REUNION - bbc mon7th &tue8th 9pm - TV PACE. NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

A new revenge-thriller called Reunion is heading to the BBC, and it's about to be your new TV obsession.

on mon and Tue for two weeks 7&8 and 14&15

Led by Matthew Gurney alongside 2021 Strictly Come Dancing (https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/g19859372/strictly-come-dancing-line-up/) winner Rose Ayling-Ellis (https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a64231762/code-of-silence-release-date-itv/), and Bad Sisters star Anne-Marie Duff,

The four-part drama follows the journey of Daniel Brennan (Gurney), "a deaf man determined to right his wrongs while unravelling the truth behind the events that led him to prison".

A key feature of the series is its bilingual nature, incorporating both British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English.

It was written by William Mager, a deaf writer from Sheffield.

Speaking of his character, Gurney said: "Reunion is an amazing storyline and is completely different from my previous work. My character Brennan is on a wildly different journey than that portrayed by normal deaf lives, this portrays a man who is hated within the deaf community."

He added: "It shows how deaf people react and act on screen in an honest and authentic way. We are different to hearing actors, we are so much more visual storytellers, it's not about relying on sound it’s about using your eyes and seeing what is going on in the story."

The synopsis says: "Reunion is an emotional thriller of revenge and redemption following the journey of Daniel Brennan, played by Matthew Gurney (Name Me Lawand, Theatre Ad Infinium), a deaf man determined to right his wrongs while unravelling the truth behind the events that led him to prison.

"Brennan embodies the struggle of a man caught between two worlds, unable to fully integrate into the hearing world and shunned by his closest friends and the wider deaf community following his heinous crime.

Amidst this isolation, Brennan's only meaningful relationship is with his estranged daughter Carly, played by Lara Peake (How to Have Sex, Rivals), who he has not had any contact with since his arrest over a decade ago."

Reunion cast
Matthew Gurney, Lara Peake, Anne-Marie Duff, Eddie Marsan and Rose Ayling-Ellis lead the cast of William Mager's new drama.
Below is a full cast list:
• Matthew Gurney as Daniel Brennan
• Lara Peake as Carly
• Anne-Marie Duff as Christine
• Eddie Marsan as Stephen
• Rose Ayling-Ellis as Miri

Right going to try this again. See if I can get into e1 more

Be back in an hour

@Blondeshavemorefun have you seen notice of a new channel 5 cosy crime drama with Phyllis Logan called The Puzzle Lady?
I'm going to have another go with Reunion as well, as soon as OH finishes watching The Fugitive.

Seems I was wrong - just seen e1 again.

it is good. Very good

but you have to actually watch it and not multitask /mn /phone etx

or miss a lot

which I think I did the other day

bad blondes

will now go and watch e2 so I’m up to date

@Sheggsie @moto748e @Umanresources

try this again

watch with no distractions !

No I haven’t seen /heard anything of this - will have a hunt. Thanks

So I guess from e1

daniel didn’t kill Ray and somehow he took the blame /got set up for it

Stephen seemed shocked to see a pic of Ray and like he knew him (wonder if he is the killer) tho surely if dating Christine he would have known 10yrs ago that her husband was killed /murdered - unless he did really know Before she told him

where is Carly’s mum /his wife - assume dead or dissapeered hence leaving with his parents

looks like they all knew each other - like all friends were deaf

he knew where David’s house was - knew his friend would be there. But weird that Miri was also at the party as David seemed her dads age

and if was a party then why wasn’t her mum there if all friendly ?

miri also knows Carly

deafness isn’t inherited afaik - so strange his parents were deaf as well as Daniel

wonder if Ray was deaf or how did Daniel get friendly with Ray and Christine who have a deaf daughter Miri

I like to ponder on things

I assume the gun in car is to find who set him up

I’m def saying Stephen has something to do with it

he knew the number of the team to call to say that snails has broken his bail terms - even tho Miri said it was an accident

Daniel could have said Sorry imo when elbowed her in the face

tho guessing maybe he didn’t recognise /know that Miri was the daughter of dead Ray now all grown up

I may be totally wrong 😂 and change my mind once I’ve seen e2

Carly's mum died

I watched the first ep just now, after blondes' warm recommendation upthread. 😃Yes, good stuff, I'm in. But only one per night! Eddie Marsan is always dodgy, shurely?

Yes 😢

saw that in e2

how horrible for him to find out his wife died and no one told him while in prison

why didn’t they tell him and could have gone to funeral

I did watch the first episode without distractions and it was better than I thought, so looking forward to seeing the rest. That prison was a scary place, especially for a deaf person. You can’t even sleep with one ear listening.

@Blondeshavemorefun

Deafness has many causes, including genetics so it can be inherited.

I did not know this. Thanks

so usual for2 deaf parents to have a deaf child ?

If they have genetic deafness then yes

I still say Stephen has something to do with it

he seems determined to get him back inside and isn’t happy Christine is in the car with him

who is monroe

After ep #2, Stephen has so many red flags. But are they flags, or herrings?

I'm glad you gave it another go, I've binged it so won't comment much, but I thought it was brilliant, a really gripping watch. In awe of the hearing actors who had to learn BSL, and shamed by the way the Deaf community can be disabled by unthinking hearing people.

Id highly recommend the making of which is linked after the third ep on iPlayer

why didn’t they tell him and could have gone to funeral

Indeed, he'd have had a legal right to be informed, at the very least, surely? And if he really wanted English lessons in prison, surely he could have asked a friendly-ish screw to arrange it for him? Ask to see the Governor, or whatever?

He red flagged me in e1

I guess they read the letters and assumed he could read and would have asked to go

thi surely if his wife died , someone would have contacted the prison to mention it

no signing for 6yrs must have been really hard for him as in no communication at all

guessing anyone who is deaf and in prison must have a hard time

yes I’m glad I tried it again @PandaG

tho you are bad for bingeing 😛

Just at the most basic level of, anyone saying, just trust me, when you only just met them (Miri) ... It just seemed so heavily trailed, I wondered if it might be a double-bluff. But I don't think so.

think about it - how would he would know that he could have asked for English lessons? How would he know what his rights are?

The writer did a lot of research into the experiences of deaf people in prison and don’t forget he is deaf and has lived experiences so would know what deaf people go through every day.

And as for asking to see the governor - how on earth would be communicate with them? They would have to get an interpreter etc

What comes across is his frustration and anger - when he does speak. Which is rare and the odd word

many obv can’t understand what he says

as deaf have never heard the words

I’m hard of hearing but so thankful I do hear - but struggle with background noise or whispering

can’t imagine a life of total quietness 😢😢

I binge watched this and found it dark but gripping. And so utterly fascinating to watch a show with the added dimension of signing. As a hearing person I’m only accustomed to watching sing language interpreters translating spoken speech - just as an interpreter might translate between French and German - purely to convey the meaning of the words. Watching signing as a first language spoken between ‘native’ signers was a revelation. I had not realised it could be so embodied - and so individually tied to the personality and character of the signer. Of the actors who learned signing, Anne-Marie Duff had a particularly ‘elegant’ and graceful (almost balletic) signing style - it contrasted hugely with the main actor’s first language style of delivery.

I really enjoyed it and can’t understand why there isn’t far more TV / streamed TV in the same vein.

I guess for hearing actors to have to learn sign language as if get it wrong , the deaf /critics would say something - is a hard task

so not many can sign and act

a good thing to have on cv