TBI Scripted Hot Picks: Obituary

Producer: APC Studios & Magamedia | Distributor: APC | Broadcaster: Hulu (US) & RTÉ (Ireland)

Siobhán Cullen heads the cast of this 6 x 60-minute Irish dark comedy crime drama, which follows 24-year-old Elvira Clancy, who is feeling unfulfilled, although she adores her job writing obituaries.

When her newspaper falls on hard times, her boss tells her he is unable to keep her on the payroll and she finds herself being paid per obituary overnight. When she ‘accidentally’ kills a nasty piece of work in the town, she discovers she might have an untapped bloodlust.

She relishes using ever more crafty methods to kill off the town’s unpleasant residents while making them look like accidents. Unfortunately, a wrench lands in the works – the paper hires a suspicious new crime correspondent with a penchant for conspiracy theories, and she really, really likes him.

“Hailing from a small Irish town, I realised that my TV show should be set within the confines of a modest local newspaper, with the central character being an obituary writer, but I had to create a character that resonated with my darker personality and narrative voice,” reveals show creator Ray Lawlor. For the character of Elvira, the writer says that the job of an obituary writer “caught my attention – it seemed unusual and fresh. With this twisted concept, the show found its engine.”

Laurent Boissel, executive producer for APC Studios, meanwhile, describes Obituary as “a unique genre fusion” that combines elements of dark comedy, crime, and drama to create “an unconventional genre blend.”

He adds: “The show is a combination of both episodic and serialised TV. We always have a ‘kill of the week,’ which feels like a standalone story, while in the background, the serialised elements provide the first series with a strong narrative drive.”