The Young Offenders (TV series)

The Young Offenders is an Irish coming-of-age television sitcom, developed by Peter Foott, for RTÉ2 and BBC Three. Based on the IFTA-winning 2016 film of the same name, the first series began broadcasting on 1 February 2018, to generally favourable reviews. The show stars Alex Murphy and Chris Walley as the main characters, reprising their roles of Conor MacSweeney and Jock O'Keefe from the film, respectively, with supporting roles featured from Hilary Rose, Dominic MacHale, P. J. Gallagher, Jennifer Barry, Demi Isaac Oviawe and Shane Casey. Prior to the successful six-episode first series coming to an end, the programme was recommissioned for a second series.

Soon after the release of the second series, several members of the cast confirmed on social media that a third series is being planned.

Overall
The series follows the adventurous and criminalized lives of Cork-based teenagers Conor MacSweeney and Jock O'Keefe. Although criminals, the boys both have deep feelings about certain views, which Conor says at the end of each episode, giving viewers a message about day-to-day life and how it can make people happier.

Series 1
The first series reviews the Conor and Jock's feud with their school principal, Barry Walsh, and their relationships with his daughters, Linda and Siobhan, respectively. It also sees Conor try to overcome his fear of his first kiss with Linda, or as Jock calls "shifting", as well as seeing Conor's mother Mairéad begin a relationship with Jock and Connor's enemy, Sergeant Tony Healy, the local police officer. Jock's abusive home life with his alcoholic father is addressed further, which results in him moving in with the MacSweeney's.

Series 2
Siobhan is now heavily pregnant with Jock and Conor attempting to make as many ways to earn money as possible. Conor and Linda are preparing to go to the next stage of their relationship by having sex. However, their plans are affected when Jock's old best friend Gavin, now Conor's arch-enemy, dares Linda to kiss him for five seconds. Principal Walsh tries to show that Jock is not a worthy father figure by giving him challenges.

Main cast

 * Alex Murphy as Conor MacSweeney
 * Chris Walley as Jock O’Keefe
 * Hilary Rose as Mairéad MacSweeney
 * Dominic MacHale as Sergeant Tony Healy
 * Jennifer Barry as Siobhan Walsh
 * Demi Isaac Oviawe as Linda Walsh
 * P. J. Gallagher as Principal Barry Walsh

Recurring cast

 * Shane Casey as Billy Murphy
 * Chris Kent as Conor's Dad
 * Orla Fitzgerald as Orla Walsh
 * Cora Fenton as Jock's Mum
 * Michael Sands as Jock's Dad

Guest stars

 * Robert Sheehan as Himself

Episodes
Main article: List of Episodes