Connell Waldron is the top student and Gaelic football star who keeps his head down; Marianne Sheridan is the rich girl the whole school ignores. In their final year at Carricklea Comprehensive they start sleeping together on the condition no one finds out. Sally Rooney’s novel, adapted by Alice Birch and Mark O'Rowe, turns that secret into twelve half-hour episodes that track every shift of power between them. The camera stays close, catching the tremor in Paul Mescal’s jaw or the flicker in Daisy Edgar-Jones’ eyes when a text goes unanswered for three hours.
County Sligo’s grey beaches give way to Trinity’s cobbled courtyards where Marianne blossoms and Connell shrinks. She dates the cruel posh boys who invite her to Italy for the summer; he works the cloakroom at the rugby club and can’t afford the rent. Directors Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald shoot in long, handheld takes so the silences feel accidental rather than scripted. Composer Stephen Rennicks keeps the score minimal, a few piano notes that die before the scene ends.
The series aired first on BBC Three in April 2020, the week Britain locked down, and became the most requested show on iPlayer that year. Viewers googled “silver chain necklace” until high-street jewellers sold out of Connell’s neckwear. Mescal took home a BAFTA; Edgar-Jones was nominated for every major breakout-performer prize. The 12-episode run ends with Marianne in her kitchen telling Connell to take the place in New York; they do not kiss, and the camera stays on her face until the credits roll.
Production Details
BBC Three / 1 Season / 12 Episodes / 2020
Created by: Sally Rooney Alice Birch Mark O'Rowe
Showrunner(s): Emma Norton, Rose Garnett, Tommy Bulfin
Writer(s): Alice Birch, Mark O'Rowe
Producer(s): Catherine Magee
Cinematography: Kate McCullough
Music: Stephen Rennicks
Main Cast
Paul Mescal as Connell Waldron
Daisy Edgar-Jones as Marianne Sheridan
Desmond Eastwood as Niall
Aislín McGuckin as Denise Sheridan
Sarah Greene as Lorraine Waldron
Eliot Salt as Joanna
Frank Blake as Alan Sheridan
India Mullen as Peggy
Fionn O'Shea as Jamie
Niamh Lynch as Karen
Leah McNamara as Rachel Moran
Seán Doyle as Eric
