Prestige Drama

by Séamas O'Reilly

Derry is already abuzz with news that famous American actor, Monica Logue, has flown to the city and will be starring in a new series set during the Troubles. And then she goes missing...

All eyes are on Diarmuid, the flaky scriptwriter who was the last to see Monica alive. From budding young actors hoping for a role to grieving parent whose story forms the backbone of the narrative; newspaper editors covering the mystery to taxi drivers hearing all the news from their clients, The Dogs in the Street follows the city's cast as they all try to locate themselves in Monica's disappearance.

Séamas O'Reilly's debut novel is a comedy about dramatising tragedy, and the responsibilities of a teller to a tale. It brings to life the voices of a city, the people, families and communities who find themselves obsessed with, and terrified of, interrogating their past.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Adult Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication May 5, 2026

About the author

Séamas O’Reilly is a columnist for the Observer and writes about media and politics for the Irish Times, New Statesman, Guts, and VICE. He lives in Hackney with his family.

Reviews

[Marybeth ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

Thank you to NetGalley, and Little, Brown Book Group for the chance to read this ARC.

Prestige Drama is a compelling and engaging novel that explores how a Northern Irish community grapples with its past when a Hollywood film crew arrives in Derry to make a movie about the Troubles. The story takes a turn when the lead actress goes missing, and the Derry locals conversations reveal a range of perspectives on memory, history, and identity. Some wish to forget the past, while others are willing to confront it. This tension between older and younger generations gives the novel depth and nuance, showing how the legacy of conflict continues to shape individual lives and collective memory.

O’Reilly’s prose is authentic and colloquial to Northern Ireland, with long, conversational sentences that capture the rhythms of Northern Irish speech and make the characters feel real. The longer running sentences made it feel conversational rather than like reading a book, and brought an intimacy to the novel. The dialogue is sharp, often witty, and infused with warmth and humour. As someone from Antrim in Northern Ireland this intimacy was felt on a personal level.

The characters feel like people you could meet on the streets of Derry, and while I was reading it I could almost hear the dialect in the writing. While this is familiar to locals, at the same time, it remains highly accessible to readers outside of Northern Ireland, offering a nuanced understanding of the Troubles through an unmistakably Irish lens.

The ending, without spoilers, really does underline the enduring impact of the Troubles. Fans of Derry Girls will appreciate the humour and local authenticity, while readers who enjoyed The Bee Sting by Paul Murray will recognise the blend of sharp wit and deeper, contemplative themes. Prestige Drama is a remarkable blend of insight, humour, and humanity, and I believe it will resonate strongly with readers both in Northern Ireland but also offering international readers a powerful and accessible entry point into this history.

The only minor gripe I had with this was that it was not long enough. I will be buying this for my friends and family, as I know they will appreciate it too!!

[Kate Vane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prestige Drama has great writing that can swoop from hilarity to horror in a sentence. Each chapter is narrated by a different character – with the exception of the screenwriter, Diarmuid, whose voice recurs at different points in the novel. It's a brilliant device – simultaneously satirising the way people cannibalise the stories of communities under stress to sell a story, while also telling that story, and there are some clever twists along the way.

It highlights the different impacts of the Troubles and their aftermath - how the violence destroyed lives, but also for some meant identity and purpose. (One character highlights that more people have died since the Good Friday Agreement by suicide, than were killed during the Troubles.) It’s an entertaining read, full of inventive language, but the brutality and absurdity it portrays stay with you.
*
Copy from NetGalley

[Lynn Ankner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as an ARC and have mixed feelings about it. In some ways I found the writing style to be hard to follow, but I could also truly "hear" the voices of the characters and their rapid fire stream of consciousness dialogue. There were many humorous moments. The ending left me unsatisfied though. I'm torn between 3 stars and 3.5 stars.

