My Mother & Other Strangers is a 2016 BBC television series. The story, told through the recollections of an older Francis Coyne (who was 10 at the time), follows Rose Coyne, an English woman, living in a small Northern Irish village during World War II with her native husband (Michael) and children (Emma, Francis and Kate). The series deals with the upheaval the presence of the US Air Force has on the village, and that which it has on Rose in particular when she meets a dashing American Air Force Captain, with whom she develops a romantic connection.
Tropes featured include:
- Author Avatar: Series created Barry Devlin has stated that the series is loosely based on his life growing up in Northern Ireland near an American Air Force base during WWII; the character of Frances is based upon himself as a child.
- Cliffhanger: The series fades to black on Rose and Captain Dreyfuss kissing; thus we are left to wonder how their relationship progresses and what might be the consequences to Rose's marriage (along with if Rose even finds out about Dreyfuss's wife).
- Death of a Child: Vera talks of her son (and her husband) who died due to a bomb blast.
- Moment Killer: Tillie walks in and interrupts Rose and Dreyfuss kissing in 1x04 "Vera".
- Pre-Meeting: Rose and Captain Dreyfuss meet briefly on the shore before he later visits the Coyne businesses and introduces himself to her formally.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Although Rose loves her husband, Michael, even he tells her that he knows her can never "entirely fill" her "inner space", something which Captain Dreyfuss appears able to do.
- Wham Line: Dreyfuss to Tillie in 1x05 "God Rest You Merry": "I am a married man. My wife Rhonda has fought a long battle with mental illness. My three weeks' leave was for her attempted suicide."
