Sam to play love interest in second series of RTÉ comedy drama

Tullamore's Sam Keeley is set to appear in the upcoming second series of 'The Dry' as main character Shiv's new love interest.

The eight-part comedy drama, described by some is the 'Irish Fleabag' is produced by the Oscar nominated production company Element Pictures, in a co-production with ITVX, and is due to air later in the spring on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.

Images released this week reveal a budding new romance brewing for the main character Shiv (Roisin Gallagher) with newcomer Alex (Sam Keeley) and feature an anxious and forlorn Tom (Ciarán Hinds), as a man on the verge of losing everything.

The acclaimed drama, which The Guardian described as “painfully funny” starts seven months after events of the first series which saw recovering alcoholic Shiv return to Dublin after years of partying in London for a family funeral to a delightfully dysfunctional and almost always drunk family. It followed her bid to stay sober against all the odds.

In the second series a new friendship alsoarises for Bernie (Pom Boyd) with her sponsor Billy (Thommas Kane Byrne), and we see a return to home comforts for Ant (Adam Richardson) and Caroline (Siobhán Cullen).

Written by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Nancy Harris and directed by Paddy Breathnach, 'The Dry' streams exclusively on ITVX in the UK from March 14.