Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee has announced her next project, following the massive success of the hit coming-of-age sitcom. How To Get to Heaven From Belfast, commissioned by Channel 4 in the U.K., is described as a “comedy thriller” set throughout Northern Ireland and beyond, from “their native Belfast, a city full of ghosts, the pain of the past plastered on every mural, to the mythic wildness of rural Donegal and right across Ireland.”
Where Derry Girls followed a group of teenage girls (and a lad named James) navigating adolescence in Derry during the tail end of the Troubles in the ’90s, How To Get to Heaven From Belfast will instead follow a trio of school friends—Saoirse, Robyn, and Dara—now in their thirties, as they unravel the mysterious death of an old classmate. The new series will see the characters “embark on the most exciting adventure of their lives,” as they try to discover what happened to their old friend Greta in what is sure to be a thrilling and genuinely funny eight-episode show.
No casting or production news has been announced yet, but McGee’s track record speaks for itself. Just like with Derry Girls, McGee has created and will be writing the new series. Derry Girls was a huge hit for Channel 4, winning multiple BAFTA TV awards as well as becoming the “biggest series ever in Northern Ireland since modern records began in 2002.”
That success isn’t at all surprising. Derry Girls was heartfelt and truthful, a rare gem of a sitcom. These girls—and guy—were flawed, foolish, and inexperienced in that way only teenagers can be, but they also cared about each other more than anything and had to navigate and deal with a fraught time in Northern Irish history. Above all, however, Derry Girls really was just genuinely hilarious. Marijuana-infused scones being flushed down a toilet during a wake; need I say more?
If you haven’t watched Derry Girls yet, definitely give it a go. You’ll be in good company—venerated director Martin Scorsese has watched it, too. It’s still available on Channel 4 and Netflix in the U.K. and can be found on Netflix in the U.S. as well. It will be well worth your time, and hopefully help you understand why we’re so excited about Lisa McGee’s upcoming project. She’s promised that the women in How To Get to Heaven From Belfast are flawed and funny, with “complicated, chaotic, and messy lives” that “often get in the way.” We can’t wait to meet them.
(via Channel 4, featured image: Channel 4)
