The Young Offenders are back and this time, baby makes three
THE past few years have been of a golden age for Irish comedy exports. The both much-maligned and muchloved Mrs Brown’s Boys has been a ratings behemoth for the BBC. Derry Girls has brought salty Northern humour to an international audience. And The Young Offenders, perhaps the most unlikely success of all, has brought a lilting Scobie wit into the mainstream, with two series on BBC following an acclaimed movie.
The show returns for a third series this week — it will screen on RTE and the BBC — and Conor and Jock have a baby (played by twins Penny and Nola Richardson) on board as they continue to get into dodgy adventures and navigate their awkward teenage years.
“When you throw a baby into the mix, the dynamic changes completely,” says Chris Walley, who plays
Jock. “You’ve more of the boys getting into mischief and ruining Mairead’s [Conor’s mother’s] life.”
The series was filmed back-to-back with series two, so it doesn’t reference the lockdown, but Hilary Rose, who plays Mairead, says that this was a blessing.
“I think people don’t want to know about Covid at this stage, they really need to laugh. And if we had referenced Covid, a lot of it would have been the whole lot of us sitting in a small room together so we might have run out of storylines pretty soon. It would be cheap to make, though.”
Hilary is married to the writer of the show, Corkman Peter Foott, and the franchise is a family affair: they funded the 2018 movie from savings and used their car as a prop in the film.
“It was a nerve-racking time because just as it went into production, I found out I was pregnant with my first child. And we didn’t know whether it was going to take off or not. Even the locations that we used were begged, borrowed and stolen from family members.”
Like many Irish comedy successes, The Young Offenders became big overseas before returning home and its foreign backers were determined to keep that authentic Leeside feel.
“The BBC were the ones who said keep it the way it is and keep it as Irish as it was,” Rose says.
“The film blew up but it was when it went on Netflix that it was really brought it to an international audience. That’s when other outside broadcasters in the UK and elsewhere became interested. We’ve a really good agent in the UK and that’s how the BBC connection started.
“So it was really that they jumped on it first and then RTE got involved and we were really grateful for that.”
The Young Offenders has been moved to the Late Late Show’s slot on RTE1 — a sign of its popularity.
The Guardian noted that “a Cork accent is a bizarre noise to come out of a mouth” so it’s slightly jarring to hear the male stars speak in more refined brogues.
“We got that a lot when it first came out,” says Alex Murphy, who plays Conor. “I went to drama school in London but I felt that my Irish accent actually got stronger when I went away.”
The series has been credited with giving a human face to a subculture that we only usually read about in news reports.
“I think in the news you see a lot of stereotypes,” says Murphy. “There is crime in all walks of life, and there are great people in all walks of life. TV criminals have to be loveable, think of Breaking Bad, for instance.”
Despite rumours of a musical, the cast pour cold water on the idea.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say no, there won’t be a musical,” says Walley. Previous seasons have featured high-profile cameos, including the slightly surreal sight of
Roy Keane delivering lines. There will be no such big names in the new season but family members will still be roped into scenes.
“Chris’s dad is in an episode,” Murphy says. “My dad was a taxi driver in the Christmas special. It’s their big break.”
Hilary’s pregnancy may have coincided with the film but her own children (she has since had another) won’t be making an appearance.
“I’d protect them from acting,” she says.
“They can make their own decisions when they’re old enough.”