It Starts On The Page: Read ‘Bad Sisters’ Pilot Script “The Prick” By Sharon Horgan, Brett Baer & Dave Finkel
30.05.2023 - 21:27
/ deadline.com
Editor’s note: Deadline’s It Starts on the Page features 10 standout drama series scripts in 2023 Emmy contention. It showcases the critical role writer’s work plays in a show’s success. All materials (the script and writers intro) were submitted before the WGA strike began on May 2.
In her Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters, which just won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama, Sharon Horgan examines the lengths that five sisters are willing to go to in order to protect each other. Much like her previous series Catastrophe, which earned her a comedy writing Emmy nomination, and Pulling, Horgan also stars in Bad Sisters.
Inspired by the Belgian series The Clan, the story begins with a funeral. When the abusive husband of one of the Garvey sisters, Grace, dies, it is presumed a suicide until his life insurers launch an investigation to prove ill intent. Naturally, they suspect the sisters, each of whom have their own reasons to want him dead.
Written by Horgan, along with Brett Baer and Dave Finkel, and directed by Dearbhla Walsh, the opening episode, titled “The Prick,” sets the tone for the series, which rides the line between humor, drama and mystery as the sisters attend their brother-in-law’s funeral with mixed emotions. Meanwhile, a flashback sets up the did-they-didn’t-they question when four of the sisters are seen jokingly suggesting ways to kill their brother-in-law when he prevents Grace from attending the Garvey family’s annual Christmas morning swim.
Here is “The Prick” script with an introduction from Horgan, in which she discusses exploring family connection through the lens of a thriller and an abusive relationship through the eyes of love, adjusting the script on the fly, and realizing that unexpected obstacles