Maryland teaser introduces Stockard Channing's enigmatic character

She joins the cast of Maryland as an enigmatic character, who we finally have our first glimpse of in a new teaser.

In the clip shared with RadioTimes.com, we can see how Cathy (Channing) surprises sisters Rosaline (Best) and Becca (Jones). As they walk up the driveway, Cathy walks over to them stating that Pete (Hugh Quarshie) had called her about the news of their mother's death, but the sisters still look confused.

She then says: "I'm Cathy, I'm a dear friend of your mother's." Once inside, she refers to the "terrible shock" of Mary's death, but says to Becca that Mary will "never be dead while you're alive, you have the exact same nose".

The tension could very well be cut with a knife, not least because the sisters are still clearly trying to figure out the details of their mother's life and are also obviously surprised to find an unknown friend of hers.

Cathy somewhat breaks the tension by saying "let's have at it" and apologises for Mary's "closed off" behaviour around "being here". "I was no fan of her dishonesty, I like things out in the open," Cathy continues. But what else could this mystery friend be hiding? Watch the clip above.

We know that Cathy lives on the Isle of Man, but as for whether her friendship with Mary is fact or fiction remains to be seen. The sisters nor their father Richard (George Costigan) knew that Mary was there, or have any sense of why she would be.

The new drama comes from creators Jones and Anne-Marie O'Connor, and tells the story of two semi-estranged sisters who reunite following the sudden and surprise death of their mother.

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We follow sisters Becca and Rosaline who, according to the synopsis, have "forged ahead with their lives, growing distant through time and circumstance, until the discovery of their mother’s body on the Isle of Man reunites them".

The synopsis continues: "Arriving in a place they have never visited and with no idea why their mother was there, the sisters begin to unravel the long-held secrets of a woman they thought they knew, whilst keeping their own secrets from each other.

"Confined on the island and forced to face the life-changing consequences of their mother’s decisions, can Becca and Rosaline learn to love and respect one another all over again?"

Speaking about making the drama, Jones revealed that her own experiences of grief have helped in creating Maryland. She said: "I think it's no secret that I've lost both my parents. So obviously, I know grief. And that was a huge part of our conversations, 'What that is to someone'.

"It's either going to come or people have experienced it, and I think what this show does is it doesn't deal with it quickly, it deals with it over three episodes.

"And there was a very clear marking of when you [O'Connor] were setting out what your episodes wanted to be, it's the stages of grief that we stay with. But there's humour in it and it's not an easy ride. It's not a straightforward ride and you don't get a blueprint of how you're going to feel."

Maryland debuts on ITV1 at 9pm on Monday 22nd May, with the full series then becoming available on ITVX. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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