Dublin’s Bleak Crime World: Love/Hate Is an Unmissable 5-Part Drama Where Peaky Blinders Meets The Gentlemen on Prime Video
A distinctive Irish crime series
Love/Hate emerged amid a broader shift toward crime stories with morally complex characters. Shows such as The Wire and The Shield helped move the genre beyond simple portrayals of heroic police and clearly villainous criminals.
Filmed in Dublin, the series centers on Darren, a small-time crook played by Robert Sheehan, and Nidge, a conflicted career criminal played by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. Its cast also includes Ruth Negga, Aidan Gillen, Peter Coonan and Barry Keoghan.
From local debate to international notice
During the early years of its five-season run, Irish critics questioned the actors’ accents and the show’s depiction of crime in Dublin. The series later attracted an international audience.
Critics singled out the third season for comparisons with The Wire. The show’s depiction of criminal life remained far grittier than the style associated with some contemporary crime dramas.
A harsher view of criminal life
Unlike the period drama Peaky Blinders, Love/Hate is a contemporary thriller built around everyday criminal life in Dublin. Its characters’ homes and clothes are presented as worn and unglamorous, while violence is often brutal and without clear purpose.
The series’ bleak tone also shapes its treatment of death and violence. Two graphic scenes—involving a cat and a character in prison—prompted record numbers of complaints to Ireland’s RTÉ, according to the article.
A link to The Gentlemen
Barry Keoghan played a young criminal in Love/Hate’s fourth season, before taking a major role in the Peaky Blinders spinoff film The Immortal Man. The two series take sharply different approaches to crime.
Love/Hate creator Stuart Carolan later directed episodes of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen. Both shows received favorable reviews, but Love/Hate’s grounded, grim style contrasts with the more polished crime drama associated with The Gentlemen.
Key points
- Love/Hate is a five-season Irish crime drama set in Dublin.
- Robert Sheehan plays Darren, while Tom Vaughan-Lawlor plays Nidge.
- Barry Keoghan appeared in the series’ fourth season as a young criminal.
- Critics praised the third season and compared it with The Wire.