Acorn TV’s 'Irish Blood' Is a Mysterious Delight

There’s something so comforting about a beloved star headlining a TV show. Especially when it’s been a while since they’ve taken center stage. Think Kathy Bates on Matlock; viewers are rooting for them and, by extension, their series to succeed. That feeling is even more apparent when a star, who was adored in their youth, comes to the small screen.

It’s not that Alicia Silverstone (forever, well, Cher-ished for her star turn in the now legendary 1995 movie Clueless) hasn’t been on TV before. I personally loved her in the too-short-lived 2003 series Miss Match. She was also great as Kristy’s mother in the (also-too-short-lived) Netflix series The Baby-sitters Club. But the new Acorn TV series, Irish Blood, truly suits her. 

In the six-episode series, Silverstone stars as Fiona,  a high-end and very successful divorce attorney living in Los Angeles. Everything in her life is pretty great except that she’s still haunted by the fact that her father Declan (Jason O’Mara) abandoned her on her tenth birthday. That traumatic experience has shaped who she has become. With her clients, she is a relentless advocate for justice — ensuring she takes soon-to-be ex-husbands to court for all they are worth. But she doesn’t exactly know when to turn off her cutthroat intuition. “You want my advice? Trust no one. Don’t be fooled by charming narcissists. They will use you and abuse you,” she tells a group of young scouts as the series begins. 

When she receives a mysterious package from her long-absent father, she makes a call to Ireland, where a woman answers the phone and cryptically tells her, “Blackbeard holds the key to the treasure.” On a whim, she decides to fly to Ireland. Her mom (Wendy Crewson) begs her not to go but Fiona is looking forward to being able “to fulfill my life long fantasy of tearing him a new one.” 

Once in the town of Winslow, however, things are not as she expected. For reasons too spoilery to reveal, Fiona is not able to finally confront Declan and maybe bill him for the years of therapy she’s had to go through because of him. Her father runs Declan Murphy Accounting, but anyone who has ever watched a mystery series knows accounting firms are usually a cover for something else. Soon, Fiona finds herself embroiled in her father’s past, trying to unravel the mystery of what happened to him and what criminal shenanigans he might have been involved in.

She suspects her dad has been the victim of foul play, but the head of the local Garda (Ireland's national police force) thinks it’s all in her head. Her only ally is young police officer Roisin Doherty (Ruth Codd). She not only believes Fiona and her suspicions but also provides some pointed comic relief in the series.  An example of a Roisin bon mot: She describes a local wealthy family as being “like the Kardashians without the drama and butt fillers.” Also, Fiona’s inability to pronounce “Doherty” correctly (it’s “Dah-her-tee” if you were wondering) turns into a surprisingly hilarious running gag.

And what would a cozy Irish detective mystery be without a simmering romance with a local hottie? Leonardo Taiwo fits the bill nicely as Musa, a friend of Declan’s who takes an immediate liking to Fiona. Their interactions have a delightfully sweet romantic undercurrent. Even if Fiona isn’t exactly sure what her intentions with Musa are. “Musa doesn’t feel like a hook-up guy,” she tells Roisin. 

Declan appears mainly in flashbacks (as a supportive, loving father who adored the song “The Boys are Back in Town” by the Irish band Thin Lizzy) and in Fiona’s dreams/nightmares, where he is a much more foreboding figure. With his innately impish charm, O’Mara can ride that mysterious line. Is Declan a good guy or a bad guy? Irish Blood keeps viewers guessing.  

However, quite a few people are not so thrilled that Fiona has chosen to stay in Wicklow. Thankfully, she is scrappy and surprisingly adept at fending off her attackers. Even the show’s more tertiary characters add something to the series. I got a kick out of Fiona’s assistant back in LA, Tess (Djouliet Amara), who calls it like she sees it with her boss. “You wouldn’t be complaining to a Gen Z about a free house in Ireland now, would you?” she asks Fiona when she acts less than thrilled about the house Declan has given her. 

Amidst all the mystery and mayhem lies a surprisingly heartfelt story about family finding each other, how the past will eventually catch up with you, and how to forge a path forward amidst family hurt and wreckage. Throughout it all, Silverstone holds all the different parts of the series (Comedy! Drama! Mystery!) effortlessly together. 

Acorn TV is really on to something with their casting decisions that speak directly to Gen X. It started with Jane Seymour in Harry Wild and Lucy Lawless in My Life Is Murder, and now encompasses Stephen Moyer in Art Detectives, Matthew Lewis in Murder in Evensong (which debuts the week after Irish Blood concludes). Even Brooke Shields will be headlining a mystery series for the network, You’re Killing Me, next year.  One can only hope that Acorn TV's new lineup will continue to delight fans year-round.

Irish Blood Season 1 continues with new episodes streaming on Mondays on Acorn TV through mid-September. Season 2 has not yet been greenlit, but we have a sneaking suspicion that will be remedied very soon.