The end of summer brings with it the promise of some fantastic new dramas to sink your teeth into as the nights get longer, and Dead and Buried on the BBC is certainly one worth adding to your list.
Filmed and set in Northern Ireland, the show begins when Cathy McDaid is out shopping with her son and bumps into her brother's killer Michael McAllister, and it has viewers guessing who's really telling the truth right until the very end.
Dead and Buried cast
Annabel Scholey as Cathy McDaid
Annabel Scholey (who you will probably recognise from BBC shows The Split and The Sixth Commandment) plays Cathy McDaid. Speaking about her character, Annabel told the BBC: "Cathy is so far away from who I am. For a start, the Northern Irish culture, humour, the accent! The fact that she is bipolar. For an actor, it was like tick tick tick. A huge challenge. Absolutely terrifying. All of it. Her emotional journey is so intense and complicated in its twists and turns and her moral compass is sometimes questionable (which is fascinating to explore for any actor). I enjoyed how physically she quite often moves in extremes.
Cathy has an alter ego, so I got to explore that version of her too. I read the script and thought, oh my God, this is incredible! I had also just finished working with Laura Way on a Paramount Plus UK series, Serial Killer’s Wife and I absolutely love her and her brilliant work."
Colin Morgan as Michael
Irish actor Colin Morgan (from Merlin and the Belfast film) plays Michael. Here's what he says about his character: "He's in a life that has been set up for him. He's a man who at a very pivotal point in his life - that point, whenever he's a teenager on the cusp of developing into a man - was actually in prison and is released into a world of a different kind of confinement. He met a pastor in prison who I think promised him a new life, a new beginning, which actually ended up being marriage to that pastor's daughter, a house and a job that was provided for him.
And I think now that he's reached this point in his mid-life that he realises nothing he has are things he's chosen. And so when this woman comes along online and he chooses her and he chooses to step outside of the life, it feels good. He just doesn't know that this is someone who actually has ulterior motives, because it's about a person's darkest places that their fears, their worst nightmares."
Kerri Quinn as Sally
Kerri Quinn (Come Home, Three Families, Derry Girls) plays Sally, Cathy's colleague and friend who tries her best to support her. According to Kerri, here's what to expect from the show: "I think people are in for quite a shock. It’s dark, exciting, sexy, with some very humorous moments. I’m so excited for people to see it."
Niamh Walsh as Lena
Niamh Walsh (who you may recognise from the historical drama Jamestown) is Michael's wife and local business owner. She says, "Lena is wife to Michael and mum to Andrew; strong, dutiful and caring in complicated circumstances. Faith and family are everything to her."
Waj Ali as Raymie
"Raymie's a caring and down-to-earth family man. He's a football fanatic, goes to the pub with friends, plays five aside when his knee doesn’t give in. He grew up in London but has roots in Ireland and by the time we meet him in the show he is married to Cathy whom together have a son (Sasha) and has been working as a English Teacher in Ireland for a number of years."
Michael Hanna as Andrew
In his first tv role, Michael Hanna plays Andrew, Michael's teenage son. Speaking to the BBC he said: "Andrew is a curious, interested but also quite an angry kid. He’s very close with his family but when things start to unravel he isn’t sure how to react or what to do. Moving from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland has hit him quite badly too and forces him to adapt to the new area and school. Preparing for Andrew wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be as I really clicked and related with character on a personal level; I would compile a playlist of songs that I thought Andrew would resonate with. I used the song lyrics as thoughts for Andrew and implemented them into the scenes."
What is the Dead and Buried drama about?
Here's the full synopsis from the BBC: 'When out shopping with her son, young mum Cathy McDaid (Annabel Scholey) bumps into Michael McAllister (Colin Morgan), the man responsible for killing her brother Terry 20 years ago. Unaware he had been released from prison and is living in the same town, Cathy pays her solicitor a visit and discovers the killer had been released years ago.
'Taking to social media, Cathy uncovers the successful career and family life Michael has forged for himself since his early release from prison, while she grieved for her brother.
'Unable to comprehend that he's now a free man, teacher Cathy goes against the advice of her best friend Sally Bowman (Kerri Quinn) and creates an online alias in order to befriend Michael, instigating a clandestine relationship with the man she despises and embarking on a campaign of harassment and deceit.
'As Cathy’s obsession grows, dark fantasies of revenge and reality blur as she sets out on a campaign of psychological warfare to destroy Michael’s life.
'The series uncovers how far Cathy is prepared to go to seek revenge for her brother’s death and the catastrophic impact it has on all their lives.'
Where was Dead and Buried filmed?
The BBC drama is filmed and set across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Annabel Scholey had to learn the Irish accent for her role: "I worked HARD. For weeks. With my brilliant accent coach Brendan Gunn." she said.
"I felt very strongly that to tell Cathy’s story with a bad accent would not only ruin the story for viewers by reducing the authenticity but as an actor, in a role like this, you need absolute freedom. If I had been limited because I wasn’t secure in the accent, it would have been a disaster I think. I absolutely loved the accent and found so much character within it.
Unfortunately I worked so hard that now if I try to do another accent, it comes out Northern Irish!"
On the other hand, Colin Morgan is Irish and filmed in his own accent. He said "An actor is always looking for keys into the soul of their character. I often find that a character’s soul is inhabiting me when their voice starts to come through and I find myself speaking in a certain way, which sometimes can be in a different accent. When an accent isn't required there's a definite shorthand with a new character, we speak a similar language already and so however I end up sounding in the end, we've got off to a good start."
Dead and Buried BBC release date
You can watch Dead & Buried on BBC iPlayer from the 2nd of September 2024, where all episodes will be available. Alternatively, Irish viewers can tune in to BBC One Northern Ireland to watch the show.
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and spending time with her pet dogs, tortoise and chickens.