''Death and Nightingales'' (also written ''Death & Nightingales'') is a 2018 television historical drama miniseries, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by author

Eugene McCabe Eugene McCabe (7 July 1930 – 27 August 2020) was a Scots-born Irish novelist, short story writer, playwright, and television screenwriter. John Banville said McCabe was "in the first rank of contemporary Irish novelists'. Biography Born to ...

. The series stars Ann Skelly, Jamie Dornan and Matthew Rhys. It started broadcast on RTÉ One in Republic of Ireland on 26 November 2018, and two days later in the UK on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

Cast

* Ann Skelly as Beth Winters, stepdaughter to Billy Winters * Matthew Rhys as Billy Winters, Beth's stepfather and owner of Clonuala * Jamie Dornan as Liam Ward * Charlene McKenna as Mercy Boyle, a maid at Clonuala *

Seán McGinley Seán McGinley (born c. 1956) is an Irish actor. He has appeared in about 80 films and television series. Early life McGinley was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, in Ulster, Ireland, where his father was a customs officer, and raised in near ...

as Jimmy Donnelly, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher * Martin McCann as Frank Blessing, a friend of Liam * Michael Smiley as Dummy McGonnell, a mute * Francis Magee as Mickey Dolphin, a farmhand at Clonuala *

Valene Kane Valene Kane is a Northern Irish actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in all three series of BBC Two's BAFTA-nominated ''The Fall'', in which she played Jamie Dornan's first lover, Rose Stagg. Early life Kane was born and ...

as Catherine Winters, Beth's mother

Production

Jamie Dornan and writer

Allan Cubitt Allan Cubitt was previously a teacher at John Ruskin High School, Croydon during the 1980s teaching English who became a British television, film, and theatre writer, director, and producer, best known for his work on '' Prime Suspect II'' and '' T ...

, the writer of the series, had previously collaborated on '' The Fall''. The show was filmed in County Fermanagh and at

Springhill House Springhill is a 17th-century plantation house in the townland of Ballindrum near Moneymore, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It has been the property of the National Trust since 1957 and, in addition to the house, gardens and park, there ...

, near

Moneymore Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the Drap ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

in Northern Ireland Cubbit revealed that the series was a " Brexit warning", saying "we can't afford to go back" to how things were before the Northern Irish peace process.

Episodes

Release

Red Arrow Studios ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media & digital company. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Ventures. The company is listed on the Fran ...

distributed the series, and the first episode premiered on BBC Two on 28 November 2018. In the United States, the series will begin airing on

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

on 16 May 2021.

Critical reception

The series was met with lukewarm reviews from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 60% approval rating with an average rating of 6.0 out of 10 based on 15 reviews. Gerard O'Donovan of '' The Daily Telegraph'' gave show four stars out of five, calling it "the rarest of dramatic gems - one that pushes and challenges understanding - and it's impossible not to be drawn in." '' The Times''' Carol Midgley was slightly more critical, deeming it "a heavy drama with lean dialogue and precious little mirth, but I'm being seduced." Ed Cumming, writing for '' The Independent'', gave the show three stars out of five, writing "The desired tone, I think, is a kind of Ulster version of

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communiti ...

, a creation parable for the problems of the 20th century, but there is a fine line between powerful and self-parodic."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Death and Nightingales (Tv Series) 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries Television series set in the 1880s BBC television dramas BBC high definition shows English-language television shows Starz original programming Television shows based on Irish novels