BBC Northern Ireland and CBC have unveiled first look images of new romantic comedy Committed, starring Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek, Hot Frosty) and Diona Doherty (Derry Girls, Blue Lights).
The images feature Canadian Peter Hooley (Dustin Milligan), a recently divorced accountant who falls head over heels for Northern Ireland woman Julie Johnston (Diona Doherty) after a whirlwind weekend in Toronto and crosses the Atlantic to declare his love, only to discover he’s landed in an old-fashioned and eccentric rural Northern Ireland village that’s nothing like he imagined.
L-R: Peter Hooley (Dustin Milligan), John William (Seamus O’Hara), William John (Ian McElhinney), Reverend Campbell (Patrick Buchanan), Julie Johnston (Diona Doherty) (Image: Steffan Hill)
L-R: Mervyn (Chris McCurry), Chimamanda (Muki Zubis), Julie Johnston (Diona Doherty) and Peter Hooley (Dustin Milligan) (Image: Steve Wilkie)
The newly released images also feature Ian McElhinney (Derry Girls, Game of Thrones) as William John, Julie’s gruff father; Seamus O’Hara (House of Guinness, Say Nothing) as Julie’s daft brother, John William; Patrick Buchanan (Blue Lights, Warrior) as Rev. Campbell Smiley, the dashing Minister; Muki Zubis (This Is Going to Hurt) as Julie’s best friend, Chimamanda; and Chris McCurry (Belfast, Obituary) as Mervyn, Chimamanda’s charismatic and lovable husband. The cast also includes Dan Gordon (Blue Lights, Bloodlands), Athena Karkanis (Manifest, The Handmaid’s Tale) and Georgie Murphy (Stumble, Gen V).
Julie Johnston (Diona Doherty) and Peter Hooley (Dustin Milligan) (Image: Steffan Hill)
Julie Johnston (Diona Doherty) and Peter Hooley (Dustin Milligan) (Image: Peter Marley)
Produced by Cameron Pictures and Fabel Productions, the series was filmed in County Down, Northern Ireland, with additional scenes shot in Hamilton, Ontario.
A CBC original series, Committed is produced in association with BBC Northern Ireland by Cameron Pictures Inc. and Fabel Productions Ltd. under the UK/Canada Co-Production Treaty, and global distribution is handled by FOX. The series was co-created by Keith Martin, Gerry Dee and Tim Loane, who is showrunner, and developed under the Northern Ireland Screen/Canada Media Fund Co-Development Initiative for Audiovisual Projects.
Executive producers are Amy Cameron, Tassie Cameron and Alex Patrick for Cameron Pictures; Keith Martin for Fabel Productions; Tim Loane and Gerry Dee; Jessie Gabe; and Molly McGlynn, who also directs the pilot and four episodes. Peter Huang directs five episodes. Co-executive producers are Dustin Milligan, Karen Tsang, Caledonia Brown and Shebli Zarghami. Chris Martin is producer. Writers include Tim Loane, Jessie Gabe and Shebli Zarghami, with supervising producer Kurt Smeaton and consulting producer Linsey Stewart.
For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Programming; Trish Williams is Executive Director, Scripted Content; Sandra Picheca is Director, Current Production, Comedy; and Mélanie Lê Phan is Executive in Charge of Current Production. For BBC Northern Ireland, Eddie Doyle is Head of Content Commissioning and Jason Butler is Commissioning Editor.
Additional financing was provided by the Canada Media Fund and Northern Ireland Screen.
Committed is due to air on BBC Northern Ireland in early 2027 and on CBC and CBC Gem in Canada around the same time.
top picture: Peter Hooley (Dustin Milligan) and Julie Johnston (Diona Doherty) (Image: Steve Wilkie)
