Netflix has announced that GROWN UPS, an 8 part drama series based on the best-selling novel by Marian Keyes has started filming in and around Dublin.
Set in south county Dublin, GROWN UPS follows the chaotic lives of the Casey clan, a noisy tight-knit Irish family, who are bound together by a tangled web of loyalty, resentment, money, memory and love.
When the rock of the family, the ‘good son’, dies unexpectedly, it sets off a seismic emotional reckoning. Over the course of the next year, the Caseys will fall in and out of love, confront old wounds and make some new ones. They’ll be forced to face not only their grief, but the exhausting, relentless, and often ridiculous struggle of being an adult. Despite their age and responsibilities, the Caseys are far from grown up.
Cast includes:
Sarah Greene (Bad Sisters, Normal People) will play Jessie
Barry Ward (Bad Sisters, The End of the F***ing World) will play Johnny
Aisling Bea (This Way Up, Get Away) will play Cara
Robert Sheehan (Umbrella Academy, Misfits) will play Liam
Amy-Leigh Hickman (YOU, Our Girl) will play Nell
Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty, Ridley) will play Canice
Sinéad Cusack (Marcella, MotherFatherSon) will play Rose
Karin Hanczewski (Call My Agent: Berlin, Tatort) will play Ed
James Agnew Newcomer just graduated from the Lir Drama school in Dublin will play Ferdia
Katelyn Rose Downey (Clean Sweep, Blade Runner 2099) and Screen International star of Tomorrow 2025, will play Saoirse
About GROWN UPS:
Production Company: See-Saw Films, Picking Scabs
Writer and Creator (also co-founder of Picking Scabs, a joint venture with See-Saw Films): Samantha Strauss (Apple Cider Vinegar)
Executive Producers: Samantha Strauss, Helen Gregory, Andy Noble, Shay Spencer, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Liz Watts, Marian Keyes and James Griffiths
Co-executive Producer: Simon Gillis
Series Producer: Liz Gill
Directors: James Griffiths, Ciaran Donnelly
Manda Levin, Henrietta Lee and Mona Qureshi will oversee for Netflix
Sam Strauss said: “I know I’m not alone in being obsessed with every word Marian Keyes has ever written, and it is a true life highlight to be trusted with her characters as we bring the Casey family and the world of Grown Ups to Netflix.
James Griffiths, our set up director is already crafting something beautiful and very human. I am pinching myself to be in the company of our preposterously glorious cast and our fantastic crew as we shoot here in sunny Ireland.”
Helen Gregory said: “See-Saw are thrilled to be collaborating with Picking Scabs in bringing Marian Keyes’ wonderful novel to screen.
We’re so excited to be working with such a talented cast who we know will bring such warmth, wit and deep emotion to our family of characters”
Manda Levin said: “Lifting the Casey family from the enchanting and beloved pages of Marian’s novel is no mean feat.
But the thoughtful, subtle team at See-Saw have built a dream team with which to do it, and the creative synchronicity between Marian and our glorious showrunner, Sam Strauss, has been something to behold.
We are giddy, now we are starting to see this best-in-class cast bring to life the characters our audience will laugh with, love with, and cry with.”
Marian Keyes said: “The filming of Grown Ups has begun in Dublin and it feels like a succession of dreams come true.
On 15/10/2020 at the height of Covid, I had a zoom call with Samantha Strauss from Picking Scabs (a See-Saw Films label). She was on Australia’s Gold Coast adapting Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers. I was closeted in my Dublin bedroom, once again in lockdown.
Sam had optioned the book (Grown Ups) six months earlier but this was our first time to speak; our emotional and creative connection was immediate. Her questions were relevant and intelligent and she was adamant that the show needed to be shot in Ireland.
Countless books are optioned and very few ever make it to the screen. (I’ve been there many times lol.) Funding is usually the biggest challenge. But from that first conversation I believed Sam and I trusted her. Then Netflix came on board and again it was so easy to like and trust the people involved.
(For a long time the only people I met related to this production were women). Then casting began and it was above and beyond my wildest dreams: what an incredibly talented group of people. Likewise the two directors and the hardworking crew.
Being part of this, seeing it all come together has been so exciting and so much fun. I’m honoured by the hard work and commitment of everyone involved, I’m beyond grateful for all the care that’s been taken with my characters and most of all, I’m enormously proud.”
About Netflix:
Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services, with over 300 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.
About See-Saw:
See-Saw Films is an Academy Award, Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning television and film production house, founded in 2008 by Joint CEOs Emile Sherman and Iain Canning.
About Marian Keyes:
Marian Keyes is a phenomenon.
The multimillion copy, internationally bestselling author of some of the most widely loved, genre-defying novels of the past thirty years – including Rachel’s Holiday, Anybody Out There and Grown Ups (published by Penguin Michael Joseph)– has millions of devoted readers around the world. My Favourite Mistake, her sixteenth novel, is out now.
In addition to her sixteen novels, Marian has also written three collections of journalism, upon which, hit BBC Radio 4 show Between Ourselves was based. Marian co-hosts the popular show Now You’re Askingwith actress Tara Flynn for BBC Radio 4. In 2022, she was named the British Book Awards Author of the Year.
Marian lives in Dublin.