Colin Donnell To Star In Peacock Crime Drama ‘Irreverent’

Chicago Med and Arrow star Colin Donnell is to lead Peacock’s Australia-set crime drama Irreverent.

The series, which Deadline revealed last month had scored a straight-to-series order, will also feature PJ Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone and Jason Wilder as series regulars.

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Irreverent follows a criminal from Chicago who bungles a heist and is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend.

Donnell will play Mack/Paulo, a skilled and articulate mediator who keeps the peace between organized crime families in Chicago. After a mediation goes badly wrong, Mack flees to a remote beach town in tropical Australia where he is forced to assume the identity of a Reverend in order to stay ahead of the people who want him dead.

Created by Paddy Macrae (Wanted), the series is produced by Matchbox Pictures, the NBCU-backed production company behind Cate Blanchett’s Stateless, and is a co-production between Peacock and Netflix Australia.

2020-21 Peacock Pilots & Series Orders

Peacock

It will be exec produced by showrunner Macrae, Andrew Knight and Debbie Lee with writers Andrew Anastasios, Angela McDonald and Darlene Johnson. Jonathan Teplitzky and Lucy Gaffy are directors with Tom Hoffie producing the 10-episode series.

Byrne will play Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd, a church reverend in Chicago who never ruffles any feathers. Devastated by his wife leaving him before their relocation to Australia, Mackenzie meets Paulo on the flight over and runs off with his money in a bid to inject some adventure into his predictable life. Mackenzie will start to lean on his new “buddy” Mack for support during an existential crisis and his deep feelings of loneliness.

Bracknell takes on Piper, a gifted cop who recently has returned to her home town after a successful start to her career in the city. Back to the beach, back to the rainforest and back to her old boyfriend Aidan, who is thrilled she’s in town again. Piper manages her work with ease, but she is beginning to suspect that the new reverend perhaps isn’t exactly what he appears to be.

Clarke will appear as Amy, Piper’s childhood best friend who misses her and what they used to have. Amy is an engineer at the local sugar mill and the face of the organized protest fighting for her worker colleagues. Amy and Mack become close, as she becomes someone he can talk to – about some things. Amy wants her friendship with Piper back, but it’s going to take a lot to get it.

Stimson joins the cast as Daisy, a local teenager whose mum recently died and dad is in prison. She lives in the Manse with Mack, and she quickly becomes his key confidant and unlikely partner in crime.

Oxenbould will be Cameron, a teenager who is best mates with Daisy. He would help anyone out, for any reason, any time. Cameron has a passion for car engines, which gets him in trouble now and then.

Blair will portray Peter, a local dentist who is devoutly religious and has been campaigning for a new Reverend for years. He has a wife at home with Multiple Sclerosis who he’s trying to help in all the wrong ways.

Dykstra will play Lester, proprietor of the local bar and soulmate of Amy’s father Victor. He wants to bring wealth and prosperity to Clump via tourism, but he’s the only one who doesn’t know he’s delusional.

Tassone is Harry, Piper’s brother and best mates with Aidan. As the local barman, he knows virtually every secret in Clump, and is increasingly concerned by the chemistry he sees between Piper and Mack.

Lastly, Wilder takes onAidan, a Clump local. Totally alluring and lovely, he is back in a relationship with Piper after a few years while she lived in the city and he adores her. He’s a self-taught marine biologist, naturally gifted, runs tours on the reef and lives aboard his book-laden boat.

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