| Small Town, Big Story | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Black comedy |
| Created by | Chris O'Dowd |
| Screenplay by | Chris O'Dowd |
| Directed by |
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| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Liz Gill |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | |
Small Town, Big Story is a television series created by Chris O'Dowd in association with Sky Studios and filmed in Ireland. The series stars Christina Hendricks and Paddy Considine in main roles while O'Dowd and Hendricks also serve as executive producers. The series premiered on 27 February 2025.
The series is set in the fictional rural Northern Irish town of Drumbán, where Hollywood producer Wendy Patterson returns with a major film production, only to shine a spotlight on a hidden secret: the town has a long history of attracting interstellar visitors, a phenomenon she has witnessed and kept quiet about for a quarter of a century. [1] [2]
The series is created and written by Chris O'Dowd. He wrote the show during the Covid-19 pandemic whilst in lockdown on a production in Canada. He has described it as a "cultural cousin" to his 2010s series Moone Boy , with both productions sharing a lot of the same crew. [1]
O'Dowd is also a director on the series alongside Catherine Morshead, Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. Playground Entertainment and FilmNation Entertainment also produce in association with Sky Studios. Colin Callender and Scott Huff are executive producers for Playground, Stefanie Berk and Milan Popelka are executive producers for FilmNation Entertainment and Alex Moody is executive producer for Sky Studios. Christina Hendricks and O’Dowd are also executive producers with Liz Gill the series producer. [3]
The cast is led by Hendricks alongside Paddy Considine, and also includes Clarke Peters, Tim Heidecker, David Rawle, Eileen Walsh, Leia Murphy, Patrick Martins, Evanne Kilgallon, Andrew Bennett, Ruth McCabe and David Wilmot as well as Michėle Forbes and Peter McGann and a cameo appearance from O'Dowd. [1] [4] [5] There are also roles for Susan Lynch, Sam C. Wilson and Maeve Higgins. [6]
The six-part series was filmed on location around County Wicklow and Boyle, County Roscommon, with production starting by September 2023 and wrapping in February 2024. [5] [4]
The series premiered on Sky Atlantic and Sky Max in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2025. [7] [8] [9]
Small Town, Big Story holds an 67% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on six reviews, with an average score of 5.6/10. [10]