We are delighted to announce Damien has joined the cast of BBC One drama The Split.
He will appear as the character Tyler Donaghue in the second series, which began production in March this year.
The Split is a major BBC female-led legal drama set in the world of divorce lawyers, which received high ratings and critical acclaim for the first series when it aired in 2018. It is created and written by award-winning writer Abi Morgan, produced by Jane Featherstone’s Sister Pictures for BBC One and co-produced with SundanceTV.
The drama is a multi-layered examination of modern marriage from within the fast-paced world of London’s high-end divorce circuit, exploring ‘the often complex realities that bind families together, and tear them apart’.
Focussing on both the professional and personal lives of the central characters, the main storyline follows the Defoe Family, 3 sisters Hannah (Nicola Walker), Nina (Annabel Scholey) and Rose (Fiona Button) and their mother Ruth (Deborah Findlay). Hannah, Nina and Rose are leading divorce lawyers who in the first series were working rivals after Hannah left the family firm.
The end of the first series saw tragedy for Defoes, with the family firm losing its struggle to stay afloat, Hannah’s marriage on the rocks and her estranged father suddenly passing away.
The Defoes are back in the second series with the newly merged law firm, Noble Hale and Defoe, and a high-profile case for Hannah, which could help to establish the new name. Behind her professional life, Hannah’s personal battles and marriage difficulties continue.
Original cast also returning includes Stephen Mangan (Nathan), Rudi Dharmalingam (James), Barry Atsma (Christie), Chukwudi Iwuji (Zander) and Ellora Torchia (Maggie Lavelle). Paula van der Oest and Joss Agnew direct, with Natasha Romaniuk producing.
Damien joins the upcoming series alongside new cast members Donna Air and Ben Bailey Smith, who appear as Fi and Richie Hansen, one of the UK’s most powerful celebrity couples.
Details about his character Tyler, or how he fits into the storylines of the new series are yet to be revealed, but we can share that Damien is currently filming and that the new series is expected to air later in 2019.
Speaking about his role, Damien told us:
"I’m having great fun playing Tyler. it’s been a really fun few months. I loved the first series, so I am thrilled to be in the show.“
Talking about the new series, creator Abi Morgan says:
"Sitting on set on the first day of filming I am always reminded what a joy and privilege it is to do what we do – tell stories. Returning for the second series of The Split, the world of high-end law and the stories of love, marriage and divorce in the metropolis ricochet through the lives of Hannah and her sisters. Relationships are challenged, friendships are tested and the lines between work and home blur. It’s great to be back.”
Executive Producer and Founder of Sister Pictures, Jane Featherstone says:
"I love these characters so much and can’t wait to spend time with them again as we watch them struggle through life’s complicated relationships.”
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Congratulations to Damien on his new role in The Split. We are thrilled he will appear in a new dramatic role in a top quality BBC drama and cannot wait to find out more.
If you missed the first series, it is available to watch on DVD (Region 2) and on Amazon and iTunes in the UK and US.
Hi everyone! It's an honour to be able to have the scoop on the news of Damien's casting in BBC One's 'The Split'
What a delightful surprise to discover our fave actor will appear in another fantastic project!
I'm thrilled for Damien and really excited for us all to see him a new dramatic role, bringing to life another character. This is a super top quality BBC drama, with such an amazing cast and creative team. The first series was excellent and truly gripping, big on the BBC in the UK and SundanceTV in the US.
We don't get any Damien on TV for ages and then we get spoilt! GameFace, Brassic and now The Split!
I'm not sure how the first series of this completely passed me by but it sounds like quality BBC drama. It's wonderful that Damien is involved with something that received such critical acclaim. Is this the first BBC drama Damien has done since series 2 of Ripper Street?
I can't wait to see what Damien's character will be like. It's great that he's been enjoying playing Tyler. I'd like to see him playing one of those characters that everyone loves to hate!
-- Edited by RPLovesIpswich on Thursday 11th of July 2019 07:49:37 PM
Loved series one, it was an unmissable programme for me and generated a lot of online discussion. Best thing is that the first series was released on DVD so this one probably will be, too! Another Damien DVD - another to add to my collection!
Seriously, I'm delighted he's in a BBC drama as opposed to a comedy. He's great in comedy but deserves the wider audience appeal of drama and BBC is available live to all who pay the licence fee!
Am I the only one to quietly chuckle at the irony of Damien playing a character named Tyler, the same name as his stepson in "Brassic" ?
-- Edited by EllieForster on Thursday 11th of July 2019 09:16:51 PM
Yes Rosie - world DaMonation is here! I'd recommend the first series, you know how BBC One has these top quality dramas that everyone is talking about and watching, this is one of those. Calling it a legal drama doesn't do it justice because it is so much more broad spectrum. The family relationships of the central characters and their individual relationships and history are woven together so well. Nicola Walker is such a great actor and brings this... not sure how to describe it... intense emotional energy to the role. She makes Hannah strong and vulnerable (and more than that too.) It was a delight to see Annabel Scholey again too (all roads lead to Being Human). It's a shame Anthony Head won't be appearing in the second series - Damien and him on screen would have been dreamy!
You're right this is Damien's first BBC TV drama since Ripper Street! He has been no stranger to some quality BBC drama on the radio of course.
Ellie that is a good point, it is always an added bonus to have a Damo project on DVD to add to the collection!
I am also thrilled about him being in a drama, and if you think about it the last time we saw Damien in a contemporary drama without a genre was Clean Break, Being Human was comedy / supernatural drama, Ripper Street was period drama, Suspects was crime drama, Crashing, GameFace and Brassic are comedy drama. I love that whole lot and the spectrum of projects, but I am properly excited that this is drama Drama!
