Cork stars Máiréad Tyers and Sarah Greene play main roles in the coming-of-age series

14:38, 16 Feb 2026Updated 15:35, 16 Feb 2026

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Actress Máiréad Tyers and author Caroline O’Donoghue (Image: Leanne Sullivan/UNIVERSAL INTERNATIONAL STUDIOS)

The production team that brought us fan favourite series Normal People are turning a best-selling novel into a new small screen drama set in Cork city.

Filming has started on a brand new series called The Rachel Incident, which is based on a novel of the same name by New York Times bestselling writer Caroline O’Donoghue. The Cork author’s award-winning novel is hailed a ‘brilliantly’ funny story of friendship and unrequited love set against the backdrop of Ireland in the aftermath of economic crisis.

The series in set in Cork in 2010 and follows Rachel, a student working at a bookstore when she meets James – and it is love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate, and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork, trying to cultivate a bohemian existence while the reality of the recent financial crash looms over them.

When Rachel admits to a huge crush on her married professor James helps her devise a launch for his new book at the store, with the hope that she might seduce him afterwards… But Fred, as it turns out, has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred’s wife Deenie, an incredibly cool and well-connected literary editor.

There are some familiar faces in the cast list, as Ballinhassig actress Máiréad Tyers ( Extraordinary, Obituary, The Walsh Sisters ) portrays Rachel and Sarah Greene ( Bad Sisters, Normal People) from Glanmire plays Deenie.

Ellis Howard, Máiréad Tyers, Caroline O’Donoghue, Daniel Ings and Sarah Greene

Máiréad Tyers said: “I am so excited and grateful to be part of this project. I read the book when it first came out and fell in love with Caroline’s writing and this story – and with Channel 4, UCP, Element Pictures and PAGEBOY at the helm, Rachel and James’ story couldn’t be in safer hands .”

The show is produced by UCP and award-winning Element Pictures ( Normal People, Poor Things ) in association with PAGEBOY Productions. Starring alongside Máiréad and Sarah are UK actors Ellis Howard ( What It Feels Like for a Girl, Red Rose ) and Daniel Ings ( The Gentlemen, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms ).

Author Caroline O’Donoghue added that Máiréad was her first choice to play her main character. She said: “Máiréad Tyers is a star and has always been my first choice to play Rachel. She and the phenomenally charming Ellis Howard create what feels like an instantly iconic double act, fizzing with all the love and panic that makes being in your early twenties both nightmarish and amazing.”

“To have the brilliant Sarah Greene and Daniel Ings as Deenie and Fred is a dream, and I’m gushing with enthusiasm for the rest of the cast who make the world of THE RACHEL INCIDENT feel so alive and full of energy – including but not limited to Ardal O’Hanlon and Maria Doyle Kennedy, actors I grew up loving and still can’t believe are joining our team. Collaborating with Giulia Gandini and Megan K. Fox and our entire crew has already been such a joy and I am once again grateful to the teams at Channel 4, UCP, Element Pictures and PAGEBOY for their continued support in building this show, which I can’t wait to share with audiences.”

Also joining the stellar line-up is Cúán Hosty-Blaney ( Say Nothing, House of Guinness ) as Carey, Ciarán Dowd (Bad Sisters, Marriage) as Ben, Helen Behan ( Malpractice, The Virtues ) as Bridget, Ardal O’Hanlon ( Sherlock and Daughter, The Woman in the Wall ) as Paul, Jeanne Ní Áinle ( Hidden Assets, North Sea Connection ) as Sabrina, Molly McFadden as Sinead, Maria Doyle Kennedy ( KIN, Recipes For Love And Murder ) as Vivian.

O’Donoghue adapted the script, collaborating with Jen Statsky the Emmy award-winning co-creator, showrunner, and executive producer of Max’s hit comedy HACKS. Prior to that, she was a co-executive producer on NBC’s THE GOOD PLACE, working all four seasons on the Emmy-nominated show. Statsky also served as a co-executive producer on Comedy Central’s BROAD CITY. Her other writing credits also include NBC’s PARKS AND RECREATION, Netflix’s LADY DYNAMITE, and Amazon’s FOREVER. She will be an executive producer of The Rachel Incident.

And if you just can’t wait for the show to be released, you can pick up a copy of The Rachel Incident novel on Amazon for under €10 HERE.