Obituary (TV series)
Irish TV series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Obituary is a 2023 Irish black comedy television series created by Ray Lawlor for RTÉ and starring Siobhán Cullen.[1][2][3][4] Its first series originally aired in September and October of 2023, and its second series aired between October and November of 2025.
| Obituary | |
|---|---|
| |
| Genre | Black comedy |
| Created by | Ray Lawlor |
| Written by | Ray Lawlor |
| Directed by | John Hayes Oonagh Kearney |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Steve Lynch |
| Country of origin |
|
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Nell Green |
| Cinematography | James Mather |
| Editor | Tony Kearns |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 52 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ One |
| Release | 26 September 2023 – present |
It showed in the United States on Hulu.[4] A second series aired in 2025.[5][6] It also airs on AMC Networks International Southern Europe (Spain and Portugal), Netflix (UK), BritBox (Australia), TVNZ (New Zealand), Proximus Pickx (Belgium), Radio Télévision Suisse (Switzerland), Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, BluTV/Max (Turkey & Cyprus) and Tet (Latvia).[6]
Background
Filming took place in Ballyshannon and Bundoran in the south of County Donegal in Ulster, even though the series is set somewhere 'Down South' in Ireland.[7][8][9]
Plot
In a small Irish town, a young woman obsessed with death becomes an obituarist for the local newspaper. Seeking more interesting deaths to write about, she begins to murder local people.
In the second season, Elvira deals with her father's death by beginning to kill again, but there is another serial killer in town, and local Gardaí begin to suspect Elvira.
Cast
- Siobhán Cullen as Elvira Clancy, a small-town obituarist
- Michael Smiley as Ward Clancy, her father (First Series)
- Ronan Raftery as Emerson Stafford, a journalist investigating a cold-case murder in the town. He later becomes Elvira's boyfriend
- Danielle Galligan as Mallory Markum, Elvira's best friend (First Series)
- David Ganly as Hughie Burns
- Máiréad Tyers as Vivienne Birch, the new editor of the paper (Second Series)[6]
- Noni Stapleton as Detective Rose (First and Second Series, recurring)
Episodes
First Series (2023)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Death Becomes Her" | 26 September 2023 |
| 2 | 2 | "Hiccups" | 26 September 2023 |
| 3 | 3 | "Stay of Execution" | 26 September 2023 |
| 4 | 4 | "Weapons of Minor Destruction" | 26 September 2023 |
| 5 | 5 | "Wild Goose Chase" | 26 September 2023 |
| 6 | 6 | "Body Count" | 26 September 2023 |
Second Series (2025)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "The Bad Sleep Well" | 14 October 2025 |
| 8 | 2 | "A Brain Full of Razor Blades" | 14 October 2025 |
| 9 | 3 | "It Doesn't Count as a Crime if You Had Fun" | 14 October 2025 |
| 10 | 4 | "The Principle of Two Weaknesses" | 14 October 2025 |
| 11 | 5 | "The Wrongful Prolongation of Life" | 14 October 2025 |
| 12 | 6 | "WRH?" | 14 October 2025 |
Reception
Obituary received positive reviews.[10][11] It received 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews.[12] In The Irish Times, Ed Power praised Siobhán Cullen's and Danielle Galligan's performances, but said "it’s a shame the script isn’t funnier. Obituary is a dark comedy that often forgets the laughs."[13]
At the 20th Irish Film & Television Awards, Obituary was nominated for Best Drama, Best Director (John Hayes), Best Script (Peter McKenna), Best Actress in a Lead Role (Siobhán Cullen), Best Actor in a Lead Role (Michael Smiley) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Danielle Galligan), but did not win any. Siobhán Cullen won a Rising Star award, in part for her work on Obituary.[14][15]