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Kin is an Irish crime drama television series, co-created by Peter McKenna and Ciaran Donnelly, that was first broadcast on 9 September 2021 on RTÉ One. The series revolves around a fictional Dublin family embroiled in gangland war, and stars Aidan Gillen and Ciarán Hinds as rival gang leaders Frank Kinsella and Eamon Cunningham. It became one of the most-watched series in Ireland. A second series followed in 2023. A third series is in production as of July 2026. The series was acquired by the BBC in 2023 and by Netflix in 2024.
Contents
Background
The series was first announced in November 2020, with co-creator Peter McKenna set as showrunner and Diarmuid Goggins as director of the first four episodes. Tessa Hoffe was later announced as director of episodes five to eight.
Prior to the series' premiere, several news outlets stated the series was inspired by the Kinahan gang and the Hutch–Kinahan feud, and noted similarities to former RTE staple Love/Hate. A show "insider" stated that "This is not the Kinahans' story, but people can draw their own conclusions. Viewers will be able to make up their own mind about it."
Cast and characters
Main
Charlie Cox as Michael Kinsella ("The Magician"), brother of Jimmy
Clare Dunne as Amanda Kinsella, wife of Jimmy
Aidan Gillen as Frank Kinsella
Emmett J. Scanlan as Jimmy Kinsella
Maria Doyle Kennedy as Bridget "Birdy" Goggins, sister of Frank
Sam Keeley as Eric "Viking" Kinsella, son of Frank
Yasmin Seky as Nikita Murphy, girlfriend of Eric
Ciarán Hinds as Eamon Cunningham (series 1)
Francis Magee as Brendan "Bren" Kinsella (series 2; guest series 1), father of Michael and Jimmy, brother of Frank and Birdy
Danielle Galligan as Molly (series 2; guest series 1)
Supporting
Hannah Adeogun as Anna Areoye
Mark Mckenna Jr as Anthony Kinsella
Keith McErlean as Con Doyle
Ryan Lincoln as Isaac "Kem" Kemela
Ben Carolan as Glen Wright
Shane Quigley Murphy as Dean Fearon
Neill Fleming as Dotser Reid
Thommas Kane Byrne as Francis "Fudge" Flynn
Cian Fitzsimons as Jamie Kinsella
Fiona Bell as Angela Cunningham
Lloyd Cooney as Caolán Moore
Stephen Jones as Noel Lawlor
Denise McCormack as Jenny Lawlor
Öykü Karayel as Nuray Batuk (series 2)
Kenan Ece as Hamza (series 2)
Episodes
Production
Peter McKenna is the creator and main writer of the series.
Release
Kin aired on RTÉ in 2021, with the second season following in 2023. The series quickly gained popularity in Ireland after premiering in 2021, as well as garnering praise from critics. Its ratings broke records on both linear and streaming platforms, attracting more than four million lifetime streams by October 2023. The second season averaged a 40% audience share, and its finale was the most-watched programme of the year outside of sport.
In February 2022, the series premiered in the United States and Canada on AMC+, with Sundance Now premiering the series in the UK.
A second series was announced on 10 February 2022, with production beginning in July. Season 2 began airing on 12 March 2023 on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
The series was acquired by the BBC and began showing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 18 November 2023. The broadcaster also acquired the second series, which was shown on BBC One from 14 February 2024, with the whole series available on BBC iPlayer.
All episodes of Season 1 started streaming on SBS on Demand in August 2023, Australian public broadcaster SBS Television's platform, before being broadcast on linear TV. Both series were shown by SBS.
Kin won an even larger international audience after becoming available on Netflix on 1 May 2024.
The series was put on hold after season 2, after BRON Studios went bankrupt. Discussions were being held about a possible third season, but there had been no announcements by April 2024. The London Standard reported on 20 February 2025 that a third season of Kin had been officially confirmed in October 2024, with filming due to start in Dublin in 2025. However, in May 2025, series star Charlie Cox denied the report of renewal, stating that "I don't believe that that is true. I'd love for that to be the case."
RTÉ confirmed in July 2026 that a third season, produced by Irish company Metropolitan Pictures and House of Juno, was already in production, which would air on RTÉ in 2027.
Critical reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating of season 1, with an average rating of 7.0/10, based on 11 critic reviews in October 2024.
Ed Power in The Irish Times called the show "RTÉ’s best drama in years". Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club gave the series a B− and wrote: "It's simply an opportunity to watch some gifted actors do what they do, very well, with a story that glides along in entertaining but unoriginal manner."