DDU: District Detective Unit

DDU: District Detective Unit is an Irish crime drama series, first aired on RTÉ One in 1998, under the title of Making the Cut. The series focuses on a serial crime unit based in Waterford, Ireland, headed by Sergeant Carl McCadden (Sean McGinley), who tackle the murky underworld of crime in Dublin. The series explores the heartbreaking and tragic impact of crime on Irish society and explores the personal impact on the detectives at the centre of the story, whose lives are permanently changing as they are exposed to the harsh underbelly of the Celtic Tiger.

DDU: District Detective Unit
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Jim Lusby
Directed by	A.J. Quinn Martyn Friend Alan Grint
Starring	Sean McGinley Andrea Irvine Dermot Martin Owen Roe Conor McDermottroe Ingrid Craigie Bosco Hogan Mary O'Driscoll Gerard McSorley Jim Norton
Theme music composer	John Moloney
Country of origin	Ireland
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	5 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Paul Cusack
Producer	Martin O'Malley
Production locations	Waterford, Ireland Dublin, Ireland
Cinematography	Cedric Culliton
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	RTÉ One
Release	1998 (1998) – 21 November 1999 (1999-11-21)

Making the Cut, a single 120-minute pilot, aired in 1998, based on the novel of the same name by writer Jim Lusby. Following strong viewing figures and critical acclaim, a four part follow-up, entitled DDU: District Detective Unit, was commissioned for broadcast in 1999. DDU comprises two two-part stories, "Unforgiven" and "The Gates of Eden". "Unforgiven" explores the desperate realities of prostitution and the devastating effect of child abuse focusing on the effects of retribution by the victim. "The Gates of Eden" deals with the ever-increasing problem of immigration and what happens when a Romanian family forced to leave their homeland, become embroiled in somebody else’s criminal plans.

Despite being heralded as one of the finest original crime dramas to originate from Ireland, DDU was not recommissioned. Notably, the series has never been released on DVD.

Cast

• Sean McGinley as Garda Det. Carl McCadden
• Andrea Irvine as Garda Det. Moya O'Donnell
• Dermot Martin as Garda Det. Brendan Cronin
• Owen Roe as Garda Det. Paul Hyland
• Conor McDermottroe as Garda Det. Frank Duffy
• Gerard McSorley as Garda Det. Mick Casey
• Jim Norton as Garda Det. Tom Regan
• Ingrid Craigie as Dr. Kate Dempsey
• Bosco Hogan as Garda Chief Inspector Cody
• Mary O'Driscoll as Brenda Boyle

Episodes

Pilot (1998)

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Viewers (millions)	Original airdate
1	"Making the Cut"	John Brown	Martyn Friend	TBA	1998 (1998)
On a Saturday night in October during a dock strike, a wino looking for a place to sleep breaks into a cargo container full of peat moss. But there’s already someone else in residence, wrapped in a bin-bag, head protruding from a tear in one end, a rough X carved on his face. Unshaven, unorthodox and unpopular with his superiors, Detective Inspector Carl McCadden must figure out exactly what Billy Power, keeper of greyhounds, and Jack-the-Lad about Waterford - was involved in, and why he had to die. But straight answers about Power, or anything else for that matter, are hard to come by…

Series (1999)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Viewers (millions)	Original airdate
1	"Unforgiven: Part 1"	Alan Grint	Michael Russell	TBA	31 October 1999 (1999-10-31)
2	"Unforgiven: Part 2"	Alan Grint	Michael Russell	TBA	7 November 1999 (1999-11-07)
3	"The Gates of Eden: Part 1"	A.J. Quinn	Michael Russell	TBA	14 November 1999 (1999-11-14)
4	"The Gates of Eden: Part 2"	A.J. Quinn	Michael Russell	TBA	21 November 1999 (1999-11-21)