''Family'' is a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

drama mini-series that aired on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

and

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

in 1994. It was written by

Roddy Doyle Roddy Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ma ...

, the author of '' The Commitments'', and directed by

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', '' Wonderland'' and '' 24 Hour Party People''� ...

Premise

The show centres on the Spencers, a working-class family living in a vast

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...

. Charlo, played by

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 ...

, is the abusive and cheating husband of Paula, played by

Ger Ryan Ger Ryan is an Irish film and television actress, whose credits include '' Queer as Folk'', ''Family'', '' The War of the Buttons'', '' The Van'', ''Moll Flanders'', ''Intermission'' and '' Little Dog''. Career Ryan has twice been nominated for ...

. They have four children, teenagers John Paul and Nicola, and younger children Leanne and Jack. There were four episodes, each focusing on a member of the family. Most of the ' on location' filming took place in

Ballymun Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...

, on the

Northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, England * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vinc ...

. ;Charlo: The first episode focuses on Charlo, a small-time crook who is also an alcoholic, abusive father and husband. ;John Paul: The second episode focuses on the rebellious teenage son. Named after

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

due to his 1979 visit to Ireland, John Paul has just started

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

. ;Nicola: The third episode focuses on Nicola, in her late teens, who works in a clothing factory and has a strained relationship with her father, particularly in relation to her burgeoning sexuality. ;Paula: The final episode focuses on Paula, the emotionally and physically battered mother, who attempts to reclaim her identity and her life without her husband.

Broadcast

The series was broadcast in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

on RTÉ One. It aired in the United Kingdom on

. The series was a co-production by both public broadcasters

RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Republic of Ireland's state controlled national broadcaster. Its first channel was Teilifís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RT ...

and

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. The series also aired in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, as well as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Video release

The series was released on video for the first time ever on 27 June 2011 as a 2-disc DVD set in the UK & Ireland. Edits were made for contractual reasons. The release included a thirty-minute contemporary interview with director

, writer

and producer

Andrew Eaton Andrew Campbell Eaton (born 7 December 1959) is a film and television producer. He was educated at Campbell College and Churchill College, graduating with a BA in 1982. In 1994, he co-founded Revolution Films Revolution Films is a British ...

References

External links

* {{RTÉ Dramas and Soap Operas 1990s Irish television series 1990s British drama television series BBC television dramas Irish drama television series RTÉ original programming 1994 Irish television series debuts 1994 Irish television series endings 1994 British television series debuts 1994 British television series endings 1990s British television miniseries Irish television miniseries English-language television shows Television series about families Television shows set in the Republic of Ireland