221B Baker Street will be seeing a new slew of supernatural problems to solve in Netflix’s upcoming mystery series The Irregulars. Described by creator Tom Bidwell as a mix between a Sherlock-Holmes tale woven into The X-Files, the show’s street-teens will battle more than their fair share of monsters throughout Victorian London to keep food on their table.
Speaking with CBR, series leads Thaddea Graham (Bea/”B”), Darci Shaw (Jessie) and Harrison Osterfield (Leopold) shared what felt so new about this Sherlockian tale and the power that each character brings with them to the gang’s crime-solving adventures.
CBR: The Irregulars is fantastically fun and a wonderfully twisted X-Files-like adventure starring you three. So my first question for you all to answer is, what was your take on this show when you first read its script?
Darci Shaw: I was completely kind of captured by it. I think I must have read the first episode over 20 times, probably, because we didn’t get any more episodes until we went to the read-through. So I just kept reading over the material. And, you know, I think the most exciting thing about it is, every time you read it, you seem to find something new, and a detail that you didn’t see before because so many things are happening. And there’s action all the time, it’s really action-packed. And I think I’ve really loved the relationships as well between all the characters and the way that they develop as well [to be] ready and trusting. I think it’s got so many cool elements, and so many different things going on. It’s really exciting.
Harrison Osterfield: Yeah, getting the script the first time and then reading it through and being like, “I need to read more, I need to find out what happens.” I think the first episode is a great introduction for the characters and gives a glimpse of what they’re all about, and possibly what they’ve been through. And as the series goes on, and as you start to read more and watch more as well, you delve deeper into these characters and deeper into the relationships they have with each other. And it just goes from strength to strength, and really gathers momentum as the series continues.
Thaddea Graham: I couldn’t quite believe it. [Tom Bidwell] had taken a chance for me, personally, I mean. It’s such a gift to be given a role like that. And Tom has created such a beautiful, rich, multifaceted world for us to explore. And there’s so much — you got comedy, you’ve got your horror, you’ve got really heavy things that are dealt with in such a beautifully delicate and honest way — so it just felt like an absolute dream to be a part of it.
Building off B’s role in the show, she’s pretty much the ringleader of this ragtag group of street teams which is so lovely and fun — what do you think motivates her to take on this role for her friends and arguably, her family?
Graham: It’s absolutely without a doubt her little sister, and that need to look after her and protect her. When B was three, and Jessie was a baby, their mother died. And B had to step into this role of being, I suppose a carer for Jessie. And that’s something that she’s carried her entire life. Something that she does absolutely wholeheartedly, but I think it really weighs on her. And it’s made her grow up very quickly. And I think that responsibility is something that she feels like she has to carry by herself, but, learns that she doesn’t.
And then it’s okay to let other people in and be vulnerable. Although it’s terrifying, it’s okay. And it can actually help. And I think the gang around her is definitely her chosen family. She’s got a very guarded heart, and when she chooses to let someone in they’re kind of there forever, whether they want to be or not. I think that’s a really, really lovely quality.
Speaking of B’s sister, Jessie, how do you think — because let’s just say the sisters go on a complicated journey of redefining their roles, of who’s taking care of who — how do you think B would describe her relationship with her sister?
Graham: Oh, wow. I think just completely, unapologetically honest. They don’t really hide anything from each other. And I think with that kind of honesty, although it’s lovely, it can kind of get you in hot water sometimes as well. Maybe when you say things that you mean with heart, but they take it as…
Osterfield: Brutally honest.
Graham: Yes! That’s the word. Brutally honest. And I think both of them are at times fighting for that trust. And I think Jessie says it right at the midway [point] of Episode 1, [for B] to just trust [her] on this one. I know that — well she’d surely say this and is what she means, “I know you’ve always kind of been the leader, but trust me, I know what I’m doing. I’m not a child anymore. Just let me do this and help you as well.” I think that discovery of — “Okay, we can help each other. It’s not just me taking care of you now” — is a really beautiful discovery.
Darcy, how do you think Jessie would describe her relationship with B as the series progresses?
Shaw: Yeah, I think the dynamic shifts a lot. And I think just because, you know, they are young women, and they all kind of just discovering themselves, with each day, especially, if you add in the kind of crazy and fantastical events happening throughout the show, the dynamic is bound to shift. You know, I think their strengths play off each other as well. And I think, you know, as Thaddea said, Jessie kind of, you see Jessie kind of take control and think… She’s got the reins now. And she can kind of look after a sister for a bit because B has been doing it for as long as Jessie was alive. And she’s been looking after us.
So I think, for Jessie, it’s a pretty big moment for her to kind of step in and say, “No, I can look up to you now, like, I can do something for you.” And so I think that’s a pretty special moment. But as I said, I think it shifts throughout the show… And they both go through moments where they think, “Oh, no, no, no, I’ve really got myself into something now.” And equally big moments where they feel really strong and powerful.
Harrison, you play Leo, a very posh character who wants to join the gang and is also a hemophiliac and is locked away in his gilded tower. And specifically — because it’s such a great moment when he first saw B — what was he thinking when he first saw her and thought about what else life could be?
Osterfield: I think what draws Leo to the Irregulars is seeing how close they are with each other. I mean, Leo never really experienced friendship or love outside of the palace, or maybe even inside. And when he sees this sort of group of people that really love and care for each other and will do anything for them, I think that’s what he just wants, and wants to experience that for himself and understand what that feels like.
And I think what draws him in initially when he first sees B on, that first sort of seeing they have together, is the fact of disparity in the classes. He’s been, Leo’s grown up to know that the Royals are the elites. And we take care of the real world. And we rule things the way we should. And the fact that B is so sort of headstrong, and strong and opposing to those views is something that really sorts of interests him, and he wants to find out more. And he’s never seen that before. So I think straight away, he wants to find out what that’s all about.
Without spoiling too much, there are definitely some scenes where let’s just say Jessie has some strange visions, and is kind of out of herself and is in an unreal state. What was the most challenging part about acting that on screen?
Shaw: You know, having the whole set around us and our set designers built a lot of the stuff that you see on the show — we did not use green screens as much as you may think — so we were very fortunate in that way. One of the most challenging [things], I remember a day, it was actually towards the beginning of the shoot. And there was a scene where I had to walk out in front of carriages like I was in a trance. And that was pretty scary because there was a point where you have to get the timing right with the carriages and the horses. And these horses are huge. And it’s like about six horses are coming at you at once. And then I think there was a point where I had to jump all the way in and I said, “No, I can’t do that one.” Because the carriages [are] coming too fast towards [me and] it probably would have taken me out. And yeah, that was a bit of a scary moment.
Created by Tom Bidwell, The Irregulars stars Thaddea Graham as Bea and Darci Shaw as her sister Jessie; Jojo Macari as Billy, McKell David as Spike, Harrison Osterfield as Leopold, Royce Pierreson as Dr. Watson and Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Sherlock Holmes. The Irregulars starts streaming on Netflix March 26.
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