{ "id": "epz8mhg3vg", "slug": "dead-still", "title": "Dead Still", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.historical-and-period-drama", "label": "Historical and period drama", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.historical-and-period-drama" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo.t2001", "label": "Non-geographic · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t2001", "path": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo", "label": "Non-geographic", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.t2001", "label": "Non-geographic · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.t2001" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Dead Still (2020) is an Irish-Canadian six-part dark comedy-drama set in 1880s Dublin, following memorial photographer Brock Blennerhasset (Michael Smiley), created by John Morton for RTÉ and Acorn TV; distinct from the 2014 horror film of the same name.", "snippet": "Dead Still (2020) is an Irish-Canadian six-part dark comedy-drama set in 1880s Dublin, following memorial photographer Brock Blennerhasset (Michael Smiley), created by John Morton for RTÉ and Acorn TV; distinct from the 2014 horror film of the same name.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.historical-and-period-drama", "markdown": "# Dead Still\n\n**Dead Still** is a six-part Irish-Canadian dark comedy-drama television series set in 1880s Dublin, in which a memorial photographer who portraits the recently deceased is drawn into a serial-murder investigation linked to his trade. Created and written by John Morton, with story by Morton and Imogen Murphy, it was produced by Deadpan Pictures in co-production with Shaftesbury Films for RTÉ and Acorn Media Enterprises.[1](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=4293393&tpl=archnews) The title should not be confused with a 2014 American horror film of the same name about a cursed camera, directed by Philip Adrian Booth and starring [Ben Browder](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-browder) and [Ray Wise](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-wise).[2](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/dead-still-vod/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | 6 × 50 minutes; year of production 2019[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still) |\n| Setting | Dublin, 1880, during the Victorian heyday of postmortem (memorial) photography[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still) |\n| Lead cast | Michael Smiley (Brock Blennerhasset), Kerr Logan (Conall Molloy), Eileen O'Higgins (Nancy Vickers), Aidan O'Hare (Frederick Regan), Jimmy Smallhorne (Cecil Carruthers), with Martin Donovan[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/dead-still) |\n| Production | Deadpan Pictures with Shaftesbury Films; funded by RTÉ, Acorn TV, ZDF Enterprises, Screen Ireland and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland; an Ireland-Canada treaty co-production[1](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=4293393&tpl=archnews) • [5](https://www.screenproducersireland.com/protected/resources/policy-and-research/rte-independent-productions-annual-report-2019.pdf) |\n| Premiere | May 18, 2020 on Acorn TV (US) and Rogers (Canada), ahead of its Irish premiere on RTÉ One in autumn 2020[1](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=4293393&tpl=archnews) |\n| Award | Edgar Allan Poe Award: Best Television Episode Teleplay (John Morton)[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still) |\n| Reception | 89% on Rotten Tomatoes; 6.9/10 on IMDb[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/dead-still) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nBrock Blennerhasset ([Michael Smiley](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-smiley)) is a renowned memorial photographer whose business is failing as the fashion for photographing the recently deceased loses its appeal. He takes on his would-be actress niece Nancy Vickers (Eileen O'Higgins) and a new assistant, the gravedigger Conall Molloy (Kerr Logan). A serial killer with a macabre interest in photographing his own victims emerges as sinister competition, and Detective Frederick Regan of the Dublin Metropolitan Police suspects Ireland may have its first serial murderer. As the body count mounts, Blennerhasset becomes a possible suspect, and the trio must track down the killer before he ruins their business and their lives.[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still) • [6](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/42354/dead-still)\n\nThe six episodes are titled [Photochemistry](https://www.edgepedia.org/photochemistry), Development, Daguerreotype, Camera Obscura, Snuff (recording of an actual killing), and Only Memories Remain, each named for a photographic process or concern of the trade.[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still) Episode plots move from a commission to photograph a drowned boy in Kingstown, through the theft of Blennerhasset's new camera, to an illicit \"snuff\" photograph trade in which Regan suspects a murder conspiracy his Dublin employers are thwarting.[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still)\n\n## Historical background\n\nThe series is built on the real Victorian practice of postmortem photography, in which the recently deceased were captured in commissioned portraits as a way of preserving their memory. Historical accounts describe the deceased arranged as if alive among family members, and note that corpses, given the long exposure times and cost of early photography, made practical portrait subjects; in some styles the dead are difficult to distinguish from the living in the finished picture.[7](https://victorianweb.org/victorian/photos/postmortem/index.html) • [8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7975931/) The practice declined at the beginning of the 20th century, when photographs of the funeral itself, with the deceased in a coffin, gradually replaced it.[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7975931/)\n\nCreator John Morton has said his research involved \"a lot of looking at photographs of corpses and questionable Victorian photography,\" and that one of the themes he wanted to explore was how quickly technology develops.[9](https://worldscreen.com/tvdrama/dark-comedy-collides-with-the-macabre-in-dead-still/) Director Imogen Murphy has said the show hints at the class differences rife in 1880s Dublin and at an Irish population beginning to press for independence, while keeping the characters' dialogue deliberately modern rather than stilted.