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Sheriff Avenue

In 1960s Coventry, a resilient single mother struggles to raise her six unruly sons while their charming but drunken Irish father drifts in and out of their lives—arriving in his shabby ice cream van, not with treats, but smuggled booze, coal, and contraband that keeps the family teetering between survival, chaos, and laughter.

Set in working-class Coventry during the early 1960s, the pilot introduces Kathleen, a tough but big-hearted single mother trying to keep her six lively sons in line while holding the household together on sheer grit and determination. Each boy, from mischievous school-age pranksters to rebellious teenagers, brings his own share of chaos to the small terraced home.

Their father, Joe, a charming but unreliable Irishman, drifts in and out of their lives in his battered old ice cream van. But Joe isn’t selling 99s or lollies—his van is stuffed with bootleg beer, stolen coal, and contraband tobacco, the fruits of his dodgy dealings. His sporadic arrivals spark both excitement and trouble: while the boys adore his wild stories and gifts, Kathleen knows that Joe’s antics usually end in disaster.

The pilot sets the tone for a series that mixes gritty social realism with moments of comedy and warmth. At its heart, it’s a story about family resilience, survival, and the complicated love between a mother, her children, and the charming rogue who can’t quite let them go.

Script Excerpt
Written by:
Format:
TV Pilot
Genres:
In the Vein Of:
From cradle to the grave
Shameless
Posted:
09/26/2025
Updated:
09/26/2025
Author Bio:
James Kearney is a writer, performer, and student whose life and art are deeply shaped by his remarkable journey of recovery. A dry alcoholic, James has been clean and sober since 10:00am on 18th September 2011, a milestone that marks the turning point from years of addiction to alcohol, crack, and heroin into a new chapter of hope, growth, and creativity.

The dark times of his past, marked by struggle and survival, continue to inspire and inform much of his writing, where themes of pain, resilience, and human vulnerability are met with wit, raw honesty, and sometimes dark comedy.

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