We’re rapidly closing in on the end of 2024. It was a year full of big swings on the big and small screen. As the year comes to a close, I’m looking back on series that worked for me that you can now check out. Today, it’s a history of the Troubles in Ireland.
Series: Say Nothing
Where to Find It: All nine episodes are now streaming on Hulu.
What’s It About: Some series help you learn more about people and stories that aren’t familiar. That’s the case with Say Nothing, which is based on the non-fiction book from Patrick Radden Keefe. It takes place in Ireland over the span of decades, focusing on the fighting between Irish citizens that wanted their freedom and the British government.
Called The Troubles, the series dives in and puts the focus on a few of the key players during that time. We mostly follow sisters Dolours (Lola Petticrew and Maxine Peake) and Marian Price (Hazel Doupe and Helen Behan) as well as leaders Brendan Hughes (Anthony Boyle and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) and Gerry Adams (Josh Finan and Michael Colgan). We pick up with them young and idealistic in the 1970s, joining the IRA and carrying out missions.
Later, we see them in the 1990s and 2000s, where as adults their outlook has changed. For Dolours and Brendan in particular there is a sense of regret that leads them to share their story with the Belfast Project, allowing the truth of their actions to be known to all once they’ve passed away.
Why It Makes the List
This was one of the later entries to the TV landscape, dropping in November. But it dropped all at once with episodes around the 45-minute mark, making for a quick binge. That is just one of the reasons it makes the list. It’s a dense story that’s dark and emotional at times. In fact, you wouldn’t be blamed if you wanted to watch only one or two episodes at a time, as I did. But there’s power in the narrative.
I loved the way the series was adapted and put together by showrunner Joshua Zetumer. There are some great performances, too. The way the actors who portray the main four—both as younger people and as older adults—do a great job of bringing you into the story. There is a weight of emotion in this tale that is compelling and, at times, heart-breaking.
It’s a well-crafted story that lays out history in a way that doesn’t feel like it takes sides. While reliving these events are undoubtedly painful for the families of those involved, this series feels like it keeps the truth of those events alive in a powerful way.