When Bad Sisters season one landed on Apple TV+ in 2022, it filled a hole left by the likes of Big Little Lies and Fleabag, that many shows had tried and failed to fill – ie bloody good TV led by believable women. There have been so many copycats since, often titled with inane adjectives and reference to something small. Tiny Pretty Things. Little Fires Everywhere. You get the picture.
But the women of Bad Sisters are not small. They’re big, brash, bold and colourful. They own some ridiculous knitwear and never match their pants to their bras. They bicker constantly. They’re very real, even when covering up and committing unbelievable crimes. It’s a testament to creator, writer and star Sharon Horgan, who plays the oldest Garvey sister, Eva, and also happens to be one of the most entertaining TV writers working right now.
Season one followed the second eldest Garvey sister, Grace (Anne-Marie Duff), battling her evil husband, John Paul aka The Prick (played with convincing menace by Claes Bang), as he graduated from subtle coercive control to out-and-out abuse.
That sobering story gave way to a deeply funny cat and mouse chase with excellent supporting characters, including a fantastically manic insurance broker played by Brian Gleeson. This season is no different, but Gleeson is heartbreakingly absent. Fear not, though. His large shoes are filled comfortably by Fiona Shaw, who plays Angelica, the obsessive, Jesus-loving leader of Grace’s grief group that latches onto the Garvey sisters like a tick carrying Lyme disease.
The sisters’ quest to rid themselves of Angelica is interspersed with various personal dramas and one massive gut punch, giving season two a more emotional undertone than series one. It’s a little less gleeful as a result, slightly weightier, and certain characters who had bigger presences in season one are missed. But it’s tender, and painful, and Horgan navigates every moment with ease (and, crucially, humour).
If most TV these days is a total bingefest, Bad Sisters is a 10-course tasting menu that’s designed to be savoured. Luckily, you won't have a choice, with the first two episodes released on November 13 and the rest coming weekly until Christmas. Murder and mystery aside, the show feels perfect for the festive season, and returning to the Garvey family feels like coming home.
Eve Hewson is fantastically chaotic once again as Baby Becka and Eve Birthistle gets to show off her funny bone a bit more as the recently divorced Ursula. The best of them all has to be Horgan herself, whose heartbroken expression in episode two will conjure tears from even the dryest of eyes.
It’s a total treat. Can we get season three for Christmas this year? And I have no doubt that viewers of Bad Sisters season two will be scribbling a last minute request for multiple more seasons onto their Christmas wish list.
Streaming on Apple TV+ from November 13