[10](https://www.themarysue.com/dead-still-director-imogen-murphy/)\n\n## Development and production\n\nThe series began as a submission to Storyland, a commissioning scheme of the Irish broadcaster RTÉ. Murphy and writer John Morton fixed on Morton's idea about a memento mori photographer in 1880s Dublin and shot a one-minute promo called *Daguerreotype*, which RTÉ turned down; they developed the idea further using the promo as proof of concept, found production and distribution partners in Ireland, Canada, the United States and Germany, and the title became *Dead Still*. RTÉ ultimately came aboard as the Irish broadcaster.[10](https://www.themarysue.com/dead-still-director-imogen-murphy/)\n\nThe series was directed by Imogen Murphy and Craig David Wallace, produced by Suzanne McAuley, with Paul Donovan as series producer and executive producers including Ailish McElmeel, Christina Jennings and Scott Garvie. Funding came from the BAI in association with ZDFE and Rogers Media, with Irish film-industry investment incentives and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, as an Ireland-Canada treaty co-production, and it was developed with the assistance of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland with support from the Creative MEDIA Programme of the European Union.[1](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=4293393&tpl=archnews)\n\nUnusually for an Irish series, *Dead Still* premiered first in North America, launching on [Acorn TV](https://www.edgepedia.org/acorn-tv) in the United States and on Rogers in Canada on May 18, 2020, before airing on RTÉ One in autumn 2020; it became available in the UK, Australia and New Zealand on June 29, 2020.[1](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=4293393&tpl=archnews)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe series holds an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.9/10 on IMDb.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/dead-still) The Irish Times described it as \"unapologetically pulpy, yet dares to be different,\" noting that it also alludes to tensions around class and identity in Irish society.[11](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/dead-still-the-most-un-rte-thing-rte-has-done-in-years-1.4396830) In France, Le Monde's critic Thomas Sotinel praised it as a series whose every character, from high society to the city's low quarters, is served by a first-rate actor, and one that quietly provokes reflection on the power of images.[12](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2021/04/20/cadavres-exquis-kate-winslet-liaison-dangereuse-les-series-de-la-semaine_6077345_3246.html) John Morton won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television Episode Teleplay.[3](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still)\n\nMurphy and Morton outlined a second season before the first was filmed, and Morton has plans for further seasons leading up to the advent of moving pictures, but no second season has been made; the series is listed as ended after one season.[10](https://www.themarysue.com/dead-still-director-imogen-murphy/) • [6](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/42354/dead-still) Deadpan Pictures lists *Dead Still* among its award-winning previous productions.[13](https://www.deadpanpictures.ie/)\n\n## Availability\n\nIn the United States the series streams on Acorn TV, the AcornTV Amazon Channel, Spectrum On Demand and the Acorn TV Apple TV channel, and can be bought digitally from about $9.99 on Apple TV, Prime Video and Google TV; it is also available free on Hoopla and on DVD.[14](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/dead-still/rJkQxsK5g4wy62fhYesyE3/where-to-watch/) In the UK it streams on Acorn TV, the AcornTV Amazon Channel and the Acorn TV Apple TV channel.[15](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/dead-still)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Dead Still writer and creator John Morton talks with IFTN, Irish Film & Television Network](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=4293393&tpl=archnews)\n2. [Dead Still (2014 film) review, Starburst Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/dead-still-vod/)\n3. [Dead Still, ZDF Studios program catalog](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/dead-still)\n4. [Dead Still (2020), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/dead-still)\n5. [RTÉ Independent Productions Annual Report 2019, Screen Producers Ireland](https://www.screenproducersireland.com/protected/resources/policy-and-research/rte-independent-productions-annual-report-2019.pdf)\n6. [Dead Still, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/42354/dead-still)\n7. [Postmortem Photography, The Victorian Web](https://victorianweb.org/victorian/photos/postmortem/index.html)\n8. [Post mortem photography: the last \"picture of life\" in \"death\", PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7975931/)\n9. [Dark Comedy Collides with the Macabre in Dead Still, TV Drama / World Screen](https://worldscreen.com/tvdrama/dark-comedy-collides-with-the-macabre-in-dead-still/)\n10. [Dead Still's Imogen Murphy on Directing TV, The Mary Sue](https://www.themarysue.com/dead-still-director-imogen-murphy/)\n11. [Dead Still: the most 'un-RTÉ' thing RTÉ has done in years, The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/dead-still-the-most-un-rte-thing-rte-has-done-in-years-1.4396830)\n12. [«Dead Still» : le triomphe de l'humour noir irlandais, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2021/04/20/cadavres-exquis-kate-winslet-liaison-dangereuse-les-series-de-la-semaine_6077345_3246.html)\n13. [Deadpan Pictures, company website](https://www.deadpanpictures.ie/)\n14. [Where to Watch Dead Still, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/dead-still/rJkQxsK5g4wy62fhYesyE3/where-to-watch/)\n15. [Dead Still streaming in the UK, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/dead-still)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Historical and period drama*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-still", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-still.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Dead Still\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-still. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Dead Still](https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-still)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-still](https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-still). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Dead Still\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-still. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Dead Still is an Irish-Canadian six-part dark comedy-drama set in 1880s Dublin, following memorial photographer Brock Blennerhasset, created by John Morton for RTÉ and Acorn TV; distinct from the 2014 horror film of the same name." }