[Leighann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prestige Drama
By Séamas O'Reilly
Prestige Drama will be released in the United States on May 5, 2026.
As soon as I read the first few pages, I knew this book was special. And hilarious!
The novel’s voice is strong and distinctive, with Northern Irish dialect and turns of phrase. The voices are unique in different chapters. Each chapter is from a different character’s perspective, except there are recurring chapters throughout from Diarmuid the screenwriter’s perspective. There is so much social satire, funny critique of characters and events, and a slightly gossipy tone that mostly runs on kindness, rather than meanness.
I could not stop laughing out loud during Dympna’s chapter. She is a mom of one of the young actors, who is auditioning for the TV show, Patricia.
Okay, so the plot. Diarmuid is a screenwriter who went to London to make it big in playwriting, but it didn’t pan out. Yet then he sells his screenplay of a “prestige drama” about the Troubles. Filming is all set to start soon in Derry, and a high-profile American actress, well-known for crime dramas, is attached to the project. She arrives in town unexpectedly to get a feel for the place and work on her accent, which needs major work.
Everyone in town wants a part, but Diarmuid seems to have writer’s block, and then the lead actress has gone missing…uh-oh…Meanwhile everyone and their brother is trying to audition, get a part in the show, consult, or something.
If you like the dark sense of humor and zany family dynamics of Derry Girls, this book is for you. The book is set in Derry, but the time is set in present day (unlike Derry Girls, which is set during the end of the Troubles in Northern Ireland). Prestige Drama, in my opinion, has a similar tone to the show Bodkin, also set in Ireland, which has a murder mystery, a podcast, and absurd comedy along with a cast of “quirky” townspeople.
I feel like the author has seen all of these TV shows and films and went off to write his own more hilarious version. With all the laughs, there are serious themes about how to reckon with a history of violence, who is left behind after death and war, and how different characters deal with grief, loss, and the fallout from the Troubles. With all of the distinctive characters, you can see they are people who are not going to let the past define them.
Throughout the book, Diarmuid’s TV show about the Troubles is described as a “lavish prestige drama,” and fun is poked at the Brits and American producers/showrunners for their love of adapting Irish books or making films and movies set during The Troubles (think Say Nothing and Derry Girls).
This book is 192 pages, and it flew by for me. Genre-wise, it leans more toward a literary mystery as far as the pacing, not a true thriller or murder mystery, with the social satire and character studies. And I do believe there is a very good chance Prestige Drama will be snapped up by producers and made into a comedy and drama. Not that that’s the be all and end all for the life of a book, becoming IP, but I think the irony would be funny, and I would watch it, for sure.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Cardinal and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[whereissara · Rating 3 out of 5]

"She pulled a notebook from her coat pocket, crumpled and covered in notes. On it were written numerous lines of dialogue. Here, she said, before jumping into performance, sher the douggs in the strayt know what Pawwddy McMenamin is up te, naw if he wants te get past us he'll have to roise aaarlier than that in de mooarning.
I paused, now caught not in the blinding light of her charisma, but in the horror of one of the worst attempts at my accent that I'd ever heard."

Prestige Drama by Séamas O’Reilly made me laugh out loud so many times while reading it. The dialogue is sharp and witty, and I agree with another reviewer that some of the references or nuance may be lost on me because I’m not Irish or from Derry. The author really captures the dark and self-deprecating humor in Northern Ireland and how it's used as a camouflage for many who want to move on or not acknowledge the past. In a way, this kind of humor is how the characters survive and relate to one another (whether they want to or not).

There are hints dropped throughout about the missing American actress that the characters weave together through their different POVs. I also did not know that more people in Northern Ireland have taken their own lives since the Good Friday Agreement than were killed in political violence during the Troubles.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Prestige Drama and look forward to reading more by Séamas O'Reilly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Jill Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Derry boy Diarmurd Walsh is writing a drama about the Troubles.
This one is based on the murder of Jamie Devenney, a local boy shot in the head by a young British soldier.
The drama ‘Dead City’ has been snapped up by Tinseltown and a famous Hollywood actress Monica Logue, who is due to play the part of the dead boy’s mother, has come over to talk to the locals and work on her accent.
Trouble is she’s gone missing.
The story is told in short chapters by Diarmurd and other local residents, many of whom want to be cast in the forthcoming production and are helping in the search for her.
It’s funny, although bleak at times, particularly the thoughts of Anne-Marie, Jamie’s mother and his friend Jonny.
It highlights the tensions of present day Derry well, particularly the thoughts of the older generation who lived through it all and still carry their secrets.
The voices are authentic, the Northern Irish dialect brought to life in a close and conversational manner.
I did find it a bit disjointed in parts and wasn’t altogether convinced by the ending.
However it’s a great fiction debut from Séamas O’Reilly that deserves to do well.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of Derry is buzzing about the show that is being made about a local murder during the Troubles. Some people are obsessed with talking about it, everyone is trying to find their place in it and in the city's past. When the starring actress goes missing, the buzz becomes even louder. From this description, it sounds like a plot driven novel, but that's not the case. O'Reilly tells the story in alternating points of view from various people connected with the current filming of the show and people connected to the actual murder of the young man during the Troubles. There is plenty in here to laugh about - the writing is wicked sharp. There is also a lot that is profound and touching about how we deal with the past and how it remains a part of our present. I appreciated the skill of the author a great deal, but I still felt like some of the elements didn't pull together as well as I would have liked - but maybe that's just fiction reflecting reality. Due out in May of 2026.

