Beloved ITV comedy returning to screens in days after rave reviews - but it's not all good news
A beloved ITV comedy series is just days away from returning to screens after receiving rave reviews, but there's a catch to the good news.
The Dry is an Irish show about alcoholism and the first two seasons kept viewers laughing, despite honing in on the dark corners of addiction.
It starred Roisin Gallagher as Shiv Sheridan, who decided to stay on in Dublin after losing her job in London, but her dysfunctional family continued to threaten to drive her back to the bottle.
The series flew under the radar when it first aired on BritBox in May 2022, but a run on ITV1 last year earned it a bigger audience ahead of a popular second season, which went out on ITVX in February 2024.
And now ITV have confirmed the BAFTA-nominated show's latest series will be aired on ITV1 from Sunday.
Even more excitingly, The Dry has had a third season commissioned by ITV, which will be produced by Element Pictures for ITVX and RTÉ in association with Fís Eireann/Screen Ireland and ITV Studios.
A beloved ITV comedy series is just days away from returning to screens after receiving rave reviews, but the news is not as good as it seems
The Dry starred Roisin Gallagher as Shiv Sheridan, who lost her job in London and decided to stay on in Dublin but her dysfunctional family threatened to drive her back to the bottle
The series flew under the radar when it first aired on BritBox in May 2022, but a run on ITV1 last year earned it a bigger audience
The bad news is fans will have to wait until 2026 for the new storylines, and the show will only be available to stream on ITVX.
Award-winning playwright and screenwriter Nancy Harris and director Paddy Breathnach team up once again for the new season, which will see Roisin return as recovering alcoholic Shiv, alongside regular cast members from the first series.
The third season is set to plant the bombshell of a huge family secret and focus on how it affects Shiv and the members of her family.
The first two series have been streamed more than 8.2 million times combined with the second season boasting an impressive 2m streams in under a year.
Writer Harris said: 'I am truly thrilled The Dry is coming back for another round with Shiv and the Sheridan family. It's been a joy to work with Paddy Breathnach, Emma Norton and this truly gifted ensemble cast to tell this story.
'Season 3 digs into the roots of the Sheridans' dysfunctional dynamic, unearthing long-held secrets and taking our characters in new and unexpected directions. It's going to be a wild ride and we can't wait to share it with our audience.'
The opening series saw mother Bernie (Pom Boyd) depressed after the death of her eldest child some years prior and father Tom (Ciaran Hinds) finding solace in the arms of acupuncturist Mina (Hélène Patarot).
Squabbles with her brother Ant and sister Caroline, meanwhile, added to Shiv's problems.
And now ITV have confirmed the BAFTA-nominated show's latest season will be aired on ITV1 from Sunday
The bad news is fans will have to wait until 2026 for the third series and the show will only be available to stream on ITVX
The first two seasons have been streamed more than 8.2 million times combined and starred Adam Richardson as Ant and Ciaran Hinds as Tom
Harris, who scored a BAFTA nomination for the eight-part series, was inspired to write it after giving up alcohol for a year.
'I'm from a family where there was quite a lot of addiction,' she said last year.
'The Dry was a rich opportunity to look at family, drinking and addiction in different ways.'
Given Roisin Gallagher's assured performance, it's hard to believe this was her first significant TV role after small parts in The Fall (2013) and Come Home (2018). It was her big break and she's gone on to star in Sky's The Lovers with Johnny Flynn.
'When I first read the script I just went, "Yes!" said Roisin. 'Shiv is a thirtysomething, outwardly managing woman and maybe that's not what we think alcoholics look like. I felt really connected to her and what she had to say and the way she had to say it.'
