‘The Walsh Sisters’ review: Marian Keyes’ iconic sisters finally have the TV series they deserve

It’s been three decades since Marian Keyes’ first Walsh sisters book was published, and we haven’t had a TV series about them. It’s crazy, I know.

The Irish monarch of contemporary fiction has beloved titles on shelves around the world, with the lives of Rachel, Anna, Claire, Maggie and Helen Walsh meaning the world to dedicated readers since the 90s. Now a BBC series The Walsh sisters finally intertwine their stories.

A deliciously human and heartbreaking adaptation from showrunner Stefanie Preissner (I can’t cope, I won’t cope) and Kéfi Chadwick (Rivals), The Walsh sisters feels truly connected to Keyes’ characters while flying on its own two feet. At its heart, Preissner and director Ian FitzGibbon have assembled some of Ireland’s finest to play Keyes’ iconic Walsh sisters: Louisa Harland (Girls of Derry) in the role of Anna, Caroline Menton (Singularity) as Rachel, Danielle Galligan (House of Guinness, Shadow and bones) like Claire, and Máiréad Tyers (Extraordinary, My Lady Jane) like Helene. Preissner herself plays Maggie.

A raw and authentic portrait of sisterhood, addiction, heartbreak and mental health, The Walsh sisters feels way behind on our screens.

The Walsh sisters skillfully interweaves several books by Marian Keyes.

Credit: BBC / Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Films / James Pierce

With only six episodes, it is impossible for The Walsh sisters to cover all seven books in Keyes’ series, regardless of how Preissner weaves multiple plots together. At the heart of this series are Rachel’s vacation And Anyone therebooks that center Rachel’s journey through addiction and Anna’s experience with grief, respectively. However, Preissner also extracts events from the books chronicling the lives of Claire, Maggie and Helen with finesse, creating a linear Walsh story.

Located in Dublin, The Walsh sisters is a deeply human drama that treats life’s events as monumental, no matter how quiet, sudden, joyful or mundane they may be. At a preview screening in London of The Walsh sistersKeyes described how she approached writing the books involving the Walsh sisters:

“I feel like ultimately we all go through life and terrible things happen to us — the kinds of things that are supposed to happen to other people. And in a way, that’s what all the stories here are about,” she said. “There are still people we love and who love us, and there are still jokes that will always comfort us. That kind of feeling that life will hurt us but we will survive it, and there are still things to be grateful for and happy and love. That’s kind of all I’ve ever tried to write.”

And it’s this all too recognizable feeling that The Walsh sisters really captures.

The Walsh sisters is a raw and authentic representation of brotherhood.

Credit: BBC / Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Films / Enda Bowe

TV shows rarely accurately tap into the complex storm that is brotherhood. Bad sisters, Freeridge, Flea bagAnd Grace and Frankie — When it comes to depictions of brotherhood, these shows brilliantly present the messy confluence of misunderstanding, love, protectiveness, rage, and eye-rolling that make up this particular relationship. As Meera Navlakha wrote about sisterhood in The Bridgerton Chronicles for Mashable: “Sisters are partners in life and all that goes with it, against everything else and despite the noise.”

Now, Keyes, she can write to her sisters. And thankfully so does Preissner, who channels Keyes’ characteristic empathy and charm into the ebb and flow of the show’s brotherly dialogue. Hard truths fall like an anvil, the lowest point of a conversation can be raised in an instant with a joke. There’s a lot of blame, a lot of “this is what you always do.” It’s absolutely unhealthy to argue, and it’s completely realistic. And in the hands of these talented actors and their harmonious alchemy, The Walsh sisters shines with sisterly complexity, through grief, divorce, addiction, miscarriage, and many more of life’s shittiest curveballs.

Fittingly, Preissner is firm and level-headed as Maggie, relegated to her “plain” role, meaning she’s left with no outlet for her own fertility struggle. Although it’s not as wild an exploration of motherhood as Night female dog Or Die my love, The Walsh sisters presents a rarely seen side of feeling like a “shit mom” through Claire, with Galligan’s wonderful performance relying instead on dry humor. As the youngest of the group and the least filtered sister, Helen, Tyers balances deadpan delivery with hidden struggles.

They are all under the constant surveillance of their mother (Carrie Crowley), whose desperation to attract as much family attention as her daughters brings out absolute dangers. “I have problems too,” she says, in a situation where her problems are by no means the most serious.

However, the show’s standout performances come from Harland and Menton as Anna and Rachel.

The Walsh sisters handles addiction and grief with compassion.

Credit: BBC / Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Films / Enda Bowe

With Rachel’s vacation And Anyone there forming the main dramatic narratives of the series, Menton and Harland dig deep.

One of the show’s most universal themes is heartbreak, with Harland delivering a standout performance as Anna as she navigates this surreal terrain. For anyone who has experienced loss, it’s relatable to watch Anna wander through bizarre and mundane actions, ponder unanswered questions, and dwell on the “right” way to grieve.

Menton, meanwhile, sees Rachel through her addiction story with grace and vulnerability. We’ve seen a handful of on-screen depictions of women suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction – Andrea Riseborough in To LeslieSandra Bullock in 28 daysSaoirse Ronan in Overtaking, Anne Hathaway in Rachel gets married – each with its own context and complexities. The Walsh sisters doesn’t glorify Rachel’s addiction and recovery, leaning into the raw nature of withdrawal and having realistic conversations about relationships, sobriety, and altered memory. Denial, the need for validation and control are major factors in Rachel’s addiction, and she must face some hard truths during her recovery from the people she loves – as well as her roommate, Chaquie (an impeccable Debi Mazar).

However, the series doesn’t sink in completely. One of the most Keyesian elements of Preissner’s vision The Walsh sisters is that human ability to go from “substantial” to lightness and practicality in an instant without feeling dishonest. It’s pure brotherly buoyancy. And even though it took 30 years to get here, this Marian Keyes adaptation is the one we (and them) deserve.

The Walsh sisters is now streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK, with US details to be confirmed.