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16th October 2025
05:35pm BST
Channel 4 has released the first trailer for Trespasses, its new Ireland-set thriller drama series starring Gillian Anderson (The Fall) and Lola Petticrew (Say Nothing).
Based on a novel by Louise Kennedy, the show takes place in '70s Northern Ireland and is a "forbidden love story set against the backdrop of the Troubles".
It sees Petticrew play a Catholic schoolteacher named Cushla. While working behind the bar of her family pub, serving a mixed crowd including the locally stationed soldiers, she meets Michael (Tom Cullen, The Gold).
An older Protestant man, Michael is a barrister who often defends IRA suspects and is friends with cultured Bohemians who enrage but intrigue Cushla.
"Worlds apart, Cushla knows a relationship like this spells all kinds of trouble, but they are irresistibly drawn to one another," the plot description adds.
"In a place where loose lips cost lives and danger lurks in the shadows, amidst the fear and paranoia, this illicit affair between Cushla and Michael ignites and burns bright…"
Anderson plays Cushla's mother, Gina, in the series. She is described as a "glorious wreck who is constantly sparring with her daughter".
Filmed in Belfast, the four-part show is written by Ailbhe Keogan (Bad Sisters) and is directed by Dawn Shadforth (Trust).
The cast of Trespasses also includes Barry Ward (Restless), Gary Lydon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Hilda Fay (House of Guinness), Lalor Roddy (Michael Inside), Lorcan Cranitch (Bloodlands) and Martin McCann (Blue Lights).
JOE recently interviewed Gillian Anderson about Tron: Ares, her new sci-fi movie in cinemas now. During the conversation, we asked her about returning to film in Northern Ireland with Trespasses.
The actress is no stranger to the area, having previously made three seasons of the hit Belfast-set crime thriller The Fall.
We also asked Anderson about acting opposite Say Nothing's Lola Petticrew in Trespasses.
In response, she told JOE:
"I love filming in Belfast, and that's something that was a passion project very close to my heart and a novel by Louise Kennedy. I'm a very big fan of her writing, and yeah, it was extraordinary to be back there again.
"I think Lola is an incredible talent, and I think we've only just seen the very, very beginning of what they have to offer and their fantastic in Trespasses, and I can't wait for people to see it."
Anderson was speaking to JOE, alongside her Tron: Ares co-star Evan Peters. Peters also had kind words during the interview for another Irish actor: Barry Keoghan.
This was because the pair starred together in the 2018 heist thriller American Animals.
Peters said of Keoghan: "He was super fun. That was cool. [American Animals director] Bart Layton put us in a house for a week, all four of us, so we could hang out together and get to know each other, which was a pretty rambunctious, fun experience.
"So, I would definitely go back and do it again."
As for Trespasses, Channel 4 has not unveiled a release date yet for the Irish thriller, though it is expected to premiere sometime in November.
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