Damien's home life is troubled. Airing Mondays at 9pm on Virgin Media One (Virgin TV 103), it’s a gritty crime thriller from writer and direc Adam, who studied performing arts at college, initially wrote the script for himself before he met with O’Connor, whose previous hits include Cardboard Gangsters. Adam says his mother’s death was one of the reasons Shane fell further into crime. Luke McQuillan plays gang member Eric, and trains himself as an MMA fighter out of Team KF in Swords. To comment you must now be an Irish Times subscriber. News images provided by Press Association and Photocall Ireland unless otherwise stated. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. Adam, who studied TV and film at college, was joined by members of his family. There is one significant departure from Love/Hate: the female characters appear to have much more agency in Darklands. On moving the action from Dublin to Bray, Agnew notes: “This happened everywhere. Darklands (TV Series 2019– ) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. But while Coates has stated that Darklands isn’t based on real life events, it is he admits informed by his personal experience. Autumn is the time when terrestrial channels and streamers traditionally unleash their biggest dramas and shows, and this year is no exception, with Catherine the Great, Dublin Murders, a new dramatisation of War of the Worlds and season three of The Crown all due for imminent release. See pics from the premiere below! Boards.ie | ‘It was called Chrysalis because it was about the metamorphosis of an innocent person into a gangster and Darklands is about the reasons why an innocent person might fall into crime. "My brother Shane was the leader of the Westies so when I met Mark, we were actually working on a project about that," Adam said. The stretch between now and Christmas can be dreary, but at least the films and TV shows tend to be good. Already have an account? This is YOUR comments community. Local gang leader Bobby ‘Butsy’ Butler lures him into his world with promises to find his brother. His dreams of sports stardom are within reach, but things aren’t easy at home, as his parents’ marriage starts to implode. The show stars Charleigh Bailey, Damian Gildea, Dane Whyte O’Hara, Charlotte Bradley, Tristan Heanue, Judith Roddy, Thommas Kane-Byrne, Aisling Kearns and Luke McQuillan. “I want to show it’s a dangerous world. And it’s a slow change, a kind of a metamorphosis of a young school kid, and it shows how these young people can can get dragged in.”, Curiously, that's followed by a new gangland series called 'Darklands' by the writer of Cardboard Gangsters pic.twitter.com/Zytt5ICQ9w. “I suppose because it’s the same genre it will automatically get a comparison, but really I’m just doing whatever comes to mind at the time. After searching the pubs and the river in fear that his father had taken his own life, Coates found him in the cemetery. ‘To be honest, Damien is a little bit influenced by both myself and Mark because I could have gone down that road but instead of choosing gangland, Damien chose MMA. Virgin Media’s director of content Bill Malone says its less like Love/Hate and more like another European-based crime series. Please subscribe to sign in to comment. Created by Mark O’Connor, Darklands is his first transition into television, after his Irish blockbuster Cardboard Gangsters, the most successful Irish film of 2017. The Tonight Show 5.20am - 6.10am [S] The Six O'Clock Show 6.10am - 7.00am [S] Ireland AM 7.00am - 10.00am [S] This Morning 10.00am - 12.30pm. We talked about Limerick, we talked about Cork, and Mark realised that it doesn’t have to be [set] in Dublin. Soon after, the anti-Semitic messages began’, Tom Stoppard: A Life – A great biography of a great playwright, Level 5 lockdown TV: From The Crown to Dead Still, the ultimate guide to what to watch, Frequently asked questions about your digital subscription, Specially selected and available only to our subscribers, Exclusive offers, discounts and invitations, Explore the features of your subscription, Carefully curated selections of Irish Times writing, Sign up to get the stories you want delivered to your inbox, An exact digital replica of the printed paper, Hugh Linehan: ‘I wouldn’t go back to Communicorp even if they’d have me’. It certainly has the makings of a hit: there’s the appeal of the MMA angle and all the drama and theatre the sport entails. “God forbid she does a bit of acting,” he purrs. He has two delicious bread recipes for you. Irish sport images provided by Inpho Photography unless otherwise stated. The show explores the allure of the financial rewards from crime against the violence inherent in the gangland world. The account details entered are not currently associated with an Irish Times subscription. Darklands premieres on Virgin Media One on the 7th October at 9pm. The show is based and was shot in Bray and O’Connor says it gives it a bit of a different feel. “In real life, everyone has to make choices at 16 about who they’re going to be in life but in Darklands, Damien’s choices are pretty extreme,” he adds. It has been touted as the next Love/Hate but Virgin Media Ireland’s new gritty thriller’s only similarity is that is centres round Ireland’s horrific gangland culture. For more information on cookies please refer to our cookies policy. ‘My father said of his experiences with Shane “I used to be a beech tree of a man and the whole experience has left me a weeping willow.”‘?