Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee announces new comedy thriller

Ever so similar to the Derry Girls format, the new series will follow a set of friends - but that's where the similarities between the two series start and end. How To Get To Heaven From Belfast is set to be a wild rollercoaster of events as follow Saoirse, Robyn and Dara, who have been friends since school.

Now, in their late thirties, they're leading starkly different lives when they each receive an email informing them of the death of an old classmate they were friends with, Greta. But when the trio of friends decide to attend the wake, they soon find out that not everything is quite what it seems and, according to the synopsis, "find themselves embroiled in a dark and twisted mystery".

It's set to be a sprawling adventure nonetheless, with the synopsis promising that these three women are "about to embark on the most exciting adventure of their lives".

The synopsis continues, saying that the series will be "an adventure that will take them 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, as they attempt to put the pieces of the puzzle together and uncover the truth. Even if their own complicated, chaotic and messy lives often get in the way".

The series may seem like a typical whodunnit but it's set to be a lot more mind-bending than it seems, as well as promising to explore friendships, the expectations versus reality of life and memory.

Speaking about the new series commission, McGee said: “I feel so incredibly lucky to be making another show for the phenomenal Channel 4 and to be doing it with Hat Trick Productions again and the creative team behind Derry Girls, the mighty Liz Lewin and Caroline Leddy, is just a dream. I've wanted to make a comedy thriller set in Northern Ireland for SUCH a long time. I cannot wait to share these flawed funny women with everyone.”

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Similarly, Charlie Perkins, head of comedy at Channel 4, said: “This is huge. We couldn’t be prouder that Channel 4 feels like this extraordinary show’s spiritual home. Getting to know the multi hyphenated talents of Lisa, Liz, Caroline and their collaborators at Hat Trick Productions has been one of the greatest pleasures in my first year as Head of Comedy. We can’t wait to bring Lisa’s next world to life for all those who already love her work and many more to come.”

News of McGee's new project first surfaced after her BAFTA Television Craft Award win at this year's event where she won the award for Writer (Comedy).

She revealed in the interview with Broadcast Now: "We’d have a drink and wonder what our teenage selves would make of us now and that’s where the idea came from.

"It’s about women of my age that are still friends all these years later. We always say we’d bury a body for each other."

As of now, casting announcements for How To Get To Heaven From Belfast are yet to be made, but we do know that the series will be produced by Hat Trick Productions and executive produced by Caroline Leddy (Derry Girls, The Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinner), Liz Lewin (Derry Girls. London Irish, Crashing) and Jimmy Mulville.

How To Get To Heaven From Belfast will be coming to Channel 4. Looking for something else to watch? Visit our Drama hub or check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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