''Three Families'' is a British two-part television drama developed by Studio Lambert for

BBC One 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, ...

. It is directed by

Alex Kalymnios Alex Kalymnios is an English director, producer and screenwriter. Early life During school Kalymnios wanted to become an actress. When she directed her first school play, she decided that she wanted to become a director. In 2002 she graduated f ...

from a script by

Gwyneth Hughes Gwyneth Hughes is a British documentary director and screenwriter who works mainly in television. Early life She is a former newspaper journalist from the north of England. Career Her credits include the crime drama '' Five Days'', ''Cherished' ...

. Set in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

between 2013 and 2019 when abortion was de-facto decriminalised, it is a dramatisation of true stories from families who were affected by its restrictive abortion laws. It aired on

on 10 and 11 May 2021.

Premise

Episode 1

This episode takes place between 2013 and 2015. Northern Ireland, 2013. A mother is forced to question her own beliefs when her teenage daughter reveals she is pregnant. Intent only on protecting her child, Theresa makes a hard choice. But as word starts to get out, she discovers that she could face a prison sentence for breaking one of Northern Ireland’s most controversial laws. Young newlyweds Hannah and Jonathan are devastated when they learn that their much-wanted baby will not survive the pregnancy. In their grief, the couple speak to their doctor about their options, only to realise how limited their choices are.

Episode 2

This episode takes place between 2015 and 2019. Determined to change the law, Hannah throws herself into campaigning. Her fight brings victory in the High Court, which soon turns to frustration with the political powers at Stormont. Meanwhile, first-time older mother Rosie discovers there is no legal remedy to the heartbreaking complications with her pregnancy. Theresa learns her trial date, but she still hasn’t told Orla that she’s facing prison for what they did. When Orla discovers the truth, she insists on supporting her mother to challenge the prosecution.

Cast

Sinéad Keenan Sinéad Keenan (born 27 December 1977) is an Irish actress with a wide range of television, film and stage credits. Keenan is best known for playing Farrah Phelan in ''Fair City'' and for playing the role of werewolf Nina Pickering on BBC Three ...

as Theresa Ryan, a Catholic stay-at-home mother *

Amy James-Kelly Amy James-Kelly (born 15 November 1995) is a British actress. She gained prominence through her role as Maddie Heath in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2013–2015). She has since starred in the Netflix series ''Safe'' (2018) and t ...

as Hannah Kennedy, a young newlywed * Lola Petticrew as Orla Healy, Theresa's 15-year-old daughter from a previous relationship *

Colin Morgan Colin Morgan (born 1 January 1986) is a Northern Irish actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series ''Merlin'' (2008–2012), Leo Elster in ''Humans'' (2015–2018), and Billy Clanton in Kenneth Branagh’s ...

as Jonathan Kennedy, Hannah's husband * Owen McDonnell as Mark Ryan, Theresa's husband and Orla's stepfather *

Genevieve O'Reilly Genevieve O'Reilly (born 6 January 1977) is an Irish actress. She is known for her work in the ''Star Wars'' franchise as Mon Mothma, having portrayed the character in ''Revenge of the Sith'', ''Rogue One'', and the Disney+ series '' Andor'', ...

as Rosie Fortress, a 40-year-old with depression *

Prasanna Puwanarajah Prasanna Puwanarajah ( ta, பிரசன்னா புவனராஜா; born 1981) is an English actor, director, writer, and former junior medical doctor. Early life Puwanarajah was born at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk to Eelam Tamil pare ...

as David Fortress, Rosie's English husband *Vanessa Emme as Rachel Donleavy, Theresa's lawyer *

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 f ...

as Kathleen Nolan, Theresa's mother * Kerri Quinn as Louise Byrne, Theresa's friend and an anti-abortion″ campaigner *Gráinne Keenan as Jenny Anderson, a pro-choice campaigner *

Dearbhla Molloy Dearbhla Molloy (; born 1946) is an Irish actress. Early life Molloy was born to John Molloy and Evelyn Ryan and grew up on Yellow Walls Road in Malahide, County Dublin, Ireland, the eldest of seven children. She attended an Irish-language s ...

as Eileen O'Donnell, a veteran pro-choice campaigner and republican

Production

Development

Originally titled ''When It Happens to You'', Charlotte Moore and

Piers Wenger Piers Wenger is a British television executive who serves as controller of BBC drama commissioning. Early life Wenger was born Piers John Wenger in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England on 29 June 1972. Career Wenger was appointed as contro ...

commissioned the series in 2019 from Studio Lambert for

wrote the script and served as an executive producer, and

directed. Also executive producing were Susan Hogg and Gaynor Holmes. Hogg grew up in Northern Ireland herself and wanted to tell this story for a long time. Hughes and the team at Studio Lambert spent months researching. They met with families and individuals affected by its restrictive abortion laws. For the sake of anonymity, names and locations were changed for the series.

Casting

A press release confirmed the cast about a month before the series aired, with

, Lola Petticrew,

, and Genevieve O’Reilly featuring as well as

, Owen McDonnell, Kerri Quinn, and

Filming

Principal photography took place on location in 2020, and was one of the first UK productions that managed to take place despite the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Locations included

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, Antrim, Whitehead, Ballyhornan, and Ballymena.

Release

A trailer was released on 30 April 2021. The first episode premiered on

on 10 May, and the second on 11 May. In Australia, the drama aired on 9 June on

BBC First BBC First is an entertainment subscription television channel featuring comedy, crime, drama and film programming, originating from UK and mostly from the BBC. The channel is wholly owned and operated by BBC Studios. The channel began rolling ou ...

. Later on 23 November, it premiered in Ireland 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 ...

. In 2022, it was announced the drama would have an international release via Sundance Now that 28 July.

References

External links