Entertainment

Bill Murray and Tom Coyne Explore Ireland’s Links in New BBC Series

By Rhik Samadder

BBC Two aired a new series, A Course Called Ireland, on Sunday 25 October at 9.30pm. The show follows author Tom Coyne and actor Bill Murray as they travel across Ireland, playing a variety of golf courses. The program is based on Coyne’s book of the same name, in which he played every course in the country. The series is presented as a light‑hearted road trip, with the two friends meeting local characters and reflecting on their Irish heritage while playing on rugged links. The opening sequence states, “This is not a show about golf,” and “It’s not even a show about Bill Murray.” The program includes scenes in which Murray is approached by a roadside Irish woman who mistakenly identifies him as Bill Cosby. The series features a camera crew following the pair through Irish villages, and the production includes moments where Murray resists scripted scenes, such as refusing to attend a pub and instead attending a folk‑music evening. The show also incorporates voice‑over commentary from supporting characters, including a tweed shop proprietor, a junior runner, and a former Irish minister of the arts. An elderly woman named Margaret, outside a sweet shop, comments that Murray is “98% Irish if you look at his DNA.” The series is described as a blend of humor, peculiarity, and melancholy, with a focus on the dynamics between a long‑time celebrity and the production crew. The show was broadcast on BBC Two.