Emmy-nominated writer/actress/ comedian Sharon Horgan’s new Apple TV+ series “Bad Sisters” is part comedy and part thriller — following a group of sisters who may or may not have killed their toxic brother-in-law.
“I had finished ‘Catastrophe,’” Horgan, 52, told The Post, referring to the previous show in which she starred and co-wrote (2015-2019).
“That was a big part of my life for four years, writing that with Rob Delaney and making it. And when that ended, I had to look for something else. They’re quite big shoes to fill – you’ve got to love it, because it’s an awful lot of work. You can’t just write about any old thing.
“I was pointed in the direction of [2012 Belgian series ‘Clan,’ which ‘Bad Sisters’ is based on]. I watched the first episode, and I was in. I come from a big family, so I love that large group of sisters together. They seemed like a tribe; when they’re together they seem like a group of witches. I just was really tickled by the premise.”
Premiering Aug. 19, “Bad Sisters” (created by and starring Horgan) is set in Ireland and follows the five Garvey sisters, who share a close bond due to the premature death of their parents and their promise to protect each other. The sisters include the perpetually frazzled Grace (Anne-Marie Duff), who’s married to the boorish John Paul (Claes Bang, “The Northman”); Eva (Horgan); Ursula (Eva Birthistle); Bibi (Sarah Greene); and Becka (Eve Hewson).
The series starts with John Paul’s funeral, and slowly reveals that each sister had a reason to want him dead. Via flashbacks, we see that John Paul frequently belittled them at family gatherings — sneering at their accomplishments — and wasn’t a good husband to Grace. Matters become complicated when his life insurance agents (played by Brian Gleeson and Daryl McCormack) grow suspicious and launch an investigation into his death, with their sights set on the sisters.
“I love the idea that any kind of entertainment is great and important. But I think the older I get, with my own work, I want it to be doing or saying something,” said the Irish-born Horgan, best-known for “Catastrophe” (for which she earned her 2016 Emmy nomination), HBO’s “Divorce” and the British series “Pulling.”
“We’ve just come out of a pandemic where domestic violence figures have gone through the roof. And everyone is talking about it, but not much is done, because it doesn’t get the right level of funding, and it’s something that’s behind closed doors,” she said. “So that relationship [with John Paul] that’s at the heart of this felt like a way to examine that — but also do it in a way where it’s kind of almost disguised, which comedy is really clever at doing.
“It tricks you into thinking you’re watching something completely different,” she said. “Then, when it knocks you around the back of the head in a brutal blow, it can be even more effective. It catches you unaware. It’s a good way to sort of ‘Trojan Horse’ serious material.”
Just like her character on the show, Horgan is one of five siblings. She said her family dynamic is different, but that there were aspects of the Garveys to which she could relate.
“Just that sort of relentlessly taking the piss out of each other,” she said. “Not allowing anyone to get away with anything. And the instant party of it, when they’re all together.”
