First look at brand new Irish drama series Darklands

Darklands is set amidst a gang war in a small Irish town and tells the story of Damien Dunne, a 16-year-old boy still in school, who dreams of becoming a professional MMA fighter. Damien's home life is troubled. His parents struggle to make ends meet, while his reckless older brother Wesley has turned to a life of crime to help provide for the family.

When a major drug deal goes wrong, Wesley goes missing. Damien begins to feel the pressure to step up as a provider for his family.

Bobby 'Butsy' Butler, Wesley's best friend and a gang leader, takes Damien under his wing, promising to help him find his brother, while attempting to lure him into the gang. To complicate matters, Damien’s girlfriend Nicola is from the family of a rival gang across town. Her brother, Jason Keegan, is a vicious thug and all are sworn enemies of Butsy and his crew.

Under mounting pressure, and with Wesley still missing, Damien starts to succumb to Butsy's offer of easy money and a different kind of career, far away from the sporting future he was hoping for. With the Keegan gang now gunning for him, and his MMA future on the brink of ending before it’s really begun, Damien must decide which life he’ll choose - the octagon or the streets?

The brand new six-part Irish crime drama series will air on Monday, 7 October at 9pm on Virgin Media One, as announced by the network today.

Created by Mark O’Connor, Darklands is his first transition into television, after his Irish blockbuster Cardboard Gangsters, the most successful Irish film of 2017.

This series is produced by Parallel Films and Stalker Films for Virgin Media Television in association with Freemantle Media, Screen Ireland and the Broadcast Authority of Ireland.

Tune in to Virgin Media One on Monday 7th October at 9pm to watch Darklands.