Acorn TV Announces Another New Mystery Series, 'Irish Blood'

The first modern classic film my mother and I ever agreed on was Clueless, the 1995 Alicia Silverstone film in which she plays Cher, a modern-day version of Jane Austen's classic heroine, Emma. The American-born actor recently made a career comeback after dropping off the radar for a while as Kristy's mom in Netflix's far-too-short-lived The Baby-Sitters Club. Now, she's returning to the audience that still loves Clueless three decades on, not in another Jane Austen film, but in an Acorn TV mystery series, which is, apparently, a factory for the gainful employment of women whose original heyday was in the 1990s. The new series, called Irish Blood, features Silverstone not as an Irish crime solver but as an American who returns to her roots to discover what happened to her father.

This is the second series starring someone that women in the 30s and 40s remember fondly in as many weeks; Acorn TV only just announced True Blood heartthrob Stephen Moyer will also be headlining a new mystery series, Art Detectives. Both shows follow in the footsteps of Acorn TV's other successes like the Jane Seymour-starring Harry Wild and the Lucy Lawless series My Life Is Murder. However, like Art Detectives is trying the formula with a man in the central role, Irish Blood will be the first where an American actor stars in the lead role, playing an American transplant who found their way across the pond.

The new series stars Silverstone as a hot-shot Los Angeles divorce lawyer named Fiona Sharpe. The show will kick off when she receives a letter from her estranged father and sets out to Ireland to uncover the mystery of his disappearance. Currently, the show is being styled not as a mystery of the week but as a single season-long case, giving the network a limited series option if viewers aren't as enthused by an American lead.

Here's the series official synopsis:

Irish Blood, a six-part murder mystery, focuses on Fiona, whose path in life is earmarked by her father, Declan, who seemingly abandoned her and her mother on her tenth birthday. After years of channeling anger toward him to benefit her litigious clients, a message from her father sends her to Ireland. There, she learns fundamental truths about her father as well as a family that doesn’t know she exists and, moreover, that the story of abandonment that has shaped her entire life – was a lie. A lie intended to protect her and her mother from her father’s shady business dealings. Fiona resolves to uncover the whole truth about her father and reconnect with the parent she only thought she knew.

Silverstone leads a cast that includes Canadian actor Wendy Crewson (Frankie Drake Mysteries), British actor Leonardo Taiwo (Liaison), plus Irish actors actor Jason O’Mara (Life on Mars), Dearbhla Molloy (Hullraisers), Simone Kirby (His Dark Materials), and Ruth Codd (The Dry). Silverstone stated in the press release: “Irish Blood is the story of a woman discovering herself and confronting her past after unexpectedly traveling abroad. I love how unpredictable the storytelling feels and the combination of drama, humor, and suspense my character experiences.” 

Writers Christina Ray, Aaron Martin, Mike O’Leary, and John Krizanc penned the series, and director Molly McGlynn helmed all six installments. Silverstone is an executive producer alongside Ray, Martin, and McGlynn, as well as Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Paul Donovan, and Ailish McElmeel. Paige Haight and Catherine McGee produce. 

Production of Irish Blood is officially underway in Dublin and surrounding areas of Ireland. The series is expected to debut on Acorn TV in 2025.