WELCOME
... to the brutal, rich world of The Troubles. As the creator and producer, I’m honored to introduce you to this gripping, character-driven, historically based series set against the explosive backdrop of 1980s Northern Ireland. This is a raw and emotional story about brotherhood, betrayal, and what happens to young revolutionaries when the world moves on without them.
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Justin Harrison
Creator & Executive Producer
The
Troubles
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In the early 1990s Northern Ireland, the war for freedom has bred a generation of young men who live—and die—by the sword. The Troubles is a raw, unflinching drama that follows a group of Irish republican soldiers as they grapple with a changing landscape that may no longer include them.
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At the center is Rone O’Neill, the son of a revolutionary icon, caught between the ideals he was raised on and the brutal realities of leadership. Alongside him, stoic enforcer Patrick and a volatile crew of teenage recruits charge headfirst into the chaos of guerrilla warfare, political upheaval, and British retaliation.
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But as peace talks begin to eclipse armed conflict, the skills that once made them heroes become their greatest liabilities. Struggling to find purpose in a world where the gun is no longer the answer, the fighters begin to drift—into racketeering, extortion, and the dark underworld of organized crime. The revolution may be ending, but the war within is just beginning.
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The Troubles is a story of loyalty, identity, and the slow corruption of ideals in the shadow of peace. Gritty, emotional, and unflinchingly human, it asks: What happens when the revolution outgrows the revolutionary?
SYNOPSIS
TARGET AUDIENCE
Prestige Drama Viewers
(Adults 25-54)
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Profile: Fans of gritty, high-stakes character-driven series like Peaky Blinders, Sons of Anarchy, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, True Detective.
Why They’ll Love It:
They’re drawn to morally complex antiheroes, power struggles, crime syndicates, and violent worlds with rich emotional depth and tragic stakes.
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The Troubles offers a smart, brutal, layered experience—exactly what prestige drama audiences crave.
History & Political Thriller Fans
(Adults 30-65)
Profile: Viewers who love shows and films based on real political conflicts and historical upheaval, like The Crown, Narcos, Zero Dark Thirty, Munich, The Americans.
Why They’ll Love It:
They’re fascinated by real-world conflict, revolution, espionage, and the messy human fallout from political movements.
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The Troubles gives them a deeply emotional, boots-on-the-ground look at a major historical period, but without feeling like homework it’s visceral and personal.
Young Males Seeking Grit & Action
(Adults 18-34)
Profile: Younger men who grew up on shows like Breaking Bad, Mayans M.C., Gangs of London, Reacher, and movies like The Town or The Departed.
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Why They’ll Love It:
They're looking for action, brotherhood, loyalty, betrayal, and a darker coming-of-age story inside a violent world.
The younger recruits (Kelly, Liam) create an emotional entry point for this audience, while the violence, crime empire building, and male camaraderie keep them hooked.
MARKET POSITION
The Troubles would sit firmly within the prestige crime-drama space, appealing to audiences who love complex antiheroes, historical world-building, and crime syndicate stories. It blends the raw emotional stakes of Peaky Blinders and The Sopranos with the political grit of Gangs of London, offering a visceral exploration of loyalty, corruption, and survival at the violent end of Northern Ireland’s revolution. Perfect for premium platforms like HBO, Netflix, or Amazon Prime, The Troubles would attract adult viewers seeking character-driven drama with cinematic scope—while tapping into the current demand for gritty, historically rooted sagas about power, betrayal, and the cost of peace.
COMPARIBLES
Rone O'Neil
(Late 20s – Early 30s)
The son of a revolutionary icon, Rone O’Neill was born into the struggle. Trained for war but unfit for diplomacy, he is a soldier without a battlefield in a world increasingly ruled by politics and compromise. Charismatic but volatile, loyal yet dangerously restless, Rone grapples with the fading ideals of the cause he bled for and the rising temptation of personal power. Beneath his hard exterior lies a man torn between honoring his fallen brothers and carving out a life no one ever taught him how to live. His greatest battle isn’t on the streets—it’s inside himself.
CHARACTERS
TONE
At its heart, The Troubles is a story of loyalty, power, and the slow corruption of ideals. It explores what happens when revolutionaries, trained for war and self-sacrifice, are left behind by the politics they fought to create. Struggling between honoring the cause and seizing personal power, the characters confront the collapse of brotherhood, the seduction of crime, and the brutal truth that sometimes survival means becoming the very thing you once fought against. This is a series about identity in transition—and what is lost when the world no longer needs soldiers.
