In the opening scene of BRONA , the new eight-part series debuting this Thursday on StreamVerse, we don’t see Dublin’s famous cobblestones or its cozy pubs. We see rain lashing against the corrugated iron roof of a deserted slaughterhouse in County Longford. Inside, a man named Fergal Ward (Cillian O’Connor) is trying to scrub a bloodstain out of his trainers using a bag of frozen peas and a bottle of flat Coke.
Fergal arrives carrying a locked briefcase that belongs to cartel boss, Dónal “The Dentist” Deasy (a terrifyingly calm Bríd Ní Mhurchú). Inside is €300,000 and a ledger that could put six men away for life. Fergal’s orders are simple: lie low for two weeks. Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t trust anyone. brona etv show
Róisín Ní Bhraonáin has crafted something rare: a crime show that is actually about crime’s aftermath—the boring, terrifying, wet-pavement reality of hiding in plain sight. In the opening scene of BRONA , the
“Brona” has already been renewed for a second season. Showrunner Ní Bhraonáin teases: “Next year, Fergal buys a lawnmower. It does not go well.” Fergal arrives carrying a locked briefcase that belongs
The penultimate episode, “The Pattern,” features a 25-minute single take of a wakes’ night. Relatives of a deceased local farmer pass around tea, ham sandwiches, and passive-aggressive revelations about who sold the farmer the bad silage two years ago. In the background, Fergal realizes that the ledger is hidden inside the dead man’s false leg. It is both a funeral and a hostage negotiation. BRONA is not for the binge-watcher who needs an explosion every ten minutes. It is for the viewer who wants to feel the dread of a missed text message, the weight of a local gossip overheard in a chipper, and the horror of realizing that you can run from the city, but you cannot outrun the shame of who you were at seventeen.
★★★★½ (Four and a half pints of stout) Where to watch: StreamVerse, all episodes from March 15th. Best watched: Alone, on a laptop, with the curtains drawn and your phone facedown.