[The following interview contains spoilers for the Bad Sisters finale. Proceed at your own risk.]
Take one glance at the impressive list of TV shows Sharon Horgan has crafted, from 2006’s Pulling to 2015’s Catastrophe to 2022’s Shining Vale, and it’s evident that she has a knack for writing impeccably relatable, empathetic, and flawed characters. Her skills are fully on display in Bad Sisters, the dramedy she created with Dave Finkel and Brett Baer as part of her recent deal with Apple. The series finale arrives October 14.
Bad Sisters is an Ireland-set mystery comedy based on the Flemish series Clan. It’s about four Garvey sisters—Eva (Horgan), Ursula (Eva Birthistle), Bibi (Sarah Greene), and Becka (Eve Hewson)—who plot the murder of their brother-in-law, John Paul, a.k.a. The Prick (Claes Bang). John Paul is a manipulative misogynist who ruined the life of their fifth sibling, his wife Grace (Anne-Marie Duff). In its final episode, Bad Sisters reveals how JP died and who killed him. Was it really the Garvey bunch, as suspected by the life insurance investigators? Yes and no. The episode, titled “Saving Grace,” reveals it was ultimately Grace who ended her husband’s life after realizing the true monster he is. The A.V. Club spoke to Horgan about the potential for a second season, changes she made to the script from Clan, and crafting a horrible character like John Paul.
The A.V. Club: Did you ever consider changing the ending from the original, or did you always know that you’d reveal Grace as the killer after she finally grasped the fact that her husband is a monster?
Sharon Horgan: In a writers’ room, you discuss every bit or version of what could happen. So we definitely had conversations about it, but that’s it. We did modify it a little from the original with the final reveal about Roger helping Grace out. To me, it felt like an extra satisfying twist. With the original, I didn’t quite believe she’d have the strength to do it on her own for practical reasons as well. I love to tie up as many ends as possible with a story like this, and it didn’t feel like Roger’s story was done. He ended up becoming such an important character for Grace. I think it was an oddly beautiful moment between them.
AVC: The final straw for Grace is when she learns John Paul assaulted Eva years ago, leading to her miscarriage. It’s an intense revelation, so I’m wondering how you wanted that scene to play out between all the Garvey sisters once the truth comes out.
SH: One of the many beautiful gifts from the original was that even there, that was the straw that breaks her. JP has beaten Grace down so conclusively at that point in the finale, there’s not much left of her. The revelation of what he did to Eva makes her snap because it brings back all the love the sisters share. Her sisters are essentially trying to murder a man to rescue her, and the fact is that Grace does it in the end out of love for Eva after seeing what he took away from her. That’s what I wanted to portray. What we did differently from the original is how Eva’s story is told. In that one, it happens in episode nine, and the assault is dramatized. For us, we always felt it would be more powerful told in words.
AVC: JP is obviously a despicable character. What were the challenges of crafting someone like him for 10 hourlong episodes? Did you find it traumatizing?
SH: It wasn’t necessarily traumatizing, but it was a real responsibility, especially because we were trying to balance comedy and drama. There are lots of aspects to his personality. Sometimes he’s viciously awful, and then he’s having a tender moment with his daughter. Combining all those things and finding an actor to portray them, it had to be someone who isn’t afraid to be a clown, because part of the reason why he’s The Prick is that he feels he isn’t taken seriously enough. How can he be taken seriously when he’s a fool, you know? It’s just that some people don’t see it, but Grace’s sisters see it clearly. It was juggling all those aspects. He’s a sadist, misogynist, racist, and abuser, and at the same time, the audience has to be drawn to watching him. They can’t be so repulsed that they don’t even want to be around him. He’s a pure love-to-hate guy who also has to be riveting to watch. And Claes Bang is, isn’t he?
AVC: As an actor, absolutely. As a character, I haven’t loathed anyone like this in a long time.
SH: [Laughs] Exactly, that was the goal.
AVC: When you realized you were creating Bad Sisters, was Eva the role you immediately wanted to play?
SH: Well, it’s funny. My boss at Apple, Jay Hunt, saw the script and said, “So you’re going to play Eva or Bibi, right?” When I watched the original, I fell in love with both of those sisters. Every actor who played the Garvey sisters, they all wanted to play Bibi because who doesn’t want to be a cool one-eyed lesbian with a bow and arrow, you know? I’m so glad I didn’t try to make that happen because we found a perfect Bibi in Sarah Greene, but also I found Eva a really great character to play. I liked being that much of a maternal, selfless, loving matriarch. It gave me a lot of pleasure. I loved mother henning those girls.
AVC: All of you have such organic chemistry, which grows with each episode as we learn more about the sisters’ dynamic and history. What was it like to flesh that out with the actors?
SH: There were lots of things about the filming and production process that was hard work, but this wasn’t one of them. Honest to God, it happened so easily. We all just got on and enjoyed being together. When we did one of our first scenes where we were all together, it was so organic. We laughed so much together. It was a gorgeous experience.
AVC: As an aside, I must say the outfits everyone wears in the show are amazing sweater weather representations.
SH: They’re great. Thank you. It’s all thanks to our costume designer, Camille Benda. I had a good idea of how I wanted each sister to look, but she took it above and beyond. It all feels so cohesive, but at the same time, each of them is so specific, yet you can see something that connects them all. It’s so clever.
AVC: You have a deal with Apple, which means you’re developing more projects for them. But would you ever consider doing season two of Bad Sisters?
SH: It’s not like we didn’t think about it even as we filmed season one. But it’s based on a limited series and has a lovely, satisfying end. However, people have responded to the show and the characters. So if I came up with a really great idea, maybe? But it would have to be really great.
AVC: I’m a fan of your approach as a showrunner and creator, from Pulling, Catastrophe, and Divorce to this year’s Bad Sisters and Shining Vale. What draws you to these projects, and do you think your perspective has evolved over the years?
SH: That’s interesting. I don’t really know what draws me to them outside of it’s partly that you come up with an idea that feels good, so you want to do something with it. The other bit is collaborating with someone, and it feels absolutely right. It works, so you want to work with them. Finding the right people is essential to come up with these shows.
I think my perspective, it’s changed. When I look back at Pulling, which I absolutely loved, it feels very different from the kind of stuff I make now. But that makes sense. It’s been roughly 15 years. I still basically want to be truthful. That’s it, really. It’s what marks my shows, whether it’s a horror comedy or a thriller about trying to kill a man over and over, or a relationship series, it has to be steeped in the truth. Otherwise, I don’t know how to write it or get my audience on board. Even if something really crazy or outlandish is happening, if it’s grounded in truth, then your audience will go on the ride with you. It’s intentional, but I also wouldn’t how to do it any other way, so it’s also kind of natural.