Death and Nightingales
Title card
Genre	Historical period drama
Created by	Allan Cubitt
Based on	Death and Nightingales by Eugene McCabe
Written by	Allan Cubitt
Directed by	Allan Cubitt
Starring	Ann Skelly Matthew Rhys Jamie Dornan
Composers	Gerry Diver David Holmes
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producers	James Mitchell Tommy Bulfin
Producer	Jonathan Cavendish
Cinematography	Stephen Murphy
Editor	Steve Singleton
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	58 minutes
Production companies	Imaginarium Productions (The Imaginarium) Soho Moon BBC Two Films
Original release
Network	RTÉ One, BBC Two
Release	26 November (2018-11-26) – 12 December 2018 (2018-12-12)

Death and Nightingales (also written Death & Nightingales) is a 2018 television historical drama miniseries, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by author Eugene McCabe. The series stars Ann Skelly, Jamie Dornan and Matthew Rhys. It started broadcast on RTÉ One in Republic of Ireland on 26 November 2018, and two days later in the UK on BBC Two.^[1][2]

Cast

• Ann Skelly as Beth Winters, stepdaughter to Billy Winters
• Matthew Rhys as Billy Winters, Beth's stepfather and owner of Clonuala
• Jamie Dornan as Liam Ward
• Charlene McKenna as Mercy Boyle, a maid at Clonuala
• Seán McGinley as Jimmy Donnelly, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher
• Martin McCann as Frank Blessing, a friend of Liam
• Michael Smiley as Dummy McGonnell, a mute
• Francis Magee as Mickey Dolphin, a farmhand at Clonuala
• Valene Kane as Catherine Winters, Beth's mother

Production

Jamie Dornan and writer Allan Cubitt, the writer of the series, had previously collaborated on The Fall.^[3] The show was filmed in County Fermanagh^[4] and at Springhill House, near Moneymore in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland ^[5] Cubbit revealed that the series was a "Brexit warning", saying "we can't afford to go back" to how things were before the Northern Irish peace process.^[6]

Episodes

Release

Red Arrow Studios distributed the series, and the first episode premiered on BBC Two on 28 November 2018.^[2] In the United States, the series will begin airing on Starz on 16 May 2021.^[10]

Critical reception

The series was met with lukewarm reviews from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 60% approval rating with an average rating of 6.0 out of 10 based on 15 reviews.^[11] Gerard O'Donovan of The Daily Telegraph gave show four stars out of five, calling it "the rarest of dramatic gems - one that pushes and challenges understanding - and it's impossible not to be drawn in."^[12] The Times' Carol Midgley was slightly more critical, deeming it "a heavy drama with lean dialogue and precious little mirth, but I'm being seduced."^[13] Ed Cumming, writing for The Independent, gave the show three stars out of five, writing "The desired tone, I think, is a kind of Ulster version of Deadwood, a creation parable for the problems of the 20th century, but there is a fine line between powerful and self-parodic."^[14]