How the Irish took over cable TV

“There was uncles giving lectures / On ancient Irish history. / The men all started telling jokes. / And the women they got frisky. / At five o’clock in the evening / Every b****rd there was piskey.”

Fittingly, the stars of “Rescue Me” – which is on FX Tuesday at 10 p.m. – and “The Wire” knew a thing or two about the Irish experience in real life: both Leary and West are the sons of immigrant parents.

If “The Wire” and “Rescue Me” played with classic Irish-American stereotypes, Showtime’s “Brotherhood” (Sundays at 8 p.m.) dug far and deep into the conflicts inherent in the Irish-American psyche: in the show, one brother is a politician, the other a criminal. Both must contend with one of the towering female characters in TV history, the boys’ mother, brilliantly played by Fionnula Flanagan.

Of course, the lines between right and wrong, family and foe, are blurry.  Like “The Wire” (not to mention Edwin O’Connor’s novel of 50 years earlier “The Last Hurrah”), “Brotherhood” explores the waning days of Irish-American influence, and the lengths to which the Irish will go to cling to whatever slice of power they continue holding on to.  The fact that “Brotherhood” also has the whiff of real life (the Bulger brothers of Boston come to mind) gives the show even wider resonance.

Once “Rescue Me”, “The Wire” and “Brotherhood” proved that great drama could be made about characters who were not named Tony Soprano, executives began turning to Irish-born talent. 

Gabriel Byrne took on the challenging role of psychoanalyst Paul Weston in HBO’s “In Treatment.”  Based on an Israeli drama, the show’s ambitious first season aired every night of the week, showcasing Dr. Weston’s five patients. The show now airs Sundays at 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over on Showtime, Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as King Henry VIII in the third season of “The Tudors,” which shows just how contemporary the trials and tribulations of a 16th-century royal family can be.

Interestingly, in June, yet another strong Irish-American character will show up on cable. Edie Falco will star in Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie,” about a nurse coping with adversity at work and home. Initially, Falco’s name in the show was Jackie O’Hurley. Producers played up her tough Irish girl image. But reports now suggest the character’s name has been changed to Jackie Peyton.

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Nster.com