''Family'' is a

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

drama mini-series that aired on

RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...

and

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

in 1994. It was written by

Roddy Doyle Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...

, the author of '' The Commitments'', and directed by

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland (1999 film), Wonderland'' and ''24 ...

Premise

The show centres on the Spencers, a working-class family living in a vast

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...

. Charlo, played by

Seán McGinley Seán McGinley (born 1 March 1956) is an Irish actor. He has appeared in about 80 films and television series. Early life McGinley was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, where his father was a customs officer, and raised in nearby Ballyshanno ...

, is the abusive and cheating husband of Paula, played by

Ger Ryan Ger Ryan is an Irish film and television actress, whose credits include '' Queer as Folk'', ''Family'', '' The War of the Buttons'', '' The Van'', ''Moll Flanders'', ''Intermission'' and '' Little Dog''. Career Ryan has twice been nominated fo ...

. They have four children, teenagers John Paul and Nicola, and younger children Leanne and Jack. There were four episodes, each focusing on a member of the family. Most of the ' on location' filming took place in

Ballymun Ballymun () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the city's Northside. Ballymun has several sub-districts, such as Sillogue, Coultry, Shangan and Poppintree, and is close to Dublin Airport. A metro stop on a city-to-airpo ...

, on the

Northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, EngIand * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vince ...

. ;Charlo: The first episode focuses on Charlo, a small-time crook who is also an alcoholic, abusive father and husband. ;John Paul: The second episode focuses on the rebellious teenage son. Named after

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

due to his 1979 visit to Ireland, John Paul has just started

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

. ;Nicola: The third episode focuses on Nicola, in her late teens, who works in a clothing factory and has a strained relationship with her father, particularly in relation to her burgeoning sexuality. ;Paula: The final episode focuses on Paula, the emotionally and physically battered mother, who attempts to reclaim her identity and her life without her husband.

Broadcast

The series was broadcast in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on RTÉ One. It aired in the United Kingdom on

. The series was a co-production by both public broadcasters

RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's public service broadcaster. Its first channel was Telefís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RTÉ Television has added chan ...

and

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The series also aired in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, as well as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Video release

The series was released on video for the first time ever on 27 June 2011 as a 2-disc DVD set in the UK & Ireland. Edits were made for contractual reasons. The release included a thirty-minute contemporary interview with director

, writer

and producer

Andrew Eaton Andrew Campbell Eaton (born 7 December 1959) is a film and television producer. He was educated at Campbell College and Churchill College, graduating with a BA in 1982. In 1994, he co-founded Revolution Films Revolution Films is a British ...

References

External links

* {{RTÉ Dramas and Soap Operas 1990s British drama television series BBC television dramas Irish drama television series RTÉ original programming 1994 Irish television series debuts 1994 Irish television series endings 1994 British television series debuts 1994 British television series endings 1990s British television miniseries Irish television miniseries British English-language television shows Television series about families Television shows set in the Republic of Ireland