LOOKING FOR A juicy new series with a bizarre crime at its centre, and some of Irish screen royalty starring in it?

Then you’ll definitely want to watch Tall Tales & Murder.

Here’s what you need to know about the new series, which begins airing this Sunday night on RTÉ One.

What’s the background to it?

Ella Lily Hyland Mark Sheen / RTÉ Mark Sheen / RTÉ / RTÉ

Tall Tales & Murder is a new series based on novels by the Irish author Caimh McDonnell.

It’s been adapted by Stuart Carolan, who was the creator of the mega-hit Love/Hate, alongside Chris Addison, who you’ll know from his work on The Thick of It and The Loop. Addison directs some of the episodes, as does the Irish Bafta Award-winning director Neasa Hardiman. So there’s a fine team behind it.

What’s the plot?

Ella Lily Hyland Mark Sheen / RTÉ Mark Sheen / RTÉ / RTÉ

It’s about a quirky nursing home where one of the patients - played by Aidan Gillen – is known as ‘Anonymous’. He’s been in a coma for quite a few years. He’s also covered in some mysterious tattoos. 

Among those caring for Anonymous and the other patients at the nursing home is young nurse Bridget, who’s described as “unconventional”. She works the nightshift and has some unusual tricks for entertaining the patients, including reading them horror stories. But even though she doesn’t particularly like her job, she has a lot of empathy for her patients.

Into the home walks Paul, an ex-con who is trying to repay a debt to the crime boss Ma Baker. Paul is played by newcomer Casey Walsh, while Ma Baker is played by Philippa Dunne (Motherland). After an incident involving a car chase and police pursuit, Paul turns to a detective called Bunny Ryan to keep him out of trouble by getting him a job at the nursing home.

And what do you know? He gets the job, and gets put on the nightshift.

And when Bridget and Paul work their first shift together, Anonymous wakes up… and reveals he’s a long-lost gangster.

Not only that, but he holds the key to the location of a buried hoard of Celtic gold. This is just the sort of thing that Bridget and Paul want to hear, so they set off on a dangerous journey to recover it.

What’s the vibe here?

Casey Walsh Mark Sheen / RTÉ Mark Sheen / RTÉ / RTÉ

This is a crime series that’s crammed with moments of off-kilter humour. It’s great to see some actors play against type – you wouldn’t typically think of Philippa Dunne in a role as a dangerous gang leader, but she’s very funny here.

Ella Lily Hyland is another hoot, using her Carlow accent to dry aplomb, and deploying many curse words throughout the show (if you’re sensitive to the c-word – no, not Carlow – be warned). She’s great as a woman who desperately wants to escape her circumstances, and will do anything to change them.

Newcomer Casey Walsh is a fine screen presence too, as a young lad who’s always getting himself into scrapes and is mainly skilled at standing in his own way.

Stuart Carolan is best known for Love/Hate, and you can see why he wanted to adapt this. It’s got the gangland vibe but brings it to a lighter, more chaotic and bizarre level. There’s also a streak of Celtic folklore running through the show, which is a little different to his previous work.

This is a show about people trying to make their lives better, but making some pretty bad decisions as they do it. And for the rest of us, that’s very enjoyable to watch.

When can we watch it?

Casey Walsh Mark Sheen / RTÉ Mark Sheen / RTÉ / RTÉ

Tall Tales & Murder begins airing on RTÉ One this Sunday (27 September) at 9.40pm.