We all know what Father Ted is, but have you heard of his NI counterpart Pastor Ed?
Three decades after the iconic Father Ted first graced our screens on Channel 4, Pastor Ed, the online parody of the hit show, is set to be shown online.
Pastor Ed was created by Belfast writer and director Sean McConville, who took inspiration from Father Ted and reimagined it from an Ulster Protestant perspective to form the three-part web series.
The show follows the lives of two Protestant ministers, both members of the Orange Order, as they navigate modern-day Northern Ireland.
Pastor Ed – an NI parody of Father Ted
Sean McConville, creator of Pastor Ed, said, “Pastor Ed follows two Protestant ministers — who are also members of the Orange Order — as they navigate modern-day Northern Ireland and the chaotic world of Irish politics.
“The web series consists of three episodes that have all taken inspiration from Father Ted, with the twist that the titular character is an Orange Order Protestant minister rather than a Catholic priest”.
McConville said that he wanted to create a parody that bridges the gap between a TV sitcom and an online comedy sketch in Pastor Ed.
Each of the three episodes is around ten minutes long. The first episode aired on 19 November, and the second and third will air weekly from then. Watch the first episode here.
The cast – two of NI’s biggest TikTok comedians
For the project, McConville has teamed up with two of Northern Ireland’s biggest TikTok comedians, John Devlin and Belfast drag queen Sabrina Bewitched.
He said that working with the two “helped blur this line between social media and traditional television, exploring the boundaries of comedy in today’s media landscape”.
From set design to editing, the show has done well to mimic many aspects of Father Ted, or “nearly like a parody of different Father Ted scenes”.
For example, the first episode of the show is named ‘My Lovely Hearse’. Any fan of Father Ted will recognise this as a tribute to the famous ‘My Lovely Horse’ song that Ted and Dougal entered into the Eurovision Song Contest in the show.
Father Ted – one of the most iconic Irish shows of all time
To this day, Father Ted is widely considered one of the best, if not THE best, Irish comedy series of all time.
Despite only running for three seasons between 1995 and 1998, its effects are still felt around the world today. It’s a cult hero in the world of television that is still referenced and celebrated across the globe.
From the iconic annual Tedfest held off Ireland’s west coast to the Talking Ted podcast and now Pastor Ed, the much-loved show will continue to be admired and celebrated in different ways for years to come.
Stay tuned for the next two episodes of Pastor Ed coming to Sean’s YouTube channel, @SeanMcConvillefilms, very soon.
.