Maggie McGrath
(Mid 20s)
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Smart, fierce, and fiercely independent, Maggie McGrath grew up in the shadows of men like Rone—fighters locked in endless wars. She loves him, but she refuses to be swallowed by his world. Torn between her loyalty to her community and her dream of a life beyond Belfast, Maggie is a glimpse of the future Rone may never reach. Sharp-tongued and unafraid to call out hypocrisy, she is both Rone’s anchor and his reminder of everything he stands to lose. In a city built on violence, Maggie dares to hope for something more—and dares Rone to hope with her.
Jerry O'Neil
(50s)
Rone’s estranged father, Jerry O’Neill, is a revolutionary turned political powerbroker a man who traded the gun for the backroom deal. Charismatic, ruthless, and deeply pragmatic, Jerry embodies the uncomfortable truth that revolutions aren't won by ideals alone. To him, loyalty is a currency, and every cause has a price. He loves his son in the only way he knows how: as an asset to be used or a liability to be neutralized. For Jerry, the personal and the political are inseparable—and he will sacrifice either to survive.
Inspector Elizabeth Upton
(Late 30s – Early 40s)
Sharp, relentless, and hardened by years of bloodshed, Inspector Upton represents the British government's last, desperate grip on Northern Ireland. Beneath her polished uniform lies a woman willing to cross any line in pursuit of "order." To her, the lines between right and wrong have long since blurred—only results matter. Upton sees men like Rone not as enemies, but as problems to be solved, by any means necessary. In a world where peace is political theater, she is the fist still striking in the dark.
Patrick Sullivan
(Late 20s – Early 30s)
Silent, unbreakable, and brutally loyal, Patrick is the hammer behind Rone’s words. Raised in the violence of the Troubles, Patrick knows no other life and quietly bears the scars of a boy never allowed to grow up. His bond with Rone is unspoken but absolute; he follows without question, fights without hesitation. But as the war fades and the future grows uncertain, Patrick’s simplicity becomes both a weapon and a vulnerability. In a shifting world, Patrick struggles to find a place where loyalty alone is enough.
VILLIANS
The UVF
(Ulster Volunteer Force)
The UVF, a loyalist paramilitary group sworn to maintain Northern Ireland's union with Britain, mirrors the IRA in ruthlessness but not in ideology. Fueled by sectarian hatred and deep-rooted fear of Catholic domination, the UVF of the late 1980s is militant, organized, and increasingly willing to escalate violence as political compromise looms. In the world of The Troubles, they represent the relentless, reactionary force willing to ignite civil war rather than accept peace on terms they despise. In a city already bleeding, the UVF stands ready to make it bleed more.
MICHAEL QUINN
(20s)
A Catholic gangster and longtime operator in the Upper Falls, Michael Quinn is a pimp, a dealer, and the embodiment of raw street power. He answers to the McClary crime family, not the IRA and he wears that distinction like armor. To the republican leadership, he's a necessary evil. To Rone O'Neill, he's a threat. Quinn despises Rone’s crew and the leash of paramilitary enforcement. When Rone enters the drug trade, Quinn sees it for what it is: an invasion. Cold, cunning, and loyal only to profit, Michael is ready to crush anything that stands between him and the money.
COLIN MALLON
(Late 20s – Early 30s)
Colin Mallon plays the part of a purist—stumbling through speeches, quoting doctrine, and pretending to lag behind the political curve. But behind the schoolboy routine is a cold, calculating operator who understands exactly where the real power is shifting. While claiming to uphold the cause, Colin secretly sanctions Daniel’s drug operations, quietly trading ideology for influence. His act isn’t incompetence- it’s insulation. In a fractured movement full of blunt instruments, Colin is a scalpel -sharp, quiet, and just as lethal.
SUPPORTING
Sarah Amar
(30s)
A London-born Jewish solicitor and the daughter of Moroccan refugees, Sarah Amar came to Belfast in the 1970s full of conviction- intent on defending interned IRA men denied due process. Young, female, and outside the sectarian frame, she was dismissed at first. Then she started winning. Years in the trenches wore down her idealism, but didn’t kill it. They reshaped it into something colder, more effective. Sarah no longer believes in purity or revolution- but she believes in leverage. Aligned with Jerry O’Neill in principle and trusted by Sinn Féin, she plays the long game now, trading quiet power for real outcomes. She hasn’t sold out. She’s just stopped pretending anyone stays clean.
