At first, the premise is almost deliberately ordinary. Cushla Lavery teaches at a Catholic school and helps at her family's pub. Michael Agnew is an older married Protestant barrister. They meet, they are drawn to each other, and the consequences begin accumulating almost immediately.

Lola Petticrew plays Cushla, with Tom Cullen as Michael and Gillian Anderson as Cushla's mother, Gina. The casting matters because Trespasses is built less around plot machinery than around people attempting to maintain ordinary relationships when their surroundings make ordinary choices increasingly difficult.

A romance with pressure coming from every direction

The series is set in 1975, during the Troubles, and keeps that conflict close without turning every scene into a history lesson. Michael's work and public positions attract attention. Cushla's school life creates another set of risks. Her family's pub places different parts of the community in the same room.

Then there is home. Gina's worsening drinking leaves Cushla dealing with a mother who can be funny, volatile and deeply vulnerable, while her brother Eamonn tries to keep the family business moving. Gillian Anderson also serves as an executive producer.

Louise Kennedy's novel becomes a four-hour drama

Ailbhe Keogan adapted Louise Kennedy's novel for television, with Dawn Shadforth directing. Wildgaze Films produced the four episodes, each running roughly an hour, and All3Media International is the global partner on the production.

That limited length suits the material. Trespasses does not need a sprawling ensemble or several seasons to establish what is at stake for Cushla. Her relationship with Michael, her responsibility toward her pupils and the instability at home are already pulling in incompatible directions.

Kennedy's original story was built around private lives existing under public pressure. The television version follows the same basic instinct: politics and sectarian violence are not distant background information for these characters. They enter homes, classrooms, relationships and conversations.

A second life for the series in the US

Trespasses was originally commissioned by Channel 4, filmed in Belfast and first shown in the UK in 2025. PBS is now giving the drama its American run, beginning September 20, 2026.

US viewers can also stream the series through PBS.org and the PBS app. Four episodes. One completed story. That is the whole shape of it.