PRODUCTION NOTES
A darkly-hued drama about the duality of good and evil found in a decaying Irish working-class neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, BROTHERHOOD makes its debut on SHOWTIME in summer 2006. The 11-episode series stars Jason Isaacs and Jason Clarke as brothers Michael and Tommy Caffee one a career criminal, the other a well-intended but backroom-dealing local politician.
Shot entirely in Providence and its outskirts, the series is set in a fictional Irish neighborhood called The Hill, a community that operates like a small town despite being part of a big city. Produced by Mandalay Television, the one-hour series depicts the underlying bond between brothers who are torn between their fierce loyalty to each other and their family, and their ambition for power and control on opposing sides of the law.
As the story unfolds, State Representative Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke) tries to keep his family out of harms way when his brother Michael (Jason Isaacs) comes back into town after seven years on the run from the FBI. Upon his return, Michael sets out on a vengeful, often murderous path to reclaim his turf on The Hill. But emboldened rival gang boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) still holds a firm grip on the underworld activities in the community, and he stops at nothing to get his way whether blackmailing Tommy or threatening Michaels life in order to secure backroom deals for sweetheart city contracts.
Its really about the harsh realities of the American dream in the 21st Century and how the things we took for granted in the 20th Century upward mobility, loyalty of neighborhood are all coming under siege, explains the shows creator and executive producer, Blake Masters.
Masters adds, Family is at the heart of the major relationships for the Caffee brothers and their extended family members. Its the bond of two brothers, but also the bond between Rose Caffee, their mother, and her two sons, and the bond between Tommy Caffee and his wife Eileen. Its the way in which personal ambition can put strains on those relationships the way in which two brothers having opposite agendas in opposite worlds can put strains on what they have been taught from day one in their lives which is love your brother and defend your brother against all comers at all times.
Executive producer Elizabeth Guber Stephen feels that the complicated relationship between Tommy and Michael is one of compelling dynamics. If they had a chance to
kill each other, they would, because it would be much better for both their careers. But they cant kill each other because every Sunday they have dinner at their mothers house.
For Tommy Caffee, the answer to protecting his brother Michaels back is sometimes going to the state house or calling in a favor from city hall. Compromising, coercing and responding to threats are a way of life for the local politician whos constantly struggling to protect his brother and constituency at the same time. When it comes to portraying this conflict in Tommy, Australian-born actor Jason Clarke sees a fine line between the light and dark, and the right and wrong, and just maintaining that moral curve. There are choices along the way, not necessarily black or white, but when you make the decision to do one thing or you make a decision not to do that thing, I think when you put it all together, you see that it is gray.
Tommys lust for power in the political realm is in direct parallel to Michaels in the criminal world. What Jason Isaacs tries to imbue with Michael is a multi-layered personality, one who on the surface is a dangerous, violent man with a terrible temper, but very loyal and highly moral, believe it or not, he says. Isaacs portrayal of Michael illustrates the notion that good and evil can coexist in one man and that his character tries to do the honorable thing within the confines of who he is. He struggles with trying to do the right thing which might sound strange given that hes killing people quite a lot of the time. But, he struggles to make sure that hes on the right side of his own moral universe, says Isaacs.
With all of his crooked intentions and faults, Michael is still the apple of his mother Roses eye. As the older son, she still holds Michael slightly closer to her heart because of how he helped raise Tommy after she kicked out their abusive, alcoholic father.
Masters describes Rose as a mother who taught her sons a simple rule: Never be in a position where youre helpless. Rose is someone who raised her children to be strong, independent and to get along in the world, and taught the boys to make themselves
(feel like) kings. Masters adds that she also does her best to keep her kings under her thumb.
Emmyฎ Award winner Fionnula Flanagan plays the strong-willed Irish mother who loves her children fiercely but also sees her character as devious, manipulative, and charming when the she wants to be, and stupid when it suits her. She often turns a blind eye to her sons suspicious activities. Flanagan also says that Rose is a survivor in her neighborhood and very conscious of the world she lives in and how its shrinking and disappearing.
Masters agrees, emphasizing that the community is indeed in jeopardy of losing its character. I grew up in a German immigrant neighborhood that was dying, and it was replaced by a more prosperous neighborhood but something was lost. That sense of loss is something that I wanted to bring to this show. Masters further explains that The Hill is under siege from yuppies who want to gentrify it and from other groups who are fighting for their own piece of the American dream.
It is that urban and moral breakdown that Tommy is so bent on reversing. But he finds it difficult to balance that with the true loves of his life his three daughters and wife Eileen, played by Annabeth Gish. A loving mother and wife in the close-knit community where she grew up, Eileen is deeply unhappy. Gish compares her characters place in life to the fairytale Rapunzel. The Hill has been her fairytale tower where shes been locked up. Its a place of tremendous loyalty, neighborhood positivity and its safe for her kids but its her own personal prison. Although she truly loves Tommy, she feels trapped, and lashes out in more ways than one, in trying to figure out who she really is. From smoking marijuana to sleeping with the mailman, Eileens scandalous escapades are hidden to the outside world. She works hard to keep up the fa็ade of her wholesome public image as the politicians devoted wife and mother of his children.
Eileens greatest virtue is that she is a good mother, or at least thats her intention. Its her behavior that compromises that intention quite often.
In the everybody-knows-everybody world that BROTHERHOOD depicts, state policeman Declan Giggs, played by Ethan Embry, also grew up with the Caffee brothers. Although his job is to keep tabs on Michaels underworld dealings and nail him at the right time, Giggs is in a constant predicament because of his strong ties to The Hill and the people he grew up with criminals and all. Embry points out, Turning the other way, sometimes is the right thing. I think with my character, hes always conflicted about whats right and whats wrong.
Masters believes that there is a force that is keeping these characters connected, through their commonalities and an undying respect for their similar roots. People who are the cops, the priests, the politicians, the bankers and the criminals all went to grammar school and church together. They still eat at the same diner, see each other on the street and their wives trade recipes. But the fascinating thing is that the man who lives next door to you, is a good father but can be doing terrible things at the same time.
The street-wise Freddie Cork is a prime example a ruthless crime boss who routinely beats up his competitors but who also loves his wife deeply and takes his kids to the park like any caring father. A Boston nat