Consider This from NPR - The "Bad Sisters" are back, and they're better than ever.

Episode Date: November 22, 2024

The Apple TV series "Bad Sisters" debuted two years ago. There were laughs. There was murder. And that could've been it for the Garvey sisters, because the show wasn't originally intended to have a second season. But, as creator and star Sharon Horgan puts it — "You don't just kill a man and move on."The Garvey sisters are back for Season 2 – with more banter... wickedness... and secrets. We catch up with creator and star Sharon Horgan to find out what's in store. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you, like me, are ready for a hefty dose of black comedy, may I invite you to catch up with the Garvey sisters. Where the hell's Becca? Becca! Get off, you lazy cow! We met them two years ago when the TV show Bad Sisters made its debut. It revolved around the antics of four sisters in Ireland who are hell-bent on murdering the husband of the Fifth Sister. And believe me when I tell you, he had it coming. There's all kinds of ways people can die by accident. All kinds of unfortunate mishaps.

I was thinking of something at work, an industrial accident. To work in an open plan architectural firm. What we're going to do? Paper cutting to death. The roof terrace, the fire escape. Yeah, we're not doing anything like that. We're doing it again. We're doing it with a little bit of a poisonous timing. Like normal women.

These scheming sisters you just heard are Bibi Garvey, played by Sarah Green, and Eva Garvey, played by Sharon Horgan. Horgan is also the creator of Bad Sisters. Two years ago, she told me about the process of deciding how to end the show, what she wanted viewers to take away. Do you know, I just really wanted them to feel it. I wanted it to take them on a sort of roller coaster and I wanted to emotionally sort of wring it out of an audience. I wanted there, of course, to be a surprise. Yeah, I wanted it all. Actually, it was very greedy. I wanted everything. Yeah, I wanted it all. Actually, it was very greedy. I wanted everything.

Everything and then some. Because, turns out, Bad Sisters did not end there. Consider this. The Garvey Sisters are back for Season 2 with more banter, wickedness, and secrets. We catch up with creator and star Sharon Horgan to find out what's in store. gator and star Sharon Horgan to find out what's in store. From NPR, I'm Mary Louise Kelly. It's Consider This from NPR. The Apple TV series Bad Sisters debuted two years ago. There were laughs, there was murder, and that could have been it for the Garvey Sisters because the show was not originally intended to have a second season. But as creator and star Sharon Horgan puts it,

you don't just kill a man and move on. Sharon Horgan, welcome. Hi. Hi. Thanks for having me. Set the stage for us for what is happening with the Garvey sisters as this second season takes off. We're focused on Grace.

She is the sister whose husband did indeed die in the first season. He did die. That's putting it very politely. Thank you. Yeah, it's two years on from that. And you know, we join the sisters when they are getting on with their lives as best they can, but the sort of aftershock of what happened is still very much with them. Grace is getting married and...

Yeah, she's found new love. She looks so beautiful. She's all worked up. She's happy. And then you give it like 10 minutes for it all falls apart. Well that's it. We kind of concocted a group of things to happen that would sort of provide the perfect storm for someone who's so fragile and vulnerable anyway. I mean we left the first season with her sort of jumping into the water and she's sort of found her freedom and moved on but like I said you don't really. And it was a lovely sort of found her freedom and moved on, but like I said, you don't really. And it was a lovely sort of fairy tale ending, but at the same time, life isn't like that. And I'm just delighted we got a chance to go further with this story. It's about this

sisterhood that comes together and sort of battles to protect each other. What you just described, the bond among these sisters, it is the organizing force of the show. And yet, another thing you do in this new season is introduce the notion that they are quite sure if they can trust each other. At one point, one of the sisters, Bibi, says, I'm thinking things.

