Tamal Kundu
Peacock’s crime comedy-drama series ‘Irreverent’ tells the story of Paulo Keegan (Colin Donnell), a mob negotiator whose most recent assignment turns into a disaster, with him killing his boss’ son and running away with the boss’ money. To make the matter even worse, the said money gets stolen by Mackenzie Boyd ( P. J. Byrne), a preacher whose wife has recently left him. Knowing that the mob will be coming after him, Paulo becomes “Mack” and travels to the small Queensland town Mackenzie was originally bound for. The narrative of ‘Irreverent’ spans multiple cities across the world. If you are wondering about the timeline and setting of the show, here is what you need to know.
When Does Irreverent Take Place?
A significant portion of the narrative is dedicated to demonstrating Paulo’s frustration of not being able to use a phone or the internet as much as he likes. He regularly climbs the bell tower of his church to get a signal, and if he wants to use the internet, he has to operate a contraption that looks like something straight out of a steampunk fantasy novel.
Despite what appears, much of ‘Irreverent’ is set in the present time. Outside the town where most of the show takes place, it’s very much the second decade of the 21st century. In fact, one of the characters confirms this when they say it has been 30 years since 1991.
The flashback sequences to Paulo’s childhood, depicted in black and white, are set in the past — probably in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They show how traumatic Paulo’s childhood was, as his father was abusive toward both him and his mother. The man died one winter night after he returned home drunk, and his wife and son refused to open the door, fearing he would beat them again. When a young Paulo opened the door the following morning, he found his father buried under a pile of snow.
Where Does Irreverent Take Place?
The narrative shifts back and forth between Chicago, Illinois, and Queensland, Australia. Paulo’s journey begins in Chicago, where he is a trusted lieutenant and negotiator under Lorenzo and Antoinette until he kills their son, Guido, in self-defense. He subsequently travels to the city of the Gold Coast to get as far away from his former employers as possible. After Mackenzie steals his money and clothes and vanishes, Paulo travels to Clump, a remote but beautiful town located a three-day ride away from civilization, and becomes the reverend of the local church.
In an interview with New York Post, Donnell spoke about his experience Down Under. “I had been [to Australia] once before. Every once in a while, I do pop comic conventions because of doing ‘Arrow’ back in the day,” the actor said. “So, I had been to Sydney and Perth before, but this is the first time I’d been to Australia for a significant amount of time, and it was the first time I had been to Queensland and Gold Coast and all that. The duality of the character was a really good time.”
Series creator and showrunner Paddy Macrae Precinct TV (Fansided) that he wanted to capture the dichotomy between Paulo and the setting he finds himself in.
“So we thought wouldn’t it just be funny and suspenseful and interesting to take a criminal who had the skillset of a crook at the top of their game and forced them into a role of community leadership whereas opposed to being neutral they had to take sides for the first time in their life,” the debutant creator said.
Read More: Is Irreverent’s Clump a Real Town in Australia?
