Derry Girls: Everything you need to know about the Northern Irish comedy
It's beezer!
Derry Girls burst onto our screens in 2018 with an utterly hilarious first series. Starring Saoirse-Monica Jackson as main character Erin, we saw how she and her friends navigated Northern Ireland in the 90's, with three brilliant series gracing our screens.
Despite the much-loved show having come to a close back in 2022, fans have been hoping for a spin-off series or movie in the future - although nothing has been currently confirmed. Here's everything you need to know about Derry Girls...
What is Derry Girls about?
The official synopsis reads: 'It’s the early 90s, and Erin and her friends are used to seeing their country on the nightly news and speaking in acronyms (The IRA, The UDA, The RUC). It’s a time of armed police in armoured Land Rovers and British Army check points.
'But it’s also the time of Murder She Wrote, The Cranberries, MJ and Lisa Marie, Doc Martens, bomber jackets, The X Files, Nirvana and Wayne’s World. And while The Troubles may hang over her home town, Erin has troubles of her own. Warm, funny and honest, Derry Girls takes a look at the everyday lives of ordinary people living in extraordinary times...'
When is Derry Girls season three out?
The third series of Derry Girls was released on Tuesday 12th April 2022, after being confirmed immediately after the second series of the show aired.
We were given an idea of when the show would air back in February 2022, however, with show star Ian McElhinney, who plays Grandpa Joe, revealing to Cool FM and Downtown Radio that the next season would be with us by April!
He said: “I can tell you when it’s likely to air, which will be in April. I think it’s going to be really good; it’s going to really engage people as it always has done not just as comedy but as a slice of life.
“It’s a series that has a lot of heart, it can touch you as much as it can entertain you and make you laugh. I think we’re going to have a great final series.”
After season three was announced, writer Lisa McGee said: "I love writing this show and I'm so thrilled to be able to continue the Derry Girls story, thank you Channel 4, Erin and the eejits live to fight another day!"
Fiona McDermott, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, added: "It’s no surprise that Derry Girls continues to delight a growing legion of fans – a combination of magical writing and adorable characters make this show both timely and timeless.
"We’re delighted to confirm a third series - don’t tell Ma Mary, but I’m breaking open the Christmas cupboard in celebration."
In December 2021, show star Nicola Coughlan, who plays Clare Devlin, shared an emotional goodbye to the show as they wrapped filming of the third series.
She took to Twitter to share the bittersweet news, posting a photo of herself and co-star Louisa Harland (Orla McCool) with the caption: 'Goodbye Derry Girls, it’s been quite a ride.'
Show creator Lisa McGee also said goodbye, telling fans it was 'the last day of school'.
WATCH: Derry Girls season three trailer
Is Derry Girls on Netflix?
Yes, it is! All three series of Derry Girls are currently available to watch on Netflix. You can also stream all of the episodes on Channel 4, too.
Will there be a Derry Girls season four?
In our dreams! Tommy Tiernan, who plays Da, revealed in an interview in March 2020 that he thought the third season would be the last. "This is last series, I think," he said.
The news was later confirmed by the show's writer Lisa McGee in a statement made in September 2021. In it she said: 'It was always the plan to say goodbye after three series. Derry Girls is a coming of age story; following five ridiculous teenagers as they slowly...very slowly...start to become adults, while around them the place they call home starts to change too and Northern Ireland enters a new more hopeful phase - which was a small, magical window of time.'
Will there be a Derry Girls film?
While the show's writer Lisa McGee hasn't ruled out the possibility she did say it's not something she has planned at the moment: "A movie isn’t on my radar at the moment, not right now. You never know, but I have other commitments"
Will there be a Derry Girls spin-off show?
Lisa McGee who writes for the show has spoken about her idea for a potential spin-off show, saying: "What I want to do is a spin-off with Ma Mary and Aunt Sarah solving crime and setting up a detective agency in Derry. Wouldn’t that be incredible?".
Jamie-Lee O'Donnell who plays Michelle also commented on the possibility of a spin-off show: "I think that Lisa has developed these characters to the point where you could do a million spin-offs, you could do a million prequels."
What happened in Derry Girls season two?
Read up on everything you need to know about season two of Derry Girls right here!
Has Derry Girls won any awards?
It sure has! In 2018, Derry Girls took home two IFTA Gala Television Awards, having been nominated for four. They won Best Comedy and Best Writer in a Comedy or Soap for Lisa McGee. She also won a British Screenwriters’ Award for Best Comedy Writing on Television and a British Comedy Guide Award for Best New TV Sitcom that year.
In 2019, the show won a Royal Television Society Award for Best Scripted Comedy, and was also nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Scripted Comedy.
Who writes Derry Girls?
Lisa McGee! She spoke about the show to Channel 4 ahead of the second series: "I think Northern Irish people have never seen themselves represented this way before. They really responded to being shown a more positive, funny side to home.
"It was something that they felt ownership over, they really saw themselves in it. It was a really joyful thing to watch unfold, actually, to watch everyone get behind it. It’s been amazing, the response there."
