
Tall Tales & Murder will air on BBC One, BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer this autumn. As soon as we have a confirmed date, we'll share it here.
What other crime dramas can I watch now?
Love a murder mystery with a comic twist? Then you'll enjoy Death Valley, which comes from Motherland director Simon Hynd and follows two unlikely individuals teaming up to form a cosy crime-detecting duo. You can watch Death Valley for free on BBC iPlayer.Alternatively, we'd recommend the brilliant comedy-mystery series Ludwig. The series stars the fantastic Anna Maxwell Martin and follows a puzzle creator attempting to track down his missing detective brother. Watch it on BBC iPlayer now.
