"It is an amazing series in terms of how many buttons it will hit for people."
It does feel like it has been quite a while since an Irish TV show managed to grasp the public by the throat in the same way that Love/Hate did back in the day.
It felt like Dublin Murders was getting close at times, while Normal People was obviously a huge hit, but in a very different way.
But this year, we've got a good feeling that Kin will get us back to that level. With a killer cast including Aidan Gillen (Love/Hate), Clare Dunne (Herself), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Ciarán Hinds (Game of Thrones), Emmett Scanlan (Peaky Blinders), Maria Doyle Kennedy (Outlander) and Sam Keeley (The Cured), the recent trailers have got us very excited for it, while AMC (home of Breaking Bad) have picked it up for American audiences.
We recently caught up with Clare Dunne in the run-up to her powerful new drama Herself, and you can check out that interview in full right here:
During the chat, we had to talk about Kin, simply because we know everyone will be talking about it when it does finally arrive in Ireland.
Dunne told us the following about the show:
"It is an amazing series. It is a crime drama that is amazing rooted in it being about family and loyalty and also the inner journey of people in this world. And not just 'How do we ever get to these places where we can commit these acts of violence?', but then also what are the repercussions, how do you actually deal with it and the consequences?
"I remember when I first read the script, because I get sent scripts and do self-tapes all of the time, and I've never read a script where I was saying 'Oh my God...", it is like Shakespeare, it is like The Sopranos, it is just incredible.
"And then to actually get the role of the leading lady in it? Dreams come true! But also she is a person that just goes on a massive journey in the series. Kin is centred on a family, called the Kinsellas, and [my character] Amanda is married into the family. She is not quite involved in it, but it ends up that she is involved a little bit. I can't give anything away because things happen quite fast in the first few episodes. It really kicks up, really fast.
https://twitter.com/AMCPlus/status/1430200729210396674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1430200729210396674%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishmirror.ie%2Ftv%2Faction-packed-trailer-rtes-new-24844699
"But it is an amazing series in terms of how many buttons it will hit for people. I would really encourage girls to watch it as well, because this is not your usual 'There is the girl who is just the girlfriend and just does as she's told', or 'There is the Gang Mammy character that is just sitting there, smoking in the kitchen, not really having any effect'.
"Everybody has their own journey, every character - even on the periphery of the family, it is a big ensemble - and everybody goes on their own big journeys. So I really encourage people to watch it and get involved."
And what about the scenes with Aidan Gillen? Was he just as warm and cuddly as ever?
"Oh, lovely and cuddly!" Dunne laughs. "I was on the receiving end of many of his 'cuddles', verbally!"
Kin will premiere on RTÉ One on Sunday, 12 September at 9.30pm with catch-up on RTÉ Player, while Herself is released in Irish cinemas on Friday, 10 September.
Check out the trailer for the movie right here:
Clip via Element Pictures
