FX Announces Cast for Limited Series 'Say Nothing'

It's been over a year since FX CEO John Landgraf first casually mentioned the network had scooped up the rights to Patrick Radden Keefe's best-selling nonfiction novel Say Nothing about the Troubles in Ireland. Unfortunately, that was all FX said about it at the time, and there's been little in the way of updates since. But just ahead of the 2024 Winter Television Critics Association panels, the network announced the first major movement on the series, with a cast and director.

For those who have not read the book 2018's Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, Keefe used the 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville as a window into the IRA's central figures of the era: the late Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes, Dolours' sister, Marian Price, and the man who would eventually broker the Good Friday Agreement, Gerry Adams. Like many, McConnville was one of those known as "The Disappeared."

The new series has cast three major up-and-comers to lead the series. Lola Petticrew, who viewers will remember from Bloodlands, will star as Dolours Price, Hazel Doupe, who is currently leading Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale, plays Marian, and Anthony Boyle, a major part of the Masters of the Air ensemble, plays Hughes.

Here's the series synopsis:

Spanning four decades, Say Nothing explores the tumultuous period in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. The series launches with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again. But McConville was only one of many others who became known collectively as The Disappeared.  

Through the eyes of various IRA members, including sisters Dolours and Marian Price—young women who transformed into magnetic symbols of radical politics, Brendan Hughes—a tight-lipped but conflicted military strategist, and Gerry Adams—a savvy political operator who would go on to negotiate peace but ultimately deny his involvement with the IRA, Say Nothing unpacks the extremes some people will go to within a civil rights movement as they pursue their ideals, the mystery surrounding The Disappeared, the cost of silence, and the way society mends – or doesn’t – after a long and bloody conflict.

Petticrew, Doupe, and Boyle will be joined by Josh Finan (The Responder) as Gerry Adams and Maxine Peake (Inside No. 9) as the older Dolours Price. Director Michael Lennox (Derry Girls) will helm all nine episodes, with writer Josh Zetumer as showrunner. Keefe executive produces along with Lennox, Zetumer, Edward McDonnell, Monica Levinson, plus Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force and FX Productions.

Say Nothing will air on FX, with episodes streaming on Hulu/Disney+. No premiere date has been announced, but with production starting soon, it looks like FX is aiming to premiere it as part of the 2024-2025 television season.