Channel 4 has always been a patron of amazing Irish comedy. It is, after all, the home of Father Ted, one of the most iconic television shows Ireland has ever produced and still an inspiration to Irish writers, comics and performers over 25 years after it first aired.
It should come as no surprise then that the channel is once again championing an exciting Irish comedy export in the form of Frank of Ireland, a new sitcom centred around a layabout thirty-something year old named Frank and his intellectually challenged best friend, appropriately named Doofus.
The pair are played by brothers Domhnall and Brian Gleeson, two of Ireland's most celebrated actors, each a bona fide star in his own right who between them have been a part of some of the biggest TV and film productions of the last decade From Brian's breakthrough in the RTÉ classic Love/Hate and a recent turn as Jimmy McCavern in the Cillian Murphy-fronted smash TV show Peaky Blinders, to Domnhall's appearances in blockbuster movie franchises such as Stars Wars and Harry Potter, the talented duo could be considered beacons of hope for the possibilities for Irish actors.
In Frank of Ireland the brothers, who also co-wrote the show with friend Michael Moloney, find themselves acting a little closer to home. In fact, they've gone all the way home to Malahide in North Co. Dublin, where they grew up under the watchful eye of their mother Mary Weldon and their father Brendan Gleeson - but, of course, you probably already knew that.
Growing up with one of the world's most highly acclaimed actors as a father, something is sure to rub off on you. "It certainly helped in lots of different ways," Domhnall explained in an exclusive interview with LADBible ahead of the show's premiere. "He set an example early on by first of all committing to it and taking the risk. Seeing it really pay off for someone close to you makes you realise it is a possibility."
As for any pearls of wisdom on showbiz from their old man, Gleeson says these came in abundance. "In terms of advice there's been lots of it over the years," he goes on. "One of the most important ones for me was early on, he told me that if you're not working it's important to try and make your own work, to keep busy and creative."
"Even though myself and Brian have luckily been very busy as actors over the last couple of years, you always have time off as an actor. We just tried to pour every minute of that into making Frank of Ireland," he elaborated. "And Dad's in it too, he's in episode six so it all comes full circle."
It makes perfect sense then that the pair would channel their creative energies into a project that provides them both with a starring vehicle and an opportunity to write about what they know best - their native land and its inhabitants.
"We don't really say where it's set exactly but it's all around the North County Dublin coastline, around Malahide and Howth where we grew up. Returning to our hometown was just brilliant. We shot most of the exteriors in those locations and then the rest up in Belfast."
"We were thrilled that the look of the show is exactly what we wanted it to be. Working with an Irish cast and crew, North and South, is just a joy and I'm always desperate to get back," said Domhnall.
The actors' childhood home may have set the scene for this screwball comedy but the brothers would stop ahead of saying that there's anything of themselves in the characters they portray in the show. "We can't say that we inspired the characters in any way or we'd never live it down," Brian laughs.
It's true, these roles are not exactly the chance for the Gleesons to live out their wildest fantasies and play the men they've always longed to become. Frank and Dufus are closer in energy to that guy in your school who drops out in Transition Year to pursue his part-time job behind a deli counter and play darts, who you meet every year the day after your big Christmas night out as you groggily dictate your preference on plain or spicy chicken.
Coincidentally, Domnhall's character Doofus literally works in a local supermarket whilst our main protagonist Frank, played by Brian, is a musician and songwriter who, naturally enough, hasn't cared to write a song in about six years.
Speaking of big nights out, the first episode sees Frank embark on a wild night on the tear in Dublin city centre which gets taken to the next level when his date produces yokes from her purse, though the characters refer to the pills strictly as 'MDMA', you know, what everyone calls them. As you might well expect from any sitcom depicting Irish people and alcohol - mayhem ensues!
Although scenes are mostly set in a non-descript pub, we couldn't help but wonder if the location was supposed to evoke the atmosphere of some of Dublin's most notorious nightlife haunts.
"We shot that scene where there's a lot of revelry on Dame Lane and Temple Bar, we wanted to get that feeling across of it just being a manic night in town," Brian detailed.
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"Frank is a bit like a teenager, like when I was young and first started going out in town and you don't know anywhere so you kind of end up in all the obvious tourist places because you don't really know the scene," Domhnall added.
As it happens, it seems our Dumb And Dumber-esque antiheroes may not perhaps be best placed to advise on Dublin nightlife: "The more the show went on, I realised Frank and Doofus are more boys than men so I'm not sure they really like going out. They're more likely to be in bed by 9pm, jammies on with a cup of hot chocolate."
And as for their own preferences on a good night out in the dirty old town? Brian says you're more likely to find the pair in one of Dublin's famous old man pubs than throwing shapes Coppers - not that either are an option at the moment of course.
As if the star power of not one, not two, but three Gleeson family members in the show was not enough, the sitcom is further bolstered by a top class supporting cast including Sarah Greene, who viewers may recognise after her touching performance in Normal People.as Connell's caring though jarringly close-in-age mother.
Just when you think it's not possible to pack anymore of Ireland's finest into one thirty minute TV show, you learn that Frank of Ireland was co-executive produced by none other than Sharon Horgan, the creator and star of the hilarious romcom series Catastophe featuring Rob Delaney as her American husband, and also the simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming This Way Up with fellow Irish actress Aisling Bea.
If three Gleesons, a Normal People alumni and the seal of approval from Sharon Horgan is not enough to convince you, the only option left is to tune in to see for yourself. All of Frank of Ireland is available to stream now on All 4. You can check out a trailer for the show below.
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Featured Image Credit: Channel 4
Topics: Ireland