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New Irish thriller series Clean Sweep coming to RTÉ One next month

Charlene McKenna as Shelly in Clean Sweep
Charlene McKenna as Shelly in Clean Sweep

Clean Sweep, a new Irish thriller series starring Peaky Blinders' Charlene McKenna, will debut on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player next month.

The first episode will air on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player on Sunday 14 May.

The synopsis reads: "A six-episode family crime series told from the point of view of a killer who has spent nearly twenty years hiding in plain sight, living a double life as a wife, mother and homemaker, this is also a career-first for McKenna, as she executive produces on this compelling account of mothering, murder and the price paid for long-buried sins.

"As she tries to outrun her past, Shelly's carefully crafted life will never be the same"

"Shelly Mohan, played by McKenna, is a super-mum. Her days are filled with cooking, cleaning, shopping and chauffeuring, shuttling three kids (Rhys Mannion, Katelyn Rose Downey, Aidan McCann) from schools to activities, volunteering on the PTA with fellow stay-at-home-parent Matt (Trevor Kaneswaren) and somehow still managing to have a home-cooked meal on the table by the time her garda detective husband Jason (Barry Ward) arrives home every night.

"It's a chaotic, hectic and mostly thankless life that in contemporary society is undervalued, but it is a life Shelly is happy with because it is a life she has chosen - in fact, it's one she has created.

"All of this is put in jeopardy, though, when Shelly is confronted by an ex-lover (Adam Fergus) who threatens to expose her murderous past and thus destroy the new life she leads, destroy her family and ultimately separate her from her children."

The cast of Clean Sweep also includes Jeanne Nicole Ni Áinle as Jason's detective partner Fiona and Cathy Belton as the Scotland Yard investigator looking for answers.

Barry Ward as Jason and Jeanne Nicole Ni Áinle as Fiona

Inspired by true events, Clean Sweep is created by Gary Tieche (Preacher, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Medium) alongside Francesca Harris (Blue Lights, North Sea Connection). The directors are Ronan Burke (Harry Wild, Red Rock) and Yves Christian Fournier (Blue Moon).

The series is co-produced by Ireland's ShinAwiL (Dancing with the Stars Ireland, Miss Scarlet and the Duke) and Canada's Incendo (Be Mine Valentine, Terror Train), in association with Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Clean Sweep will also air on Sundance Now in the US with ZDF Studios having secured international distribution rights to the show.

ShinAwiL CEO and executive producer Larry Bass said: "It has been a big ambition of ShinAwiL to pivot into television drama production. When we first read Gary's script we knew this was a story for a global audience, a classic 'why done it?' that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats."

Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions for RTÉ Dermot Horan said: "Clean Sweep is a compelling thriller with a rich backdrop of strong Irish characters and the unique Irish landscape. RTÉ believes it will attract a very large audience on RTÉ One and on the RTÉ Player, but that the story will be equally attractive to an international audience. As such, we are delighted to be working with such a great range of partners - Incendo, Sundance Now, ZDF Studios and of course ShinAwiL, one of Ireland's most renowned production companies."

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