West Cork’s ‘unbelievable’ film talent utilised in Netflix series

THE darkly comedic thriller Bodkin – much of which was filmed in Union Hall in 2022 – will premiere on Netflix on Thursday May 9th.

People won’t have long to wait to see West Cork, and indeed Wicklow, in all its glory over the seven episodes in the series, but for a sneak peek people can check out the trailer online.

The new series – which appears quite quirky – is famously backed by the former US president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama, who are executive producers of the show.

Bodkin is about a motley crew of podcasters who set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in a coastal Irish town.

Édaín O’Donnell, who is a director of the West Cork Film Studio (WCFS), which was established last year, described the buzz that the filming from May to September in 2022 caused.

‘Bodkin had large crowd scenes, which engaged loads of local extras, which made for lots of excitement and fun,’ said Édaín, who is hoping that their studio will have similar success in attracting productions that will generate as much interest and employment locally.

‘Union Hall really appealed to us as a location and so did its connection to the ocean – the fact that there’s a working harbour there, and it’s incredibly beautiful,’ executive producer of Bodkin Alex Metcalf told The Southern Star.

He said the locals in Union Hall were ‘incredibly welcoming and helpful, and receptive to our work in the town.’

Meanwhile, the show’s creator Jez Schart said one of the really exciting things is that they got to ‘utilise the talent in Ireland – and the level of that talent is unbelievable across both cast and crew.’