Bad Sisters
Breakout TV hit Bad Sisters has been a highlight of this past year for Irish television drama. Actor and writer Sharon Horgan developed this critically acclaimed IFTA and BAFTA-winning comedy with Dave Finkel & Brett Baer for Apple TV+. Now renewed for a second season, Bad Sisters showcases so much of what Irish talent offers in front of and behind the camera.
Skills Development for Filming in Ireland
Bad Sisters was shot between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and also in England. As it was supported by the Irish government’s Section 481 tax incentive, production company Merman Television engaged with the Screen Ireland skills team to develop a skills development plan for the production. This provided opportunities for trainees to advance their professional experience on a leading streaming studio’s project.
This enhanced skills development for crew from a range of backgrounds and experience levels, including the advancement of directors’ careers. One of the series’ directors was accomplished Irish filmmaker Dearbhla Walsh who agreed to mentoring an up-and-coming director. An outstanding candidate was found in Oonagh Kearney.
Oonagh Kearney
Oonagh Kearney’s emerging profile as a filmmaker is bolstered by the breadth of her experience across years in the Irish film industry. Oonagh previously worked as a casting director on productions such as The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006) before studying directing at the National Film and Television School.
Short films she has directed include On the Hemline (2017), which was commissioned for RTÉ Storyland, and Five Letters to the Stranger Who Will Dissect my Brain (2018), which won awards at the Cork and Dublin International Film Festivals. Oonagh also directed Wonder House (2012), a feature-length genre-bending journey through the history of science, art and imagination.
With all this experience, Oonagh was still searching for regular work in directing for television. The skills development plan for Bad Sisters facilitated an experience of high-end TV production for Oonagh. In Oonagh’s feedback, she highlighted that;
My key professional goal next year is to break into TV directing. I would love the opportunity to direct an episode or Block B within a TV series.
Dearbhla Walsh explored the practicality of having Oonagh shadow her or even direct an episode. Although this could not be arranged, another opportunity was identified for Oonagh to direct on second unit.
Second Unit Directing
Second unit crews in the industry film shots and scenes that cannot fit in the main crew’s schedule. It covers important material for editors that must hold up to the standard of the main crew. By giving Oonagh responsibility for this crew, she would have hands-on experience of working with the budget scale and resources of a major streaming platform.
Oonagh identified two key duties she oversaw in this placement;
1) In conversation with Dearbhla, who by this stage was deep in preperation, to lead the casting and subsequent rehearsals (at the Grand Malahide Hotel and on the ground) for the opening sequence involving the “Young Garvey Girls” and to assist with subsequent planning for what was a complex three days of shooting at the Forty Foot in South Dublin.
2) To direct second unit as required. Oonagh shot for one day with Claes Bang on Howth Head with the B Camera team.
Oonagh worked closely with Dearbhla on casting, technical rehearsals and detailed shot lists for a shoot at the famous Forty Foot swimming spot. While these scenes depicting younger versions of the main characters were ultimately not included, they gave Oonagh an invaluable experience in collaborating with a director on high-end television. Oonagh reflected on the support Dearbhla provided in her feedback;
I hugely appreciate that Dearbhla shared her tonal pitch with me. This gave me a direct insight into how she presented her vision to the executives at Apple. I was invited to all relevant production meetings online.
Reflections
It was an informative experience for Oonagh to learn about so many aspects of working on this scale of TV production, from pitching for the job to making key creative decisions on-set. Her other experience shooting at Howth Head with leading cast was also a step-up professionally.
She has since been hired to direct a British TV drama on the Vardy v Rooney trial, starring Michael Sheen and Natalia Tena.
Screen Ireland intends to support the development of more directors’ careers for the promotion of distinct voices in Irish on-screen storytelling. Oonagh reflected on what attributes benefit such directors the most, based on her experience of this project;
Dearbhla’s immense capacity to lead, direct, collaborate, communicate.
The power and benefit of building a close team dynamic with your 1st AD and DOP.
The importance of maintaining communication with everyone and problem-solving off the cuff as well as in production meetings. These always brought in new information that shifted things, needed to be addressed and actioned right away.
The importance of honesty and transparency, and being willing to take responsibility.
About Bad Sisters
A delicious blend of both dark comedy and thriller, Bad Sisters follows the lives of the Garvey sisters, who are bound together by the premature death of their parents and a promise to always protect one another. The series stars Sharon Horgan, alongside Anne-Marie Duff (Suffragette, The Salisbury Poisonings), Eva Birthistle (Brooklyn, The Last Kingdom), Sarah Greene (Frank of Ireland, Dublin Murders) and Eve Hewson (Behind her Eyes, The Luminaries) as the Garvey sisters.
Bad Sisters is now available to stream on Apple TV+.