TV: Slaughter on the Wild Atlantic Way as long-lost secrets resurface

The second series of RTÉ’s intense family drama, Smother, got off to a bloody start

There will be blood: Seana Kerslake, Dervla Kirwan and Niamh Walsh in Smother. Picture: Martin Maguire

Smother (RTÉ One)

Crimes and Confessions (RTÉ One)

The return of Kate O’Riordan’s Smother (RTÉ One) and its Russian novel-sized cast of characters could have done with a decent recap. Instead, we were dropped into a flash-forward with blood on the carpet, a revolver on the floor and someone poking a hunting rifle round the corner of a door. Great stuff. Gore everywhere. Slaughter on the Wild Atlantic Way.

Maybe O’Riordan was following the great ...