Rebellion (miniseries)

Rebellion depicts fictional characters in Dublin during the 1916 Rising.[1] The commemorative drama begins with the outbreak of World War I. As expectations of a short and glorious campaign are dashed, social stability is eroded, and Irish nationalism comes to the fore. The tumultuous events that follow are seen through the eyes of a group of friends from Dublin, Belfast, and London as they play vital and conflicting roles in the narrative of Ireland's independence.

The series was directed by Finnish director Aku Louhimies[2] and written by series creator Colin Teevan.

RTÉ secured €400,000 in funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland in 2014.[3] In May 2015, RTÉ confirmed it would produce a drama series commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the 1916 Rising; the show was filmed during summer 2015 in Dublin.[4] In December 2015, RTÉ Television confirmed the series would premiere early January on Irish television.[5][6] The series, which cost €6 million, is the most expensive drama series produced by the public broadcaster.[7] RTÉ and Zodiac Media, the production company that made Rebellion, announced in 2016 they would produce a sequel series, initially titled Rebellion: Two States, set during the War of Independence.[8] The sequel, starring Brian Gleeson and Gavin Drea, was released in 2019 with the title Resistance. The sequel opens as British police are closing in on Irish leader Michael Collins and his men.[9]

The series premiered on SundanceTV in the United States, on 24 April 2016 and on YLE in Finland, on 1 June 2016. SundanceTV has combined episodes into pairs and titled "To Arms", "Under Siege" and "The Reckoning" S1E5. The series is available on RTÉ Player in Ireland and on Netflix worldwide, except in Ireland and Finland.[10]

Following its first broadcast, episode 1 held a strong audience of 619,000. 41% of the available audience tuned in to RTÉ One to watch the opening episode of the five-part series, with an additional 45,000 people catching it on RTÉ One +1 and more than 9,000 people viewing it on the RTÉ Player.[11]

The Irish Times gave the first episode a favourable review.[7] The Irish Mirror claimed that the series was "destined to court controversy".[2] Dr. Shane Kenna, a historian and lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin, criticised the series for its "poor ahistorical script with no educational benefit".[12] The series was slated on social media, with many viewers criticising its historical inaccuracies.[13] Pat Stacey, writing in the Irish Independent, wrote negatively about the dialogue, stating: "the characters didn’t so much converse as chuck out egregiously stilted slabs of text which hung in the air for a moment, before crashing to the floor", concluding: "It’s not historical accuracy the Rebellion has to worry about; it's plain, old-fashioned bad writing, allied with dismally flat direction." [14]

• Rebellion on IMDb 
• Rebellion at RTÉ.ie
• Rebellion at SundanceTV