The Bad Bridgets Netflix movie has assembled a substantial cast around Emilia Jones and Alison Oliver. Netflix has confirmed that Colin Farrell, Steve Coogan, Charlie Heaton, Domhnall Gleeson, Himesh Patel, Niamh Algar and Simone Kirby will also appear in the historical crime drama.
The film comes from writer-director Rich Peppiatt, whose previous feature, Kneecap, combined music, politics and irreverent humor with a distinctly Irish perspective. His follow-up moves much farther into the past, using the experiences of Irish emigrant women in 19th-century North America as the foundation for a fictional crime story.
Production is expected to take place in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland during summer 2026. However, Netflix has not announced a release date.
Bad Bridgets Netflix movie cast expands
Emilia Jones and Alison Oliver play the two women at the center of the story. Netflix describes their characters as sisters who leave Ireland while trying to escape an abusive father, poverty and hunger.
After reaching New York, they encounter a group of Irish women commonly labeled “Bridgets.” Their search for a safer life instead draws them into a dangerous and disorderly side of the growing city.
Netflix’s confirmed cast currently includes:
- Emilia Jones
- Alison Oliver
- Colin Farrell
- Steve Coogan
- Charlie Heaton
- Domhnall Gleeson
- Himesh Patel
- Niamh Algar
- Simone Kirby
Netflix has not revealed the names of the sisters or identified the supporting actors’ characters. That means reports assigning specific roles to Farrell, Coogan or the other cast members should be treated as unconfirmed unless Netflix publishes further details.
The current lineup also corrects an older version of the project. Daisy Edgar-Jones was originally announced alongside Emilia Jones, but Alison Oliver later replaced her. Netflix’s latest materials list Oliver as the second lead and no longer include Edgar-Jones.
What is Bad Bridgets about?
The official synopsis begins with a mysterious letter offering a young Irish woman a possible escape. It sends her on a perilous journey from Ireland to 19th-century New York, where she becomes involved with women whose behavior challenged the obedient domestic-servant stereotype associated with Irish immigrants.
Netflix has also provided a broader description centered on two sisters. They cross the Atlantic while fleeing violence, hunger and economic hardship, only to discover another difficult world after arriving in America.
The movie is therefore expected to combine an immigrant story with elements of crime, survival and historical drama. It is not being presented as a conventional biography of one famous criminal. Instead, its fictional narrative draws from research into many Irish women whose experiences appeared in court files, prison records, newspapers and institutional archives.
The history behind Bad Bridgets
Bad Bridgets was inspired by the work of historians Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. Their research project examined Irish women who migrated to North America between the 19th and early 20th centuries and later encountered police, courts, prisons or other institutions.
The project developed into the Bad Bridget podcast from Queen’s University Belfast and the nonfiction book Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women.
The research complicates the familiar image of Irish women in North America as uniformly quiet, religious and hardworking domestic servants. Farrell and McCormick documented women accused or convicted of offenses ranging from theft and public drunkenness to kidnapping and murder.
Those records also show how poverty, discrimination, insecure employment and limited legal protections shaped the women’s lives. The historical project is not simply a collection of sensational crimes. It examines why some emigrants became vulnerable to exploitation, imprisonment and repeated encounters with the justice system.
The word “Bridget” was frequently used as a dismissive label for Irish domestic workers. The film’s title reclaims that term while focusing on women who did not fit the respectable image expected of them.
Rich Peppiatt leads the creative team
Rich Peppiatt is writing, directing and producing the film. He received international attention for Kneecap, the semi-fictionalized story of the Belfast Irish-language rap group of the same name.
Several important members of the creative team have also been confirmed. Ryan Kernaghan, who worked with Peppiatt on Kneecap, is serving as cinematographer. Academy Award winner James Price is the production designer, while Kate Hawley is handling costume design. Cáit Collins is an executive producer.
Price shared the Academy Award for the production design of Poor Things. His involvement is significant for a film that must recreate both Irish locations and the densely populated streets of 19th-century New York.
Costume design will carry similar importance. Clothing in this story can communicate differences in class, employment, nationality and social status before the characters explain their circumstances.
LuckyChap and Coup d’Etat are producing, while the project was developed with support from Queen’s University Belfast. Northern Ireland Screen is also supporting the production.
Where and when will Bad Bridgets be filmed?
Netflix says the movie will shoot on location in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland during summer 2026. Northern Ireland Screen previously indicated that filming was planned for mid-July.
As of July 13, no official production update reviewed for this article had confirmed that principal photography had already started. The safest description is that filming is scheduled to begin around this period rather than claiming that cameras are definitely rolling.
The Irish locations will need to represent more than one country. Along with scenes set in Ireland, the production must recreate parts of 19th-century New York and the environment encountered by newly arrived immigrants.
Netflix acquired worldwide rights to the film, making the streaming service its confirmed global distributor.
Does Bad Bridgets have a release date?
No official release date has been announced.
The film remains at the production stage, and Netflix has not published a release year, teaser, trailer or first-look photographs from the set. Any exact streaming date currently circulating without attribution to Netflix should be considered unsupported.
A release will probably follow an extended period of editing, sound work and post-production because of the movie’s historical settings. That is an industry-based expectation rather than a confirmed timetable, so it should not be converted into a specific year or date.
Why the project stands out
Bad Bridgets is entering production with an unusually strong combination of performers, historical research and experienced designers. Jones and Oliver give the film two emerging leads, while Farrell, Coogan, Gleeson, Patel and the rest of the supporting cast provide considerable dramatic and comedic range.
The underlying research also gives Peppiatt access to a part of immigrant history that has rarely been placed at the center of a major feature film. These women were not simply criminals or victims. Their records reveal complicated lives shaped by migration, family pressure, labor, violence and the struggle to survive in unfamiliar cities.
The main creative question is how the film will balance that historical complexity with the pace and entertainment expected from a crime saga. Its fictional sisters can provide a clear emotional route into the period, but the wider story will depend on how carefully the movie portrays the real social conditions behind the “Bad Bridget” label.
Readers following Netflix’s other upcoming literary crime adaptations can also explore CineTech Universe’s guide to The Whisper Man Netflix movie.
What happens next?
The next meaningful updates should be confirmation that filming is underway, character details, production photographs and an eventual release window. Netflix may also explain whether the supporting cast members are playing historical figures, fictional characters or composites inspired by several real people.
For now, the verified picture is clear: Emilia Jones and Alison Oliver lead Bad Bridgets, an Irish immigrant crime drama written and directed by Rich Peppiatt. Colin Farrell, Steve Coogan and six other prominent performers have joined them, but Netflix has not announced when the finished movie will arrive.
Which member of the confirmed Bad Bridgets cast are you most interested to see in this 19th-century crime story?
Official or primary sources
- Netflix Tudum — Bad Bridgets cast, plot and production announcement
- Northern Ireland Screen — Netflix acquires worldwide rights to Bad Bridgets
- Northern Ireland Screen — Production and expanded cast update
- Queen’s University Belfast — Bad Bridget research podcast
- Queen’s University Belfast — Film project announcement
- Penguin — Bad Bridget book information
Reliable secondary sources
- Deadline — Colin Farrell, Steve Coogan and additional cast join Bad Bridgets
- Variety — Netflix acquires Bad Bridgets
- Variety — Expanded ensemble cast announcement
- ScreenDaily — Alison Oliver replaces Daisy Edgar-Jones
- Cineuropa — Rich Peppiatt prepares to film Bad Bridgets
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