Lol! I hadn't even thought about that Tyler connection, well spotted
I don’t know anything about The Split, but it’s got Nicola Walker in it and I love her. Remember her performance in Being Human? Pure gold! I’m with Ellie, will be good to see him in a drama. He’s great in comedy, but I feel he really shines when there’s some angst and deeper stuff.
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papillon... pamplemousse... bibliothèque... un baiser A lilt in his voice. Every sentence like music... #kisskisskiss A terrible beauty is born. Love me some #Jacksass
Oh yes Nicola Walker was in Being Human too! Social worker Wendy! Brilliant
Series 1 is available on Amazon and iTunes in the UK and the US
Fingers crossed for lots of angst in his new role
I wonder how he fits into the series, will he be a client, someone in the personal lives of the Defoes, someone working at the newly merged law firm? ..or someone else entirely!
What would Tyler Donaghue be doing with a NOBLE HALE DEFOE pen and note book?
For those who have not seen series 1, this is the name of the newly merged law firm, at the end of the series...
and that's a wrap!
Wrapped today on #TheSplit2 Thank you @sisterpicstv for having me and @verbalictor for bringing me in... I loved the first series SO MUCH, actual Number One Fan, I can’t wait for everyone to see Series 2!
A proper treat indeed Rosie, a props treat you could say (groan)... my mind has been going hundreds of miles an hour wondering about Damien's character Tyler... it looks like he will be a professional man, in the profession! But..
Production began in March on The Split 2, so that's a fairly lengthy shoot for 6 episodes of TV. Not sure how long post production took on series 1 after filming finished, but fingers crossed this series is still set for 2019 premiere!
I've been keeping my eyes peeled for any news on The Split series 2, nothing so far! But this was interesting, Production company Sister Pictures is becoming a new company 'Sister' with Jane Featherstone, Elisabeth Murdoch and Stacey Snider based in London and LA. The Split series 2 is then going to be a 'Sister' title - how apt considering the story is based on sisters!
"Forthcoming Sister titles include season two of Emmy Award-winning writer Abi Morgan’s The Split for BBC One, Giri/Haji for BBC Two/Netflix, the adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s The Power for Amazon, and Adam Kay’s adaptation of his best-seller This Is Going To Hurt for the BBC."
April is wayyy to far off, but let's not forget this is just pure guess work on the part of the Radio Times, thinking about the time window from series 1 production to airing, their logic doesn't follow.
Series 1 began production July 2017 and aired April 2018 - that is a 9 months.
Series 2 began production in March 2019, so logic suggests December 2019 / January 2020!
Stephen Mangan (Who plays Nathan) tweeted that it will air 2020, but I am betting on the new year!
Ages away! Perhaps Damien has a more minor role rather than major? We'll have to wait and see! Mainstream tv, though, has to be good!
The Split centres on the Defoe sisters, who are the lead characters in this, so any other character is going to be more minor. Totally guessing... but would think Damien is not guest cast. Donna Air and Ben Bailey Smith, who have been announced, play high profile clients in series 2, so although their roles may extend across episodes, they are not going to become part of the cast ensemble going forward (unless one of them becomes involved in another way.) I'm hoping Damien is maybe part of the firm.. or rival firm.. or love interest.. which in itself is interesting as most of the Defoes are in relationships at the end of series 1...!
I wasn't expecting the forum to get a mention, or liked to from the Radio Times - ooh la la!
Also noticed they changed their probable release date to early 2020 - after I pointed out filming on the second series ended sooner in the year. There is always a chance it could be a scheduling thing, certain kinds of show at certain times of the year kind of thing, irrespective of when filming ended. Whenever it airs, it will be so worth the wait! I am insanely excited for this one! Also Damien on BBC One, finally! There's some serious coolness to that!
Great, that the forum get a mention. Good that it will be noticed elsewhere..
Early 2020 does not sound too bad. After all, it feels like Christmas soon.
I was really pleased to see the forum mentioned Sana, although as it was edited in after the article was first published, it is less likely to bring more traffic to the site. But I don't mind about more traffic anyway, we have enough... what would be really great for the forum is more people coming and joining the discussion!
Yes I agree about the timing, also this series is SO good it is worth any kind of wait! Very excited!
I stumbled across this older article about The Split, including an interview with writer Abi Morgan. All of it is a great read, but the section below stood out to me, as I am sure we have all wondered about where Damien will fit in to the cast of a very female centric, both creatively and as a series, drama (which is one of the thing I love about it).
Despite taking on such weighty issues, the show never loses sight of its desire to tell a story from the perspective of its women. Morgan describes it as being “about the different generations of feminism and how they affect each other in the workplace”. Yet the leading male characters – Hannah’s husband Nathan, played by Stephen Mangan, and her colleague Christie – are well drawn. “I didn’t want to do what happens in male-centric dramas,” says Morgan, “where the man would be in the background draped across a bed or chopping a carrot or looking busy in his study, and gets one line.”
The show’s approach may not find favour with everyone. At the press screening I attended, a male critic described the show as a “female fantasy”. Walker mentions that a number of reporters asked her “if the men get more complicated, which I found interesting because of course they do. Abi would never write a part where an actor didn’t feel like they were playing a fully rounded character, but this is a story told through a female gaze.”
Morgan remains more entertained than worried by the criticism. “There’s never been a more exciting time to be a female writer or a more important time to have a discourse around female narrative,” she says with a smile. “I wanted to write something that reflected that. At its heart, this is a show that was born out of a group of women sitting together, sharing our stories and our lives and then talking to female divorce layers about their stories and marriages and relationships. From those conversations came this show. And despite everything, it’s a story about hope.”