Brian Doherty, who plays the villainous JJ in Fair City, has told RTÉ Entertainment that Carrigstown fans will see a different side to him as an actor in Tall Tales & Murder, the new darkly comic series from Love/Hate creator Stuart Carolan.
Full of gags, guns, and gold, and not the type of series to watch with nana, Tall Tales & Murder sees worn-out retirement home nurse Bridget (Ella Lily Hyland) and want-out car thief Paul (Casey Walsh) embark on the (mis)adventure of their lives.
Joining them are previously comatose Dublin criminal Grinner (Aidan Gillen), Bridget's icy-yet-amorous boss, The Matron (Aisling O'Sullivan), and Bunny (Brian Doherty), a GAA-obsessed detective who valiantly tries to be Paul's guardian angel - and keep The Matron satisfied.
Watch: A clip from Tall Tales & Murder
In the kindest sense, Bunny is a world away from Fair City's JJ.
"That's what you want as an actor - you don't want to be playing the same thing over and over again. You want that variety of character," smiled Doherty.
"I've been very lucky over time to have done that. To have these two (Tall Tales & Murder and Fair City) at the same time is very unusual, and it's great craic."
"JJ is fun to play the darkness and his manipulative nature is something else," the Waterford man continued.
"With Bunny, it's his ability to cope, however ham-fisted it can be at times! His philosophy for life is, 'We'll think of something'. I'm crazy about Bunny. I think he's a fantastic character; I really do. I love him!"
Listen: Brian Doherty and Aisling O'Sullivan tell The Oliver Callan Show all about Tall Tales & Murder
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Playing Bunny has also given Doherty the opportunity to reunite with one of his favourite co-stars, Aisling O'Sullivan.
"We actually did our first jobs together in Dublin, in the Abbey. We were boyfriend and girlfriend in a play called The Murphy Initiative in the early 90s, 35 years ago," he recounted.
"This is our fourth time now playing opposite one another in terms of romantic partners - some more twisted than others! We did RAW, where I was kind of a long-lost boyfriend. And then we did Tom Murphy's brilliant play The Wake in the Abbey as well.
"From the first few pages [of Tall Tales & Murder], the dialogue is so good and the scenarios are so interesting and the characters jump off the page. Myself and Aisling went in and read together and we were cast in it, but we had only read the first two episodes, so we were waiting to see - we didn't know what happened.
"I won't do any spoilers, but there are storylines that come in and you go, 'Is this a typo? Is this a page from another script?!'
"And I think people watching it will be going, 'Is this the same thing?! Are we watching the same thing?!' And the way that that ties in, you go, 'Right, how are they going to get these two - or three! - strands to meet?'"
Season two of Tall Tales & Murder is already in the pipeline.
"I can't wait to see those scripts. There are so many ways it could go," said Doherty.
"It was a very enjoyable show to work on, and the crew were brilliant. It was a fun show, which I think shows.
"I didn't know Stuart Carolan at all. I was living in the UK when Love/Hate was on. We hadn't crossed paths, and I'm very happy that we have now. I knew of Chris Addison, the director. I hadn't met him before, but I'd always admired his work in The Thick of It, and then he directed a lot of Veep, and I love Veep. In the work, you can see that there's a great relationship there and in Chris, an understanding of Stuart's material."
As to what lies ahead back in Carrigstown for JJ and love interest Carol (Aisling O'Neill), Doherty concluded: "Well, it's never an easy journey, is it? I think she's constantly questioning who exactly this guy is.
"But I think the one genuine thing about JJ, certainly so far, is that he genuinely cares for Carol. So, I think he manages to win her back over and over again. But she can be a spiky character as well, so they're well-matched.
"I think there's a little voice in her head saying, 'You shouldn't be doing this', but she can't resist him! How could you?! Sure, look at me!"
Tall Tales & Murder begins on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday, 27 September at 9:40pm, with all episodes available on RTÉ Player from 27 September. Fair City airs on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
