Irish Prod-Co Great Island Inks Series Deals With Writers Richie O’Connell and Joshua Kenny (EXCLUSIVE)

TV production company Great Island has inked deals with writers Richie O’Connell and Joshua Kenny for two separate original series.

O’Connell will be developing “Headcase” at the Cork-headquartered prod-co, a drama/comedy following a troubled local street artist and his ragtag band of friends searching for deeper meaning, including a sister who’s a former boxing champion and an agoraphobic mate. The scripted series will also deal with mental health issues in contemporary Cork, with O’Connell drawing from his own experiences.

Kenney meanwhile is set to develop “People Do Bad Things,” about good people on the fringes of society who find theirs lives turning out not quite the way they hoped.

“Grace’s suicide attempt is interrupted by a young thief named Jack, who Grace catches breaking into her home,” reads the synopsis. “With nothing else to lose, Grace offers to help him rob her, leading Grace to become involved with a gang of criminals whom she influences to use their skills for good.”

Based in Ireland, Great Island creates and develops an array of television content including animation, drama and unscripted formats. “Headcase” and “People Do Bad Things” will be developed with funding from Screen Ireland.

“It’s our pleasure to announce our collaboration with these two fantastic writers,” says Great Island CEO Mark Kenny. “A huge amount of work has gone into shaping these stories for screen adaption, and we are thankful to Richie and Joshua for trusting us with their work and collaborating with us individually. ‘Headcase’ and ‘People Do Bad Things’ are local Cork stories that are authentic yet universally relevant in their own right. This is something we look for in every project we that we work on. With thanks to Screen Ireland, we are working to bring these stories to audiences around the world.”