Michelle Fairley Joins Troubles Drama 'Close to Home'
'Close to Home' confirms the full cast as the series wraps filming in Belfast.
Channel 4 has confirmed that filming has wrapped for Close to Home. Announced as part of the 2026 commissions in February, and based on novelist Michael Magee’s debut novel of the same name, the Northern Ireland-set drama is about the generation that grew up in a post-Troubles landscape. It’s part of a set of post-Troubles series over the last few years, each of which explores different aspects of the fallout from the Good Friday Accords, and how those who grew up in the aftermath of a brutal civil war that no one ever truly acknowledged as such.
The series was initially announced with four high-profile Irish actors attached to star, with filming already underway. Now, as the series wraps up principal photography, more well-known faces have been confirmed to be part of the roster, including Michelle Fairley, who became a household name on both sides of the pond for her turns in Game of Thrones and The White Queen in the early 2010s.
Along with Fairley joining the top-line cast, Channel 4 announced it had added Connor MacNeill, who Americans will recognize from his turn as Kenny Kilbane in HBO’s sleeper hit, Industry.
Here’s the series synopsis:
Close to Home tells the story of Sean, a young man who finds himself back in Belfast. Back from university and back into old habits. Back on the mad all-nighters, the borrowed tenners and missing rent, the casual jobs that always fall through. Back with his brother, his ma, and all the things they never talk about. Back where the promised prosperity of peacetime has yet to arrive, and every street has a story to tell. One night, Sean assaults a stranger at a party, and everything is tipped into chaos.
The series’ high-profile cast includes Anthony Boyle (House of Guinness) as Sean, Jessica Reynolds (A Woman of Substance) as Mairéad, Seamus O’Hara (Say Nothing) as Anthony, and Oisín Thompson (Trespasses) as Ryan. Fairley (Gangs of London) and MacNeill (Industry) play Dearbhla and Marty, respectively. The rest of the new additions include Kerri Quinn (Hope Street), Hannah McClean (Blue Lights), Jeanne Nicole Ní Áinle (How to Get to Heaven From Belfast), Lalor Roddy (Obituary), and newcomer Gerard Headley.
Magee adapted his own novel for the small screen with director Diarmuid Goggins (Code of Silence) helming all episodes and Martin Mahon producing. Magee, Goggins, and Boyle executive produce alongside Michael Dawson, plus Christopher Aird, Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe for Element Pictures.
Filming on Close to Home has wrapped in Belfast; Channel 4 has not yet announced a release date. The series is still lacking American distribution.
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