BBC Studios to produce noir thriller for RTÉ

December 5, 2019

BBC Studios and Treasure Entertainment will bring the drama to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

“I’m delighted we’re working with Kate and Treasure to bring this powerful and compelling TV drama series to the screen and to have won our first scripted commission for RTÉ.” – Tom Sherry, Head of BBC Studios Drama North and Scotland

BBC Studios and Treasure Entertainment are co-producing Smother, a six-part domestic noir thriller for Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. Written by Kate O’Riordan the drama is an investigative thriller about the secrets families keep from each other, set in a small town on the beautiful, wild and rugged coast of County Clare.

When Val Ahern’s husband Denis is found dead at a foot of a cliff close to her home the morning after a family party, she begins to look at the events of the previous night to examine Denis’s relationships with his children, step-children and his siblings in order to find out who might have been responsible for his brutal death.

The deeper matriarch Val delves into her family’s secrets the more she realises how her late husband’s controlling, manipulative behaviour had affected each member of the family in their own way. Will she uncover the truth of who killed Denis, and if she does, will her family survive the exposure of the lies and hurt that have lain buried for years?

Smother has been created and developed by BBC Studios (Drama North and Scotland) in partnership with Dublin-based Treasure Entertainment, for Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ. The project, which will shoot in its entirety in the west of Ireland, has also attracted the support of Screen Ireland and The WRAP (Western Region Audio-Visual Producers) Fund.

“RTÉ is delighted to work with Treasure Entertainment and BBC Studios to bring more Irish drama to Irish audiences. Working with international partners enables RTÉ to develop more projects with Irish producers, directors and writers. It also expands our drama slate and by being included in BBC Studios’ international drama catalogue, it gives Irish projects a major global distribution platform to bring their talents to the world.” – Dermot Horan, Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at RTÉ