FILMING starts in Twinbrook next week on a new Channel Four four-part series based on the award winning novel Close to Home, by West Belfast writer Michael Magee.
Michael's debut novel won a raft of awards when it was published in 2023.
The TV series stars West Belfast actors Anthony Boyle – who is fresh from winning an IFTA for his role in House of Guinness – and Oisín Thompson, who recently starred in Trespasses on Channel Four. The pair will be joined by Jessica Reynolds, best known for her role in Kneecap, and Séamus O’Hara (House of Guinness, Say Nothing).
Close to Home tells the story of Seán, a young man who returns to Belfast from university and soon finds himself back into old habits. Back on the mad all-nighters, the borrowed tenners and missing rent, the casual jobs that always fall through. Back with his brother, his ma and all the things they never talk about. Back where the promised prosperity of peacetime has yet to arrive and every street has a story to tell. Then one night, Seán assaults a stranger at a party and everything is tipped into chaos.
On adapting the novel for TV, Twinbrook writer Magee says: “Developing Close to Home for television has been an intensely fulfilling creative experience, a dream come true, really, and I'm incredibly grateful to Michael Dawson and Clare Dwyer Hogg for all the work they've done with me on the scripts, and to Diarmuid Goggins and Gemma Boswell and the whole team at Element and Channel 4 for the passion and creative energy they've put into bringing this story to life.”
Gemma Boswell, Commissioner Editor for Channel 4, said: “It is a privilege to bring Mick’s award-winning novel to Channel 4. Close To Home explores the emotionally rich landscape of West Belfast through the eyes of Seán, played by the fantastic Anthony Boyle. We’re delighted to showcase Mick’s beautiful writing with this timely and evocative story of a young generation finding their place in the world.”
Michael Dawson, Executive Producer, said: “In his debut novel, Mick has captured a compelling vision of Belfast life, brimming with anarchic energy, humanity and mischief. Diarmuid Goggins is the perfect filmmaker to bring this to the screen; his ability to fuse bold, kinetic visuals with a raw, grounded realism is exactly what this story demands.
"Together with the indomitable Anthony Boyle and our incredible partners at Channel 4, Fremantle, NI Screen, and Screen Ireland, we are set to deliver a piece of television that is as dynamic, loud, and uncompromising as the city itself."
