Following his stellar performance in Line of Duty, fans of Stephen Graham won't have to wait long before he's back on our screens in another award-worthy series.
The Virtues marks Shane Meadows' return to Channel 4 following This Is England, which once again showcases his inimitable style with a powerful, bold four-part drama that tackles themes of repressed memory, apocalyptic revenge and the hope of redemption.
The series, co-written with Jack Thorne, asks questions of what it really means to be, and have, family whilst addressing challenging themes of revenge, redemption and repressed memory.
Today Channel 4 have released the trailer for the series...
Stephen Graham plays Joseph, a barely on-the-wagon alcoholic whose precarious reality is knocked for six when his ex-partner moves abroad with their young son, from Liverpool to Australia, for a better life.
With no immediate family to live for, he's haunted by a past he has tried, for decades, to forget, if not actively obscure with drink and drugs. Suffering the hangover from hell, he walks away from his present life and boards a boat bound for Ireland to confront hazy, fear-inducing memories from a childhood spent in the care system that he’s had to forget.
Emotionally and physically wrecked, Joseph reunites with an incredulous Anna, played by Helen Behan, the sister he hasn’t seen since childhood. She persuades her wary husband Michael, played by Frank Laverty, to let Joseph stay and give him work in the family-owned building company.
There, Joseph is forced to directly confront the demons of his past when he comes face to face with Craigy, played by Mark O’Halloran, a shadowy figure who is dogged by dark rumours, and who won’t leave Joseph alone.
Joseph’s precarious family reunion is further complicated when he is immediately drawn to Michael’s fiery sister Dinah, played by fantastic newcomer Niamh Algar. Angry and lost, Dinah is fiercely guarded, and, like Joseph, haunted by a deeply-held secret.
The Virtues starts Wednesday 15th May at 9pm on Channel 4