THE CREATOR OF Love/Hate has said it’s nearly impossible to get fresh stories onto screen these days, and that for every 10 scripts he writes, nine go nowhere.

Stuart Carolan was speaking ahead of the premiere of his next series Tall Tales and Murder, which is RTÉ’s new Sunday night drama.

He says it’s written as “if the world was ending tomorrow, and you could do whatever the fuck you wanted and just have a laugh”.

It’s his attempt to make something a bit different, the screenwriter said, and the national broadcaster fully supported it.

The cast is a mix of TV veterans, rising stars and totally fresh faces. It’s a genre-bending script, mixing gangland crime with magical realism.

“We just said, fuck it, what could we do that would be fun?”

“There were bits along the way that I kind of half expected RTÉ or BBC to come back and go, ‘no’. And they didn’t. Not once,” he said.

‘Dangerous’ stories

Jim Sheridan recently remarked that the national broadcaster needs to “get a bit dangerous” when it comes to the subject of its shows, harkening back to Carolan’s gritty smash hit Love/Hate, which ended in 2014.

The Oscar-nominated veteran filmmaker also said that partnering with the likes of the BBC dilutes Irish programming.

Asked to respond, Carolan said risk aversion is not a problem with RTÉ specifically, but with the industry as a whole. 

“You’re looking for somebody to put in money. They want to get ratings. They want to connect.

“Along the way, sometimes you can use a vehicle as a Trojan horse to do things.”

He feels Tall Tales and Murder shows very real parts of modern Ireland through a comedic lens.

Bridget (Ella Lily Hyland), ‘Anonymous’ (Aidan Gillen). and Paul (Casey Walsh) RTÉ RTÉ

The show tells the story of Paul (Casey Walsh), who has been released from prison and has decided he’s not going back. He ends up working in a nursing home with Bridget (Ella Lily Hyland). They’re both struggling with addiction and are trying to keep their heads above water when they see an opportunity to escape their circumstances.

On the journey with them is Aidan Gillen’s character, ‘Anonymous’.

“You can do those types of shows without it being worthy or heavy,” Carolan explains.

“They’re outsiders. It’s a Bonnie and Clyde reason.”

Getting things made

The idea for Tall Tales and Murder came from a book series by Caimh McDonnell. Chris Addison, who starred in the hugely acclaimed UK comedy-drama The Thick of It, bought the rights, but needed someone based in Dublin to bring the story to life authentically.

He said he was set up on a “blind date” with Carolan about three years ago, where the pair discussed the idea and then developed the script with Toby Welch (Skins) over several months. They believed in the idea, but there were no guarantees of it coming to fruition.

Stuart Coralan (left) and Chris Addison (right) at the Tall Tales and Murder premiere at the IFI last week Peter Houlihan / Coalesce Peter Houlihan / Coalesce / Coalesce

“Each project you’re involved in, you think you’re almost through the gate, and then it comes crashing down,” Carolan said.

“That’s quite normal. It’s very, very intense.”

Addison says 2019 was like a gold rush for TV, as streaming services competed for the next breakthrough show. 

“Everyone was buying everything and making everything in an attempt to become ‘the streamer’,” he said.

But the pandemic, coupled with writers’ and actors’ strikes, slowed the industry down in more recent years. 

“That race is done, and so there’s less being made now,” he said.

However, he said working on Tall Tales and Murder with RTÉ and BBC NI has been “one of the most positive experiences” he’s had with broadcasters.

“God bless RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland. They trusted us and they let us get on with it.”

Love/Hate return?

While Carolan has been involved with many big budget projects such as The Alienist and, most recently, as a writer on Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, at home he is invariably known for Love/Hate.

He said he doesn’t mind the association, but he hasn’t let the praise go to his head.

Evoking the words of his former Today FM colleague Eamon Dunphy, he said: “The only thing worse than a bad review is a great review.

“Some people like it, some people don’t like it. Sometimes you get a wave, you ride the wave, that’s great, but you don’t believe it.”

Despite fans wanting more, Carolan likely won’t give Love/Hate a second life as he doesn’t want it to be like “those shows that outstayed their welcome”. He also said creating the show took a toll on him personally. By the fifth season, he was “shattered”.

But he’s still obsessed with stories set in gangland Ireland and hasn’t ruled out writing more about the subject.

Tall Tales and Murder has already been green-lit for a second season.

Episode one will air on RTÉ One at 9.30pm on Sunday, 27 September.