ITV fans claim gripping Irish crime thriller is ‘better than Kin’ as viewers brand the BBC series a ‘poor man’s version’ of classic show

ITV fans have claimed an Irish crime thriller is ‘better than’ the hit Irish BBC series Kin.

The classic show Love/Hate, which was first released in 2010, has recently gripped the nation after it resurfaced on ITVX.

While the two Irish gritty dramas resemble one another, viewers have said Kin is a ‘poor man’s version’ of Love/ Hate.

The RTE gangland thriller, featuring Charlie Cox, Clare Dunne, Aidan Gillen and Ciaran Hinds has had viewers glued to two seasons since it debuted in 2021.

Kin was an instant hit on the Irish channel, with the season two finale pulling in nearly 600,000 viewers.

The first series, which has a 100 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, might not return for a third run due to the main cast’s contracts ending, it was reported.

Now fans have moved their attention on to the classic favourite Love/Hate to get their Irish fix.

Love/ Hate is a gritty crime-drama based on Dublin’s criminal underworld. It depicts the drug addiction, squalor, and violence of organised crime that has grown in post-boom Ireland.

Taking to X, fans wrote: ‘Watching #Kin again ,it’s brilliant show nearly as good as love hate’,

‘Kin is definitely a poor man’s Love Hate’,

‘I watched Love Hate after Kin and loved that too – some of the same people in it. Grittier than Kin but a great watch x’,

‘I’m watching #Kin, I can’t decide if it’s trying to be a #Love/Hate spinoff, or if it’s just a coincidence, but even the music has the same vibe!’,

‘2 Irish crime dramas, Love/Hate (ITVX) & Kin (BBC iPlayer)’,

While the two Irish gritty dramas resemble one another, viewers have said Kin is a ‘poor man’s version’ of Love/ Hate

The first series of Kin, which has a 100 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, might not return for a third run due to the main cast’s contracts ending

‘If you loved Kin you should definitely check out Love/Hate (it’s on ITVx I believe) Ireland’s answer to The Wire’,

‘Love/Hate written before kin Irish one but better’. 

Sinan Sicimoglu, who portrayed the pawn shop owner in season two of Kin, revealed to the Irish Sun in April: ‘It’s the end of the Kinsellas because all the main actors signed three-year contracts in 2020 to appear in Kin, but it’s now 2024 and those contract have run out.’

This would knock out leading members Cox (Michael Kinsella), Dunne (Amanda Kinsella), Gillen (Frank Kinsella), Emmett Scanlon (Jimmy Kinsella) and Sam Keeley (Eric Kinsella) – who have all appeared in every episode RTE has produced so far.

Dunne, who brings the Kinsella matriarch to life, previously opened up about the prospects of a third installment, admitting that she is in the dark about any plans.

However, in contrast with Sicimoglu’s comments, she added that she would be up for making a return.

‘If it came back again I would be delighted. But if it doesn’t then we just have to count our blessings of what we had. Either way it’s going to be okay,’ she said on the red carpet for the Irish Film & Television Awards – where Kin won Best Drama.

Dunne added: ‘I think we would all go back together if we can get all the stars aligned and get everyone’s availability, because we have some big stars involved.’