Obituary (TV series)

Obituary
Genre	Black comedy
Created by	Ray Lawlor
Written by	Ray Lawlor
Directed by	John Hayes Oonagh Kearney
Starring	Siobhán Cullen Michael Smiley Ronan Raftery Danielle Galligan David Ganly
Composer	Steve Lynch
Country of origin	Ireland
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	David Crean Dermot Horan Laurent Boissel Paddy Hayes
Producer	Nell Green
Cinematography	James Mather
Editor	Tony Kearns
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	52 minutes
Production companies	APC Studios Magamedia
Original release
Network	RTÉ One
Release	26 September 2023 (2023-09-26) – present (present)

Obituary is a 2023 Irish black comedy television series created by Ray Lawlor for RTÉ and starring Siobhán Cullen.[1][2][3][4]

It will show in the United States on Hulu.[4]

Background

Filming took place in Ballyshannon and Bundoran, County Donegal.[5][6][7]

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.

Cast

• Siobhán Cullen as Elvira Clancy, a small-town obituarist
• Michael Smiley as Ward Clancy, her father
• Ronan Raftery as Emerson Stafford, a journalist investigating a cold-case murder in the town
• Danielle Galligan as Mallory Markum, Elvira's best friend
• David Ganly as Hughie Burns

Episode list

No.	Title	Original release date
1	"Death Becomes Her"	26 September 2023 (2023-09-26)
2	"Hiccups"	3 October 2023 (2023-10-03)
3	"Stay of Execution"	10 October 2023 (2023-10-10)
4	"Weapons of Minor Destruction"	17 October 2023 (2023-10-17)
5	"Wild Goose Chase"	24 October 2023 (2023-10-24)
6	"Body Count"	31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)

Reception

Obituary received positive reviews.[8][9] It received 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews.[10] 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."[11]

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.[12][13]

References

1. Corr, Alan (23 September 2023). "Siobhan Cullen plays the prim reaper in Obituary" – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
2. Mercer, Jessica (25 September 2023). "Inside RTE's hotly anticipated new programme, reviews and show's Galway ties". Galway Beo.
3. Moriarty, Aoife (27 September 2023). "Obituary: RTÉ dark comedy praised for its offbeat humour and original concept". Buzz.ie.
4. "New dark comedy 'Obituary' filmed in Ballyshannon in Donegal to premiere on RTÉ One & RTÉ Player".
5. "RTÉ viewers are all saying the same thing about new dark comedy series Obituary | Goss.ie".
6. "First Look At RTÉ's Wild New Dark Comedy Obituary". 21 September 2023.
7. Staff Writer (20 September 2023). "New Donegal-based RTE comedy Obituary to hit TV screens next week". Donegal Daily.
8. O'Neill, Bronwyn (27 September 2023). "New RTÉ show, Obituary, wins high praise from viewers". VIP Magazine.
9. "Obituary review: A small-town writer starts murdering people to boost her earnings in RTÉ's brilliant new black comedy". www.independent.ie. 27 September 2023.
10. "Obituary - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com.
11. "Obituary: RTÉ's new dark comedy is ghoulishly good fun. Shame it often forgets the laughs". The Irish Times.
12. Clarke, Donald (20 April 2024). "IFTA Awards: Cillian Murphy and 'That They May Face the Rising Sun' take home top prizes". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
13. "Nominees Announced for 2024 Screen Ireland – IFTA Rising Star Award Ahead of April 20th Ceremony". IFTA. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.

External links

• Obituary at IMDb
• Obituary at Rotten Tomatoes