I don't want to be thinking about my sister. What was that like to write? Tell me. Well, I mean, it was really interesting, actually. And it was something that when we were mid production on the first season, we realized, you know, could be something kind of tantalizing in a way. The sort of isolation that someone like Grace

finds herself in. And so we felt that there was a huge amount of secrets there that we could explore and sort of blow open. But the idea of them sort of questioning Grace and her actions was an absolutely horrible thing, actually. It was horrible to write and sort of upsetting. And the scene when Grace sort of realizes that that's what they're saying because she has held things too close to her chest and because she hasn't let them in. It just felt like a dangerous but very interesting deep area to explore. in this season, a nosy, sneaky, busybody named Angelica played by the great Fiona Shaw. What's she bringing to the show?

Oh my God, what isn't she bringing? She is a delight. We're all obsessed with her. You know, I wanted to introduce someone who sort of begins to upturn the apple cart and someone who's just slightly generationally removed. And also geographically, she's a Northern Irish woman and I think, you know, for a woman of her generation at that time in that part of Ireland it was kind of more difficult to have a career or to have independence and she's sort of limited in a lot of ways. And, you know, it was very interesting to have a character like that, sort of look at the Garveys with their freedom, with their bodies and with their, you know, their language and sort of think that can't be right.

But also someone who's just like looking for human connection, you know. So she's a massive contradiction. She's a hurt person who wants to hurt and she's just the definition of passive aggressive and up in your business. Yeah. Yes. Handing you a chocolate while stabbing you in the back. That's it.

Patting you on your head and giving you a biscuit while ruining your life. No, she was an absolute joy. I mean, I can't tell you there was times times when we, she would do a take and we would just break into applause because we were, you know, so riveted to everything she did. She was an absolute joy. It's fair to say this season is really dark. Characters die who I really didn't want to die. But there were moments, many, when I

was laughing out loud. There's one where your character, Eva, introduces her menopause coach. How are you blessed to know this family, Eileen? Through Eva. We've been working together on her menopause coach. Menopause coach? Is that real? Like, is that a thing? Is that real? People are so obsessed with this, it makes me laugh.

You know, a lot of me went into Eva this time around. Like myself at that particular time, she starts getting fit. She decides to throw a bit of her disposable income at like sorting her hormones out. And I had started, you know, seeing a lady online, not what I would call a menopause coach, decides to throw a bit of her disposable income at sorting her hormones out. And I had started seeing a lady online, not what I would call a menopause coach, but they do exist. And I thought I need to get Eva in this great place for, or at least a place of improvement and working her life out.

Looking after herself, yeah. Exactly, before I absolutely ruin her life. That's to give you an excuse to get a trainer in real life. Did it feel risky though? Menopause humor? Did you worry whether anyone besides, I don't know, me, fellow middle-aged woman, that whether we would laugh? Not at all. I didn't really. And in fact, I think if you think too deeply about what specific audience members are going to be liking or disliking, then you're sort of heading for a fall kind of thing. You know, you have to write what's interesting to you

and what you hope is going to appeal, but at the same time, it just has to always be about the story and it has to be about the characters. That's such good advice for so many things. Like, you can't worry about whether this is going to be a crowd pleaser or not. If I find this funny, the rest of you should get on board. Well that's it, you know. I mean, saying that, I felt a responsibility because people were so lovely about the first season and particularly women getting in touch and women who've been in those terrible relationships and felt seen, I didn't want to mess it up.

Then that's down to me to just work hard to make sure the story goes places that is both unexpected but also truthful. So that's all I can do. And then cross my fingers. Cross everything. Cross everything. Thank you so much. This has been an absolute delight. Oh, thank you so much for having me. Sharon Horgan. She is the creator and star of Bad Sisters, which you can find on Apple TV+. This episode was produced by Katherine Fink.

It was edited by Sarah Handel and Courtney Doherning. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. Thanks to our Consider This Plus listeners who support the work of NPR journalists and help keep public radio strong. Supporters also hear every episode without messages from sponsors. You can learn more at plus.npr.org.

It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Mary Louise Kelly.