“The Walsh Sisters” isn’t your typical television drama. Forget murder mysteries or epic romances; this new BBC series delves into the complex, often messy, lives of five very different sisters in Ireland, woven together from the pages of five Marian Keyes novels.
The ambitious adaptation fell to writer Stefanie Preissner, tasked with distilling a wealth of storytelling into six compelling episodes. What she didn’t anticipate was *becoming* part of the story, cast as the eldest sister, Maggie, grappling with the quiet struggles of marriage and fertility.
Preissner admits to moments of regret taking on a dual role, particularly during the show’s most intimate scene. She found herself in an unexpectedly awkward situation – lying on an office table, participating in a scene she’d originally envisioned for another actress. “When I was lying on my back…dry humping a yoga ball, I was thinking, why did I write this?”
The timing, she wryly recalls, was impeccable. Rehearsals took place one morning, and by afternoon, her period arrived. “I wasn’t due, but I was synced to these bes,” she joked, gesturing to her co-stars. The scene required immediate reorganization, and the planned implied nudity became impossible.
Despite the challenges, Preissner praises the production team, especially their intimacy coordinator, Ciara Duffy, who approached the scene with a choreographer’s precision. Even so, she received the direction to make it “a bit more breathless.” “It’s never glam,” she confessed, “and I think getting through it is the most you could ask for.”
The heart of the series, Preissner discovered, lies in the dynamic between Anna, played by Louisa Harland, and Rachel, portrayed by Caroline Menton. Anna faces a devastating loss while Rachel enters rehab, a journey Menton prepared for by visiting a real treatment center. Debbie Mazar, a cultural icon, adds another layer to the story as a fellow patient.
Both sisters feel a profound lack of support from their family, highlighting a central theme: the complicated nature of sisterhood. As Danielle Galligan, who plays another sister, succinctly put it, “No one can hurt you like your family, but also no one can heal you like your family.”
Preissner describes adapting the novels as solving a complex Rubik’s Cube. The cast, who quickly formed a close bond and a lively WhatsApp group, found their chemistry evident from the very first rehearsal. Director Ian FitzGibbon recognized it immediately, observing their natural, overlapping conversations as the key to the family dynamic.
Throughout the process, Marian Keyes herself was readily available, offering invaluable insight into her characters. Preissner affectionately calls Keyes “the source of the Nile.” Having the writer on set proved beneficial, though Preissner acknowledges occasionally blurring the lines between writer and actor, sometimes offering solutions before they were even requested.
“I did it imperfectly with grace,” she admits, hopeful for a second season – one, perhaps, without Maggie’s particularly awkward encounters. The series, a raw and honest portrayal of family, is now available to watch.
