Family secrets: Sisters learn about their mother’s life in ‘Maryland’
Life’s tide brings two estranged sisters ashore the Isle of Man to look into their mother’s sudden death in “Maryland.” The new threepart drama miniseries premieres Sunday, May 5, on PBS. Suranne Jones (“Gentleman Jack”) and Eve Best (“Nurse Jackie”) star as sisters Becca and Rosaline, whose paths have diverged in adulthood only to cross again as they delve into their mother’s hidden life away from home.
Mary, portrayed by Judy Clifton (“Endeavour”), is found dead on a beach on the Isle of Man. Supposedly away to Wales for a vacation with a friend, it soon becomes clear to Becca and Rosaline that their mother was much more comfortable there than the average tourist.
Starting with the house Mary was living in, Becca and Rosaline piece together a side of their mother that they never knew. The home, left to them by Mary, is filled with framed photos of her closest friends like a trail of crumbs leading to the answers Becca and Rosaline seek. These people are complete strangers to the sisters, but they must know something about Mary’s life that explains her death.
“Maryland” is not exactly the murder mystery it looks like at first glance — a woman leading a double life is found dead far from home — but rather a complex drama about sisters repairing the frayed bond between them. Becca, a wife to Jim (Andrew Knott, “Tom Jones”) and mother to two teenagers, couldn’t be more different than her career-focused sister Rosaline on the surface.
In a trailer for the miniseries, their differences are crystal clear in each sister’s reaction to the revelation of their mother’s secret life. While Rosaline appears to immediately, calmly accept that Mary had a secret life of her own, Becca lashes out at her sister’s plain observation that they’d been lied to, insisting that it was more personal for her.
Whether the two chose to follow such different paths by circumstance or with intention, the sisters find themselves learning to lean on each other now that they have the truth of their mother’s life laid out in front of them. The process of healing their relationship while on the island takes two steps back for every one step forward as they really get to know each other again as adults.
“Maryland” was created by Jones and American writer and producer Anne Marie O’connor (“Trollied”). The miniseries explores the raw feelings we all experience after losing a loved one, exacerbated by the mystery of Mary’s double life. Furthermore, in an interview with The Sun ahead of the series U.K. debut on ITV last May, Jones shared that the series was inspired by her own experience with grief, having lost both of her parents. About grief, Jones said, “There’s humor in it and it’s not an easy, straightforward ride. You don’t get a blueprint of how you’re going to feel.”
Don’t miss the premiere of “Maryland” Sunday, May 5, on PBS.