[Ruth Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though 'Prestige Drama' is a quick read, it's an absolute delight that doesn't hold your hand.

It's told from the perspectives of different people from Derry, with Diarmuid (the screenwriter) as the only unifying voice/perspective. Each person in the town has their own opinion of the TV show, where the lead actress has disappeared to, and the Troubles themselves.

I laughed out loud multiple times from the young actor who knows based on the character he's reading for's sideburns that he's gonna be a punk rocker and should learn to play the guitar to one up the British guy they'll inevitably offer the part to, to the guys recreating a mural who have to tone down their skills after years of painting to make it look as godawful as when it first went up.

With some twists along the way, 'Prestige Drama' explores questions of authenticity, belonging, and who does history/who do these stories really belong to.

4 stars. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diarmuid is a struggling playwright who, after several failed plays has managed to create a screen play about the Troubles in Northern Ireland which the television companies are wild about. The script is picked up and shooting will begin in Derry very soon, or it would, if the leading lady hadn't mysteriously disappeared. As the police begin searching for her and the rumour mill kicks into overdrive, many people have theories about where she might be and about the whole thing in general. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different person involved, from the location scout to other cast members, from Diarmuid himself to townspeople who were around at the time. Not everyone is convinced it will be a good thing and old memories that may be best forgotten are stirred. This is sharp, funny and at times bleakly twisted. I loved it.

[Ben Dutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The journalist and non-fiction writer Seamas O'Reilly's debut novel, Prestige Drama, is a look at the Troubles and their legacy in Northern Ireland through the prism of a TV drama about to be made there - until the leading actress goes missing. From this crime novel like concept, O'Reilly spins a novel which is both comedic and dramatic, told from a number of differing viewpoints, to create something which is both memorable and moving. It is a short novel which I read in one sitting, entirely engaged by O'Reilly's prose which really captures the cadence and voice of the Northern Irish, and his characterisation was spot-on. This is a very fine debut with a broad appeal, and I really enjoyed reading this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

[Jen Grá · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prestige Drama is set in Derry and centres around a TV show about the Troubles due to be shot there. An American actress has been cast as the central role of a grieving mother, but goes missing before filming can begin.
The novel contains multi-narratives , each with a distinct voice, weaving the tale as they speak about their own lives- the past and the present. I personally admired Seamas O'Reilly's work more than I loved it, but I was never bored. As a Northern Irish person, the sense of culture and place rang true and the cadence of the Derry people was captured on page.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Emilie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book.

I am not really sure how to review this book. It is about an American actress who signs on to star in a drama series about the Troubles, but soon goes missing. Instead of a linear narrative about the television show, the residents of Derry, or the disappearance of the actress, the book is more like vignettes from the perspectives of those involved in the inspiration, creation, and making of the series.

Some aspects were great. For example the actual writing really let the reader get an insight into various characters. The problem is that sometimes, because the reader just seems to be listening to each character as they describe their feelings, actions, or motivations, it's hard to differentiate the characters. We just know what they are telling us (which can be great and impactful). But sometimes as the reader we need to see the characters "from the outside" to also more deeply understand them. While a great deal of the "narration" from each character was extremely well-written, at times humorous, poignant, and revelatory, it was also the weakness of the book. It felt like I, as the reader, was looking at everything through a microscope, or at various individual puzzle pieces. And while each slide or puzzle piece (or chapter) was intriguing, it was too difficult for me to "zoom out," or put the puzzle together. And that could just be my fault, and not the fault of the book or the author.

[Parthena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different perspectives and memories about the Troubles in Ireland in all its sadness and humor. Great read!