KELLY KEANE
(Teen)
Kelly grew up believing Brenda was his sister. In truth, she’s his mother: a heroin addict who kept his paternity buried under years of shame and silence. Their parents died young, leaving Kelly to play the adult in a broken home. Desperate for direction, Kelly turns to the IRA, seeking belonging he’s never had. But he’s reckless, angry, and increasingly entangled with Michael Quinn, a violent dealer who preys on Brenda’s addiction. In episode one, Rone learns the truth: Kelly is his son. Kelly doesn’t know.
FATHER RILEY
(60s)
A trusted safe haven for the IRA, Father Riley is more than just a priest- he’s a quiet accomplice to the cause. He offers sanctuary, hears confessions, and shields those the Church would rather condemn. But after years of bloodshed and broken families, even Riley is beginning to question whether the ends still justify the means. He’s a man of faith caught in a war of ideology, struggling to reconcile the God he serves with the violence he’s helped to protect.
THE IRA
(IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY)
Once seen as freedom fighters by many and terrorists by others, the IRA of the late 1980s is fractured and desperate. Splintered between hardliners unwilling to compromise and pragmatists embracing political negotiation, the organization is torn between its past and its uncertain future. For soldiers like Rone and Patrick, the IRA is more than an organization-it’s a brotherhood, a cause, a purpose. But as the movement shifts toward diplomacy, many of its warriors are left adrift, questioning whether they fought for freedom- or merely traded one master for another.
AISLING DONNELLY
(Late 20s – Early 30s)
Aisling is a lost girl in a broken city-hooked on heroin, caught in a cycle of abuse, and surviving through sex and silence. When Patrick pulls her out of a dangerous situation, it sparks a fragile connection. He becomes obsessed with protecting her, seeing in her a chance to do something good. But Aisling knows how to survive, and she may be using his devotion to stay afloat. Their bond is messy, volatile, and painful-two damaged souls clinging to each other in a world that keeps trying to destroy them.
TOMMY O’HARE
(Late 40s – Early 50s)
Tommy is old-school IRA- ruthless, disciplined, and utterly committed to the chain of command. He’s a company man in a movement that’s falling apart, still clinging to the rules while everyone else breaks them. Trusted by the leadership and feared by the foot soldiers, Tommy represents the crumbling authority of the old guard. Underneath his rigid control is a man who knows the war is changing- and that his time may be running out.
EPISODE BIBLE
"They’ll follow you to hell because they’ve never felt burning." - Father Riley
Rone, Patrick, and their crew carry out a violent assault on a Royal Ulster Constabulary outpost, signaling a dangerous escalation in their campaign. During the attack, teenage footsoldier Kelly proves both eager and dangerously naive. In the aftermath, Father Riley reveals to Rone that he fathered a child before going to prison. Rone and Patrick head to Derry to confront the growing drug trade in Catholic neighborhoods. The episode ends with the reveal that Kelly is Rone's son, right before Kelly is arrested by Inspector Upton.
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"Some wounds never stop bleeding." - Sister McCleary
In a sweeping look at Bloody Sunday and its aftermath, Patrick watches his mother die in a peaceful march. He is sent to an orphanage under Father Riley’s care. A young Rone watches his father, Jerry, begin organizing the Northern Irish resistance. The Provisional IRA is born. We also see Rone grow up without his father as Jerry is interned on and off. Tommy steps in and we see first-hand how he acted as a father figure in Jerry's absence. Over several years, we follow the radicalization of Rone and Patrick, and their arrest and internment as teenagers. By the time they’re marched into prison, they are no longer boys-they are weapons in waiting.
PILOT - THE TROUBLES
Ep.2 - SUNDAY (FLASHBACK)
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“Fear is a commodity you can always trade on.” - Lucky Tipton
Rone travels to Boston, as Belfast is getting ready to plunge into chaos. While there, he earns the trust of key figures in the Irish American Mob- men who test his appetite for organized crime. At home, a UVF attack leaves Mickey critically wounded. Maggie struggles to hold her life together. While abroad Rone does his best to get aid to his imprisoned son. Colin and Daniel regroup, pushing to reclaim their drug business. Jerry and Tommy begin to fracture, divided over retaliation for the UVF attack. Rone returns to a city on edge, armed with a new American alliance and some dangerous new ideas.
