Hulu & RTÉ board Irish dark comedy ‘Obituary’

Siobhan Cullen. Pic credit: Wil Coban

Disney-owned US streamer Hulu has commissioned Obituary, a new Irish dark comedy series set around a small-town newspaper.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ has also pre-bought the 6 x 60-minute series, which is being co-produced by APC Studios UK and Magamedia, in association with Fís Éireann/ Screen Ireland, BAI and The Wrap Fund.

Siobhán Cullen takes the lead role of Elvira Clancy, an underpaid obituarist working at a small-town newspaper, with the series written by Ray Lawlor, directed by John Hayes and produced by Nell Green. APC Studios’ Laurent Boissel and Magamedia’s Paddy Hayes serve as executive producers.

Elvira is feeling unfulfilled, although she adores her job writing obituaries. When her newspaper falls on hard times, her boss tells her he is unable to keep her on the payroll and she finds herself being paid per obituary overnight.

When she “accidentally” kills a nasty piece of work in the town, she discovers she might have an untapped bloodlust. She relishes using ever more crafty methods to kill off the town’s unpleasant residents while making them look like accidents. Unfortunately, a wrench lands in the works – the paper hires a suspicious new crime correspondent with a penchant for conspiracy theories, and she really, really likes him.

“It has been a blast pitching this wonderful high concept drama to various funders and broadcast partners over the past few years – an obituarist who resorts to murder to stay in a job. We’re genuinely thrilled that Hulu and RTÉ are already on board and it’s super exciting to be bringing it into production now in the West of Ireland,” said Boissel and Hayes.