Television series
Bad Sisters
Six Irish sisters, one spectacularly loathed brother-in-law, and a corpse that everyone but the insurance investigator seems delighted about. Sharon Horgan mixes murder-mystery mechanics with the blackest domestic comedy, cutting between the increasingly desperate hunt to bump off a man too awful to live and the fallout after he finally, definitely dies. It's for anyone who wants their thriller with genuine belly laughs and real heartbreak sitting right next to each other.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like your dark comedy served with real sisterly warmth, where the laughs come from character rather than gags and the nerves tighten while you're still laughing.
Skip it if you need thrillers lean and plot-driven, since this lingers on family rows, grief and domestic ritual, and some stretches feel slack.
What it asks of you: Eighteen episodes of roughly fifty minutes over two seasons, a real commitment, though each one goes down easily and rarely feels padded.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Big Little Lies2017
A glossy ensemble of women hiding a death and a secret, told with the same structural trick of knowing the ending before you know how you got there. Gorgeous, starry, and just as interested in friendship as murder.
But Much more polished and expensive-looking than Bad Sisters — the comedy is thinner and the tone stays glossier throughout.
Motherland2016
Sharon Horgan again, this time skewering the horrors of parenting and friendship with the same rapid-fire, cutting wit that powers Bad Sisters' sisterly banter.
But No murder, no thriller plot — this is pure sitcom, so if you came for the crime you'll be disappointed.
Catastrophe2015
Horgan's earlier show, messier and more intimate, proves she's always been brilliant at finding comedy in relationships that are one bad decision from disaster.
But Two-hander rather than ensemble, and there's no crime plot at all — very different shape of show.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bad Sisters
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Kind Hearts and Coronets1949
Same engine as Bad Sisters: a sympathetic killer, a string of botched or successful attempts, and comedy mined directly from the mechanics of murder — just seventy years earlier and buttoned to the collar.
A dry, exquisitely mannered British comedy about someone methodically working through a list of people who need to die, told with a lightness that makes murder feel like tidying up.
But Black-and-white, stagey, and very much of its era — the pace and humour are politely restrained rather than raucous.
More like this (8)
Killing Eve2018
Another show that treats murder as darkly funny rather than grim, with women driving every twist and a similar appetite for switching tone on a dime.
But Slicker, stranger, and more stylised — less grounded in recognisable family life than Bad Sisters.
The Undoing2020
A death, a wealthy circle of suspects, and a slow unspooling of who-knew-what — solid mainstream mystery comfort food with strong performances.
But Plays it straight and glossy where Bad Sisters is scrappy and comic; less warmth, less humour.
Sharp Objects2018
Sisters, secrets, and a small town that knows more than it says — this digs into family damage with real teeth, if you want the darker, less funny cousin.
But Considerably bleaker and slower-paced, with almost none of the comic relief Bad Sisters offers.
Fargo2014
Anthology crime with the same trick of finding pitch-black comedy in ordinary people doing terrible things, full of vivid regional character and dry wit.
But American Midwest rather than Irish coast, and the humour is drier, more absurdist than sisterly and warm.
Broadchurch2013
If it's the investigation side you loved — the slow tightening net, the community full of people with something to hide — this is the gold standard.
But Much more po-faced; the comedy is essentially absent and the mood stays heavy throughout.
Happy Valley2014
A brilliant, furious, very human crime drama that shares Bad Sisters' interest in ordinary women pushed toward extraordinary acts by men who deserve it.
But Grittier and far less jokey — this is a serious, sometimes brutal watch with little levity.
The Staircase2022
Strip away the sisterly banter and Bad Sisters' plot is basically this: a suspicious death, a life-insurance-shaped motive, and a family whose grief and guilt are impossible to fully separate — here it's not invented.
A real husband dies at the bottom of real stairs, and this landmark documentary series spends years inside the actual investigation, trial, and insurance wrangling that follows.
But No jokes, no fiction, no release — this is a genuinely unsettling true story that offers no comic cushion at all.
Widows2018
Same core idea in a different costume: women bound by circumstance and a man's death, forced into criminal competence they never asked for, with loyalty tested under real pressure.
A tense, muscular heist thriller where women left holding a dead man's mess have to take drastic, illegal matters into their own hands to survive — sharp, angry, and thrilling.
But Straight-faced heist tension rather than comedy — if you're here for laughs, this won't give you many.
People
Cast
Production
- Jonathan GlatzerCo-Executive Producer
- Bert HamelinckExecutive Producer
- Brett BaerExecutive Producer
- Clelia MountfordExecutive Producer
- Dave FinkelExecutive Producer
- Dearbhla WalshExecutive Producer
- Faye DornExecutive Producer
- Malin-Sarah GozinExecutive Producer
- Michael SagolExecutive Producer
- Sharon HorganExecutive Producer
- Johann KnobelProducer
- Paul SlavinProducer
- Susan BreenProducer