Why Catherine From Hulu's Furious Looks So Familiar

Hulu's new crime series "Furious" is loosely based on the 1987 thriller film "Black Widow," where Theresa Russell played "Catharine," the alias of a black widow serial killer (a woman who seduces and then murders men). Opposite Russell was Debra Winger as Alexandra, a Justice Department analyst who catches onto Catharine's nasty habit.

"Furious," created by Elizabeth Meriwether ("New Girl," "Dying for Sex"), updates the story to the 2020s. Our hero is FBI agent Alice Black, played by Emmy Rossum (Fiona Gallagher on "Shameless"). Catherine is revamped into something more sympathetic — she's a sex trafficking victim targeting predatory men, making her more of a vigilante. /Film's BJ Colangelo praised "Furious" as a must-watch for its exploration of the different ways society fails women.

Catherine in "Furious" is played by Irish actor Lola Petticrew (who uses they/them pronouns). Born in 1995 in Belfast, Petticrew is a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and has been acting in film and television since 2017. One of their first major film roles was in the 2020 Irish comedy "Dating Amber," set in 1990s Ireland, where two queer friends pretend to be straight by "dating" each other to avoid public scorn. 

In 2023's "She Said," based on the New York Times investigation that exposed Harvey Weinstein's decades of sexual abuse, Petticrew appeared as a younger version of abuse survivor Laura Madden (Jennifer Ehle). Later that year, Petticrew acted opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the drama film "Tuesday." But the best was still yet to come.

In 2024, Lola Petticrew starred in acclaimed FX miniseries "Say Nothing." The series is based on the nonfiction book by Patrick Radden Keefe about the "Troubles," a conflict over the status of Northern Ireland that lasted from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Lola Petticrew led "Say Nothing" as Dolours Price, a radicalized Northern Irish woman who joins the IRA (Irish Republican Army) with her sister Marian (Hazel Doupe) in 1971. Actress Maxine Peake plays an older, regretful Dolours in a parallel story. The show's title refers to the IRA's code of silence, and Dolours helped kill several soldiers who broke that oath. But in the 2000s, having felt the IRA betrayed her by settling for the Good Friday Agreement instead of genuine independence from Britain, she interviewed with Boston College's "Belfast Project," an attempted oral history of the Troubles. By spotlighting human casualties and soldiers' regrets, "Say Nothing" takes the romance out of the IRA for patriotic-from-afar Irish Americans.

Playing Dolours was not Petticrew's onscreen acting debut, of course, but it brought them international attention. "Say Nothing" wound up largely overlooked by the Emmys, but Petticrew won a Best Actress – Drama award for their performance at the 21st Irish Film & Television Awards. In the spirit of Dolours Price, Petticrew used their acceptance speech not so much to discuss the show or their performance, but rather the lingering political struggles in Northern Ireland.

Since "Say Nothing," Petticrew has starred in the 2025 Channel 4 drama "Trespasses," alongside Gillian Anderson. Set in 1970s Belfast, "Trespasses" offers a much different perspective on The Troubles: Petticrew plays a Catholic schoolteacher who begins an affair with an older Protestant man. Petticrew has also been cast in Netflix's upcoming "Assassin's Creed" TV series, and is appearing in 2026 drama film "I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning" alongside their "Say Nothing" costar Anthony Boyle. Hopefully, their performance in "Furious" opens even more doors for them.

"The Furious" is streaming on Hulu.