The Roaring Banshees play about 'all-female band of Irish rebels' to be adapted into series

Irish production company Deadpan Pictures are collaborating on a new Prohibition drama, The Roaring Banshees.

The series, described as a high-stakes, gangland thriller set in 1920s Chicago, is an adaptation of the play by John Morton and Peter McGann.

The project, made alongside Canadian production company Shaftesbury Films, is set to be presented at Rome’s MIA Market—a marketplace event for films and television in development—from October 6 to 10.

The story begins in post-revolutionary Ireland, where a failed assassination attempt by the secret rebel unit, known as the Banshees, forces the women to flee. After boarding an American-bound ship, the group reunites later in Chicago during the winter of 1923. The Banshees, struggling to survive in a foreign land, start selling bootleg liquor to the Irish mob. However, their growing business attracts the attention of corrupt police and dangerous gangsters.

Speaking with Variety ahead of the MIA Market, Paul Donovan, co-founder of Deadpan Pictures, drew comparisons to hit series like Peaky Blinders and Babylon Berlin. "It’s cinematic, visual, high-end, dramatic — but also fun and entertaining," he said.

The Roaring Banshees is written by John Morton and Peter McGann, with Neasa Hardiman directing. The series will consist of eight 60-minute episodes and will be shot in both Ireland and Hamilton, Ontario, which will stand in for 1920s Chicago.