Trespasses begins its U.S. public-television run tonight, September 20, bringing Lola Petticrew, Tom Cullen and Gillian Anderson to PBS for four consecutive Sundays. The final episode is scheduled for October 11.
The series will also be available through PBS.org and the PBS app. Broadcast times can differ by station, so viewers should check their local PBS schedule instead of assuming the 10 p.m. time used by KPBS applies nationwide.
A love story inside Belfast in 1975
Petticrew plays Cushla Lavery, a young Catholic schoolteacher living with her mother and helping in the family pub. Her life changes when she meets Michael Agnew, a married Protestant barrister played by Cullen.
Their relationship develops in secret while sectarian violence, surveillance and suspicion shape ordinary choices around them. The danger is not separate from the romance; it determines where Cushla can go, who can see her and what one act of kindness might cost.
Anderson plays Gina Lavery, Cushla’s mother. Gina can be funny, magnetic and deeply difficult, and her worsening drinking leaves Cushla balancing a private relationship with responsibilities at home.
The cast also includes Patrick Martins as Cushla’s brother Eamonn, Gerard McCarthy as Tony, Conor MacNeill as Sean, Oisin Thompson as Gerry Harkin and Aidan McArdle as the headmaster at Cushla’s school.
The complete PBS episode schedule
Episode 1 premieres Sunday, September 20. It introduces Cushla and Michael’s attraction as public scrutiny and violence make their meetings increasingly dangerous.
Episode 2 follows Sunday, September 27. Pressure grows at school and at home, while the relationship begins to test what both characters have said about their lives.
Episode 3 airs Sunday, October 4. Cushla confronts new information about Michael as a tragedy changes the direction of the story.
The fourth and final episode airs Sunday, October 11. It follows the consequences for Cushla, Gina and the people around them and completes the limited series.
KPBS lists each episode for 10 p.m. Pacific on its main channel, with Tuesday encores on KPBS 2. Other PBS stations control their own airtimes, but the Sunday dates remain the clearest national viewing guide.
Trespasses comes from Louise Kennedy’s novel
The four-part drama adapts Louise Kennedy’s 2022 novel. Ailbhe Keogan wrote the television version, and Dawn Shadforth directed the series.
The title refers to more than the affair at its center. Cushla moves across religious, political and class boundaries in a community where those lines are enforced by families, institutions and violence.
The 1975 setting places the story during the Troubles, but the series is built around daily life rather than a history lecture. Schoolrooms, pubs, family meals and drives through Belfast carry the political pressure into spaces that would otherwise feel private.
How to watch
New episodes arrive Sundays on PBS through October 11. Viewers can use their local station guide for the broadcast time and check PBS.org or the PBS app for streaming availability in their region.
Some PBS content may require a station login or Passport membership after a viewing window changes. The series page inside the app will show the current access level for each episode.
With only four chapters, Trespasses is not being released as a long weekly season. It is a compact drama with a defined ending, and tonight’s premiere starts a schedule that will be complete in three weeks.