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"Any boy can soldier in Belfast. Only a few get to put food on the table." - Jerry O’Neill
Maggie is barely surviving. Rone quietly uses some of the stolen drug money to help her and aid in Kelly's deffense, surprisingly drawing Jerry’s approval. Jerry tells Rone that winning a revolution means learning to feed your people. Rone begins to tackle the drug issue in Belfast butting heads with Michael Quinn and inadvertantly learning more about the criminal landscape of his territory. Tommy begins planning a retaliation for the UVF attack on McGrath's. As Rone continues to feud with with Michael and as his stolen money runs out John McClary approaches him wiht a proposition.
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“Yours or mine or a can of spray paint, they’ll get their fix.” - John McClary
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A new shipment of guns arrives from the U.S. along with hidden heroin and cocaine. Rone allows a deal for McClary to push the smuggled drugs in Belfast for a percentage. Tommy and Jerry butt heads over retaliation plans of Tommy's. Patrick meets Aisling and becomes intertwined with her, soon needing money to support her living. A shootout breaks out between U.V.F. and I.R.A. soldiers in what's supposed to be neutral ground further jeopardizing Jerry's fragile peace talks and adding to Rone's issues to deal with. With the money coming in from McClary, Rone is bale to support Maggie in rebuilding and Brenda and Kelly. Upton's pressure on Liam is causing him to crack in detention. Michael begins informing to Upton to spare himself jail time and undercut the I.R.A.
Ep. 5 - SHAKE UP
Ep. 6 - SLEEP WELL
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"Codladh sámh." - Bill the Butcher
With I.R.A arrests spiking, Tommy suspects Liam is informing and begins pushing to have Kelly kill Liam in prison. Rone pushes back, but Tommy and Bill grow more erratic. Needing money Patrick is brought into Rone’s new enterprise. With Patrick now at his side, they travel to Derry to begins to build their own drug network outside of McClary and the I.R.A. Maggie begins questioning Rone’s activities, but before she can confront him, Mickey dies of his wounds. Rone returns to bury Mickey.
Ep. 7 - DUBLIN
"Violence is the dialect of Northern Ireland." - Inspector Upton
Rone and Patrick establish themselves in Derry by having Daniel sell their product. Colin is furious having his own business undercut. Rone continues to hold off the order to have Liam killed while he grows closer to securing both Liam and Kelly's freedom. Jerry and Tommy fight at Mickey’s wake; Jerry regains status by beating him publicly. Tommy begins to spiral as the O'Neils pushback against his authority. Colin begins to stoke tension and encourages his Father to take out Tommy and Rone. When Tommy rebuffs the idea Colin decides to kidnap Maggie in order to take Rone out the picture..
EP. 8 - Clouds Over Belfast
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“A true soldier dies twice.” - Tommy Flannigan
Tommy continues preparing a massive retaliatory strike against the RUC and UVF. Jerry scrambles to stop it. Father Riley urges Rone to turn back from the darkness. Tommy and Rone reconcile, when Tommy backs down from killing Liam. Rone agrees to join the mission, seemingly giving into his loyalist ideas. As Rone prepares to leave for the retaliation mission, Sarah informs Rone of Maggie's kidnapping. Tommy gives Rone and Patrick his blessing to leave and find Maggie. The mission goes forward, but British forces were tipped off. In a bloody, cinematic street battle, Bill is killed. Tommy, mortally wounded, dies warning Rone: it was a trap.
FINALE 9 - CORINATION
“Tá ár lá tagtha.” - Rone O’Neil
Colin holds Maggie hostage as Rone and Patrick search for answers. With Tommy dead Daniel realizes that Colin will soon be powerless and betrays him to Rone. With Daniel's help Rone and Patrick kill Colin and his crew and rescue Maggie. Jerry’s political aspirations surprisingly improve after the disastrous attack. Rone is appointed head of the IRA. Rone learns Jerry sacrificed Tommy to secure peace. Sensing demoralization of the ranks and happy to send a message to Jerry that he is his own man, Rone authorizes the Remembrance Bombing: a calculated act of terror that shatters diplomacy and marks Rone’s place as the sole head of the PIRA. Kelly and Liam are ultimately approved for release as not enough evidence can be gathered, the night before their release Kelly strangles Liam to death on orders from an unknown source and cementing his role as a loyal soldier for the cause. This breaks Rone as his goal all along was to keep Kelly from following in his footsteps.
