Aiden Gillen to Lead Darkly Comedic Crime Drama 'Tall Tales & Murder'
Aidan Gillen in "Game of Thrones"
(Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)
Though most Americans likely recognize Aidan Gillen from his critically acclaimed turn as the scheming Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish on HBO megahit Game of Thrones, the Irish actor has a long career full of notable roles on such series as the original U.K. Queer as Folk, the gangland drama Peaky Blinders, and award-winning drama The Wire.
He'll next lead the buzzy ensemble cast of Tall Tales & Murder, a six-part drama from BBC Northern Ireland and Irish national broadcaster RTÉ. Based on the very inaccurately titled Dublin Trilogy — which currently spans eight books' worth of prequels, sequels, and more — by Caimh McDonnell, the story follows the interconnected lives and adventures of private detective Paul Mulchrone, crime fiction-loving nurse Brigit Conroy, a nurse who loves crime novels: and regedate cop Bunny McGarry in Dublin. The show's plot is being kept under wraps, and it appears that the series will take some liberties with its source material. The good news is, the series has been given a two-season order from the outset.
Tall Tales & Murder hails from Love/Hate creator Stuart Carolan and former Veep director Chris Addison, and if their previous work is anything to go by, we can likely expect a similarly irreverent, dark, and occasionally violent feel. (Fun fact: Gillen also starred in Love/Hate!)
"I’m frankly giddy with delight to get to team up with the twisted and highly original mind of Stuart Carolan to create this show," Addison said in a statement. "We’ve taken Caimh’s wonderful novel as a jumping off point and ended up with what I like to think of as a dark and delicious screwball drama.”
The cast of "Tall Tales & Murder", clockwise from top left: Ella Lily Hyland, Aidan Gillen, Philippa Dunne, Chris Addison, Stuart Carolan, and Packy Lee.
(Photo: BBC)
Here's the synopsis for the first book in McDonnell's series of novels, titled A Man with One of Those Faces.
The first time somebody tried to kill him was an accident.
The second time was deliberate.
Now Paul Mulchrone finds himself on the run with nobody to turn to except a nurse who has read one-too-many crime novels and a renegade copper with a penchant for violence. Together they must solve one of the most notorious crimes in Irish history . . .
. . . or else they’ll be history.
Alongside Gillen, the series also stars Ella Lily Hyland (Black Doves), Phillippa Dunne (Derry Girls), and Packy Lee (Peaky Blinders), though the series announcement doesn't have any details about which characters these actors will be portraying.
Tall Tales & Murder was commissioned by David Crean, Head of Drama, and Dermot Horan, Director of Acquisitions & Co-Productions, at RTÉ; and Eddie Doyle, Head of Content Commissioning, and Jason Butler, Commissioning Editor, for BBC Northern Ireland. Carolan is writing both seasons (each will be six episodes), with Addison and Neasa Hardiman directing.
“I’ve been a fan of the brilliant Chris Addison since The Thick of It — it’s been incredible fun working with him to bring this insane story to life," Carolan said in a statement.
Produced by Avalon, in association with Metropolitan Pictures, the series is executive produced by Carolan, Addison, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, and Jon Thoday for Avalon, with David McLoughlin, and Catherine Tiernan for Metropolitan Pictures. Caroline Norris is series producer and Gemma O’Shaughnessy is producer.
Filming began this week in the Republic of Ireland, with the first series set to premiere in 2026. Tall Tales & Murder doesn't yet have an American distributor.
