SisterS series is a dark comedy about family and feminism. It is a tale about Sare (Canadian) and Suze (Irish) – the two half-sisters. In it, both sisters go on a road trip on a family mission.
They undertake this journey, to locate and meet their alcoholic birth father in Ireland. But this trip is all about the discovery of the self and others. Please note that it’s an Irish-Canadian television comedy-drama. Thus, it is a collaboration between the production houses of two different nations (Ireland & Canada), moreover located on two separate continents (Europe & North America). However, we have decided to classify it as European, as most of its story takes place in Ireland with Irish characters.
Now, let us kick start the journey into the world of this dark comedy show, with a peek into its official synopsis.
Synopsis of the SisterS (2023) Series
Two women born continents apart, one Canadian Sare (Sarah Goldberg) and the other Irish Suze (Susan Stanley), realize that they are half-sisters and embark on an eventful road trip in search of their alcoholic father.
Spoilers Free review of the SisterS (2023) Series
The introduction
We have seen the work of Sarah Goldberg in a highly-rated series called Barry (2018-2023), but we have not seen Susan Stanley’s acting jobs before. And kindly pardon us for our honesty. So, we decided to find out more about these two lead actors in this comedy show. And this is what we learnt about them.
About Sarah Goldberg and Susan Stanley
Sarah Goldberg and Susan Stanley are from Vancouver (Canada) and Dublin (Ireland) respectively. And both of them are real-life best friends. About 19 years ago, the two youngsters – Canadian actor Sarah Goldberg and Irish actor Susan Stanley met at the drama school – London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
So, their friendship goes way back in their real life too. No wonder, they collaborated for this series. And they co-wrote and co-created this series. Their show is a writing debut and perhaps a nostalgia trip for both of them. And to quote them, this is what they have told the press about this first writing project for this show.
We worked for a lot of men and we’ve had a lot of small parts, and things where we’re saying lines that are either buoying up a male character or are simply asking them questions…So we were, like, this doesn’t represent the women we know. This doesn’t represent us. And so, all these other women that we were so inspired by, we thought we want to add our voices to the conversation. We’re new writers and we’re putting ourselves out there.
Sarah Goldberg & Susan Stanley | Toronto Star
So, what is the story of this comedy series?
The story in the series goes like this, Canadian Sare (Sarah Goldberg) and her half-sister Irish Suze (Susan Stanley) are completely unaware of each other’s existence and living in two separate worlds of their own. But things change dramatically when Sare’s mother dies in Canada. Her late mother shares information in her will regarding the absentee father of Sare – living in far-off Ireland in Europe.
Consequently, Sare leaves her life behind in Canada and embarks on a journey to search for her father in Ireland. Once, she lands in Ireland, Sare meets her half-sibling Suze and both go on a road trip to meet their father. And to quote them, this is how the writers’ duo described the plotline of this show.
We are thrilled to be making Sisters, a character-driven comedic drama about how the absence of a parent in childhood can affect life in your thirties, and the macabre humour that can come with trauma.
Sarah Goldberg & Susan Stanley | Deadline
Women writers have a different perspective
When you watch it, you learn that there is something different about women writers. They have uncommon perspectives and different takes on various issues like family, love, loss, ageism, marriage, alcoholism, abortion, domestic abuse, absentee fathers, etc. This female-led family drama does not hesitate to take potshots at almost all taboo subjects and objects. Sometimes their jokes make you smile. However, sometimes they make you flinch and uncomfortable.
We are interested in this kind of brutal, ugly honesty where a person is not one thing… they can be wonderful and lovely, but they also have this other side, which can be dark and awful and horrendous, and that kind of whole 360 of what it is to be a woman and to be a human… We also wanted to be truthful in the complexities of life as a woman in your 30s… feel like we see so many stories with these very one-dimensional so-called happy endings for women that are about finding a man and having a baby, and we just wanted to … challenge it and ask questions about it.
Sarah Goldberg & Susan Stanley | Toronto Star
What did we like in this series?
We liked Sarah Goldberg and Susan Stanley in this show. Their on-screen chemistry seemed natural, so we watched it in one go. It is an honest attempt and a good effort on the part of the writing duo. Honestly, after watching this show, we loved the easy and natural chemistry between the co-stars. They played the role of the two trans-continental half-sisters Sare (Sarah Goldberg) and Suze (Susan Stanley) refreshingly.
Both of them did good acting jobs in this dark comedy drama. It seems that their on-screen sisterly relationship has something to do with their shared past and present of their real life. Most certainly, this series is by women, with women, for both men and women; so you can watch this Irish-Canadian comedy drama.
Ratings of the SisterS (2023) Series
| FM’s rating | 3.75/5 |
| Rotten Tomatoes ratings as of the date | 100% Audience Score |
| Liam Fay / Rotten Tomatoes | Crossed wires and misplaced assumptions are central drivers of the action and dialogue in a series that makes as much play of cultural differences as family estrangements. |
Spoilers Alert – tales about the two (2) lead characters
Focus on the first key character Suze, and her story in this series
Who is Suze in this series?
Suze (Susan Stanley) lives in Dublin, Ireland. When Sare arrives to meet her, Suze is going through a tough time. She has lost her job and apartment. In addition, she is having a fling with a married man. To drown her sorrow, she drinks too much. So, her life was a complete mess.
About their road trip?
So, when her half-sister Sare asks her to join her on the road trip to meet their father; being broke and destitute, Suze agrees in place of the monetary payments. However, in the end, when the two half-sisters meet and learn the ugly truth about their alcoholic father, they realize the futility of their search.
Focus on the second key character SARE and her story in this series
Who is Sare in the series?
After her mother dies, Sare (Sarah Goldberg) learns about her real father. As he is/was an Irish busker, she flies to Dublin (Ireland) to search for him instead of getting married to her fiancee back home in Canada. After landing in Dublin, she meets Sheryl (Sophie Thompson) and her daughter Suze (Susan Stanley), who is her half-sister.
About their road trip?
Using her charm and money, Sare convinces Suze to undertake a road trip to find their absent father. Finally, when the two half-sisters meet and learn the ugly truth about their alcoholic father, they realize the futility of their search at the end.
Focus on its lead actress Sarah Goldberg
Sarah Goldberg is a Canadian actress. At the beginning of her career, she enacted the role of Betsey/Lindsey in the Royal Court Theatre’s production of Clybourne Park. For her performance, she was nominated for a 2011 Olivier Award and joined the Broadway company later. Since then, she moved on to the world of movies and series.
Here are more details about her body of work, so far.
| Movies | Crown Heights (2017), Bikini Moon (2017), The Hummingbird Project (2018), The Report (2019), The Night House (2020), Eat Wheaties! (2021), Rogue Agent (2022), etc. |
| TV Series | Hindsight (2015), Barry (2018-2023), SisterS (2023), etc. |
| Awards | Pena de Prata – 2022 Winner Pena de Prata – Best Supporting Acting in a Comedy Series Barry |
Sarah is best known for her role as Sally Reed in the dark comedy series Barry (2018-2023), as we have written earlier. The said role earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
Poster of the SisterS (2023) Series
Key details about the SisterS (2023) Series
| Genre | Comedy, Drama |
| Released in | Match, 2023 |
| Season | Season (1) One |
| Episodes | Episodes (6) Six |
| Creators | Sarah Goldberg & Susan Stanley |
| Writer | Sarah Goldberg |
| Cast | Susan Stanley, Sarah Goldberg, Sophie Thompson, Harki Bhambra, Donal Logue, etc. |
Trailer of the SisterS (2023) Series
Featured & Other Images: SisterS Show | RTÉ ONE.