And a more than pleasant serial surprise comes to us from Ireland, and this surprisingly good and entertaining combination of black comedy and thriller is actually a remake of the not too well-known Belgian series “Clan”. “Bad Sisters” is a series in which we have perhaps the most unlikeable and sleazy villain in a long time, the insidious and corrupt complex John Paul in the sensational performance of Claes Bang. The Dane, who is still best remembered for his leading role in “Square” by Swede Ruben Östlund, is brilliant as a crook who destroys other people’s lives with unimaginable pleasure, but right at the beginning of the first episode, this impotent jerk dies.
How and why the arrogant insidious egoist JP died and who he really was, we will slowly find out through ten episodes of this quality series whose plot is followed over two time periods. Very soon it will become clear to us that many people had an interest and wanted this crook to be gone, and mostly this refers to the four Garvey sisters, Eva (Sharon Horgan is one of the creators of the series), Ursulz (Eva Birthistle), Bibi (Sarah Greene ) and Beck (Eva Hewson) whose fifth sister Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) was married to the creep. And while through flashbacks we follow what happened to them and how the sisters’ relationship with John Paul was irretrievably damaged, in the present we follow the investigation into his sudden death.
And although the police have characterized his death as an accident, an investigation will be launched by insurance agent Thomas Claffin (Brian Gleeson), whose insurance company is supposed to pay out Grace’s life insurance for JT. But the company that Thomas and his half-brother Matthew (Daryl McCormak) inherited from their late father is in serious financial trouble and paying out Grace’s policy would bankrupt them. That is why they will try in every way to prove that it was the Garvey sisters who hid JT’s death, and in fact they are not on a bad track because we will see that the sisters tried to do it in countless ways.
To make the situation more interesting, Matthew will get involved with the youngest sister, Beck, and “Bad Sisters” is definitely one of the best comedies I’ve seen lately. It was an unexpectedly entertaining, at times hilarious series about four sisters who decided to save Grace from being sick, and although domestic violence is not something to joke about, this delicate and sensitive topic was performed brilliantly here. Mostly because JT outwardly gives the impression of a perfect guy, a caring father and a perfect husband, always smiling and elegant guy, but those who know him better are aware that he is a real monster. The guy whose death the viewer cheers for, no matter how ugly it sounds, and although we know from the beginning that JT is dead, the story weaves together brilliantly and hides “Bad Sisters” a handful of surprises.