FAMILIES ARE COMPLICATED, and none more so than the Sheridans. This motley crew are at the heart of The Dry, the RTÉ comedy-drama that has kicked off its third season on RTÉ One.

It’s not just the third season of The Dry – it’s the final season, meaning viewers will wonder how the family’s story will be concluded. Will its award-winning writer, Nancy Harris choose to wrap things up neatly? Will there be enough drama to sustain the six episodes, and enough humour to smooth over the many bumps?

The good news is that Harris fully understands that the Sheridans aren’t a family for whom things always go right. What’s been appealing about her characters over the previous two series is that things frequently go very wrong for them. They are typically terrible at dealing with this, and the messy results make for very enjoyable viewing for the rest of us.

Family dramas

Shiv and Daryl RTÉ RTÉ

Main character Shiv (Roisín Gallagher) opened the first season by returning to Ireland after acknowledging her alcoholism and going sober. She’s an artist who never got her career off the ground and is trying to figure out how to create a life for herself. Three seasons in, she’s more settled into her sobriety, but we understand that it’s a day-to-day situation for her.

She’s working in the art education sector, but the art world isn’t exactly welcoming to her. That her artist ex Jack (played as a complete twerp by a very funny Moe Dunford) is very successful makes things even more excruciating for Shiv.

(A moment, though, for Shiv’s incredible wardrobe, which is the most put-together thing about her. The gal has style.)

Plus, the strained relationship that Shiv has with her mother Bernie (Pom Boyd) has never repaired itself. Bernie remains as brittle as ever, and is now separated from Shiv’s father Tom (a bearish, optimistic turn by Ciarán Hinds), who is happily running his own coffee kiosk.

Sister Caroline (Siobhán Cullen) is pregnant, due any minute and still a control freak. Their brother Ant (Alan John Richardson) is clinging on to his job at an estate agency under the eye of a new menace of a boss called Vicky, who’s played with relish by the hilarious Claire O’Leary.

Major shocks

Tom RTÉ RTÉ

In other words, it’s business as usual for the Sheridans, but Harris throws two major curveballs into the mix to complicate things even further. One of these things occurs late in the season, and has to be kept schtum. Let’s just say that it comes as a shock to the audience and the family.

The other is also a massive surprise, and comes in the form of newcomer Daryl (Rick Donald), who meets Shiv at an alcohol addiction support meeting.

Throwing a bomb into an already on-the-edge family explodes the drama, but on this occasion it also allows Boyd the opportunity to really dig into Bernie as a character. Boyd plays Bernie with her usual air of detachment, but adds new tinges of sadness and resignation to her. Bernie’s face is settled in an almost permanent frown, and you can understand why she finds solace in the wine bottle. She has more in common with Shiv than she wants to realise. 

Shiv and Bernie’s relationship is a point of strain for them both, and an illuminating monologue from Shiv in the final episode shows us that there will be no perfect ending for this pair. But that’s what makes The Dry such a touching watch: the sense that while the family’s dramas can be at times ludicrous, they are nonetheless very real.

Ant RTÉ RTÉ

The reasons why Bernie and Shiv don’t get on are replicated in other families. The feelings of dislocation, frustration and grief that all the Sheridans feel at different moments will be familiar to many watching on.

Plus, the characters are relatable in how complicated they are. Shiv’s attempts to remedy relationship issues are often followed by her selfishly putting her foot in it. She means well, but she can also be self-absorbed. Who amongst us, etc…

Laugh-out-loud lines

Harris never forgets that The Dry is a comedy, though, and one of the more absurdly funny elements is the character Áine Harrington, played with aplomb by Justine Mitchell.

Áine is a flirty minx who sets her eyes on Tom, and she has some of the most laugh-out-loud lines in the series. But keep an eye out for Hélène Patarot, who is very enjoyable as Mina, Tom’s love interest in the previous seasons (she’s married to Hinds in real life).

Caroline’s mother-in-law is slightly cartoonish but very comical, with many pointed asides that aim to undermine Caroline’s parenting abilities. (Like Shiv, Caroline has a hard time keeping things together, but she’s better at covering up her anxieties – until her baby arrives.) Rory (Eoin Duffy) is sweetly dopey as Caroline’s slightly clueless yet supportive boyfriend.

Also adding to the humour is Eddie, Ant’s useless boss, a SoCoDu type with few brain cells. Karen (Janet Moran) is always a joy to watch when she brings her potty-mouthed dry wit to the screen to banter with her pal Shiv. 

Caroline RTÉ RTÉ

The indelible first stanza of the Philip Larkin poem This Be The Verse must of course come to mind while watching The Dry. They do indeed f**k you up, your mum and dad, and they might not mean it but… sure look. 

In season three, we see even more clearly what Larkin meant when he followed that with: “But they were f***ed up in their turn/By fools in old-style hats and coats.” The notion of family legacy looms over this season, of what is passed on and what is discarded. Of how attached we should be to our past and how much we can outrun our own genetics.

Bernie and Tom carry with them their problems, wishes and hopes, and these in turn trickle down to their children. At times, Tom and Bernie feel like children themselves, parents who never quite grew up.

Yet Bernie’s backstory this season shows us this isn’t quite true for her, and that her parenting style is instead affected by multiple traumas (the family have a son who died before the series began).

Across the eight episodes, the family members try and fail to understand each other, but we realise that ultimately they do love each other.

Big emotions

As a final season, The Dry avoids wrapping things up in a way that feels forced or unearned. There’s space for catharsis, and a lot of big emotions. But there’s plenty of space for people to act the ejit too. 

The episodes are replete with great jokes, but it’s the serious moments that linger after the final episode. Do expect some shocks, some realisations, and some places for the family to move forward from.

But don’t expect the Sheridans to undergo any major transformations because, just like in real life, it’s hard for them to change who they are at their core. And that’s what makes watching their journey in season three such a heartwarming delight. They might be an extreme version of the average person, but they feel very real at heart. Foibles and all.

The Dry airs every Thursday at 10.15pm on RTÉ One. All eight episodes are available now on RTÉ Player.