PICTURED: Siobhan Cullen (Photo credit: Will Coban) 

Not only is it an exciting time for Irish cinema, with Colm Bairead’s An Cailín Ciúin and Martin McDonagh’s Banshee of Inisherin, both being tipped for Oscar nominations, it’s also a great year for Irish indie TV shows on streaming platforms, as Hulu US picks up local gothic comedy, Obituary.

From FÍS TV Summit to Hulu US 

Hulu US has confirmed it is picking up Irish dark comedy-crime drama Obituary, a six-parter, written by Mayo writer Ray Lawlor, and set to be produced by Galway’s own Tua Films and APC Studios in 2023.  

Obituary was initially pitched at FÍS TV Summit’s WRAP Fund Pitching Event back in 2020, where it was selected as the winner out of six pitches. It was at the Summit in 2020 that Tua Films’ (Magamedia’s) Paddy Hayes met Laurent Boissel who then signed on as executive producer. Obituary is supported by FÍS Eireann/ Screen Ireland, the Broadcasting Authorities of Ireland (BAI), and the WRAP Fund. 

Irish TV and theatre actress Siobhan Cullen will take up the lead role as “Elvira Clancy, an obituarist working at a small-town newspaper, who suddenly finds herself being paid by the obituary due to cuts.” 

WRAP Fund spoke to producer Paddy Hayes about the importance of Obituary’s strong ties to the West. Here’s what he had to say:

Irish TV is certainly resonating on international platforms, considering the phenomenal success of Normal People on RTÉ/BBC and Derry Girls on Netflix, as well as Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters trending on Apple+.

What is the WRAP Fund about?

The Western Region Audiovisual Production Fund (WRAP), which began in 2018, is an initiative of the Western Development Commission and Ardán with the support of the local authorities of Clare, Donegal, Galway City, Galway County, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Údarás na Gaeltachta.

WRAP is committed to providing strategic investment on commercial terms that encourages regional production and development activity across the film, television drama, animation and games sectors, to support local talent, create sustainable employment, build the audio-visual infrastructure and contribute to the culture of the West of Ireland.

For more info on the WRAP Fund get in touch with wrap@ardan.ie