Where is Derry Girls filmed?
In Derry, of course! Some scenes were filmed in Shipquay Street, and some of the scenes for series two have been filmed at the Dockers Club in Belfast.
Who is in the cast of Derry Girls?
Saoirse-Monica Jackson stars as Erin Quinn, having previously had roles in Broken and The Five. Nicola Coughlan plays Clare Devlin, Louisa Harland is Orla McCool and Jamie-Lee O'Donnell plays Michelle Mallon.
Former Hollyoaks actor Dylan Llewellyn stars as James Maguire, Tara Lynne O'Neill plays Ma Mary with Kathy Kiera Clarke as Aunt Sarah and Sister Michael is played by Siobhan McSweeney, who had a small role in Alice Through the Looking Glass. Game of Thrones fans will recognise Granda Joe AKA Ian McElhinney as Ser Barristan Selmy.
Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Erin Quinn
Saoirse-Monica said of her character: "Erin is selfish, self-righteous, self-absorbed. She would do anything for herself, she would throw one of her friends under the bus. She's really out for herself as selfish teenagers are.
"She's ambitious, she wants to be a writer, she wants to move away, but in reality she's so much more naĂŻve than she pretends to be. She pretends to be really worldly, and she has such romantic ideas of herself. But her friends are always there to remind her that they're completely untrue."
Louisa Harland as Orla McCool
Louisa said of Orla: "I would describe her as being very free. She has no inhibitions. She doesn't stop herself from thinking. She doesn't judge herself or others and I think she's a really lovely character."
Nicola Coughlan as Clare Devlin
Nicola opened up about Clare: "I always think of her as a bit of a Machiavellian genius. Lisa said she wanted to give her a really sensible first name, with a surname that implied she had the devil in her. Because she's a geek, but she's not a nice geek. She'd happily sell her friends down the river if she needed to.
"She's quite ambitious. I've met the real-life girl Clare was based on. It was such a bizarre experience. In this job, you meet a lot of people off the television, and famous people, but I was way more star-struck meeting the real, actual Clare than I was meeting any of those other people. I think she's got a lot of good intentions – I think Clare and Erin think they're the really moral, high-ground-based people, when in fact the other three are a lot more morally sound. But at the same time, I think Clare has a lot of love for her friends – it's always fun to see the dynamic between Clare and Michelle, because they'd never be friends if it wasn't for Erin."
Jamie-Lee O'Donnell as Michelle Mallon
Jamie-Lee says of Michelle: "Michelle really thinks she's maybe just a bit too big for the place she was born in and she's ready to take on the world one swearword at a time. She's really feisty, really ballsy, doesn't really care about authority, just sort of up for anything and up for a laugh."
Dylan Llewellyn as James Maguire
Dylan said of his character: "James is 'the wee English fella'. His mum is from Derry, and she went over to England to have an abortion, but didn't go ahead with it, so James is born, and grows up in England. Then his mum and him go back to Derry, where she just abandons him with his cousin and aunt. From then on, it's all an uphill struggle for him, because he's put in the all-girls school, as they're scared he's going to get beaten up in the boys' school, for being English. That's pretty much it, really."
Siobhán McSweeney as Sister Michael
Siobhán spoke to Independent.ie about her character in March 2019: "I think what I personally like about Sister Michael is what people are picking up on as well, which is her complete 'doesn't give a damn' attitude, her utter freedom. For me, when I think about her being a nun, I think only about the freedom it gives her. She's not restricted by social norms, she doesn't have to behave in a certain way. It's the freedom the uniform has given her to an extent. She is our id in a way, what we always wish we could say but cannot say. That is a gift."
Tara Lynne O'Neill as Ma (Mary)
Tara Lynne spoke about her character to the Belfast Telegraph: "The bits of truth Lisa has got in there that she obviously exaggerates or explores, I think that's why people are relating to it, and there's that essence of truth that we all remember. It reminds me so much of myself - it's totally the same. The soundtrack is my youth. Every song I can tell you where I was and what I was doing when that was playing. All these people in their 40s are watching it and saying 'I remember that, I remember this at the disco'. It's a great memory for everyone."
Tommy Tiernan as Da (Gerry)
Tommy spoke to YM Liverpool in January 2020 about joining the show: "I read the script and it made me laugh. It was as easy and ordinary as that. Gerry was originally written to be from the north (of Ireland), but I'm not brilliant at sustaining accents to a believable degree. I can do them for a minute or so but not over the course of a series. So I said to Channel 4, 'if you put a Southerner in that situation, it gives you good comic scope'. It's another reason for the grandad to hate the dad."
Ian McElhinney as Granda Joe
Game of Thrones star Ian said of working on the show: "He has some great put-downs for Gerry. There's been some great one-liners and I'm delighted to have them. Tommy is a fantastic sparring partner on set - I'd never met him before or seen his stand-up shows, and he's a lovely fella, so it was really nice to work together."
Kathy Kiera Clarke as Aunt Sarah
Kathy Kiera spoke about filming in August 2019 to Irish News, saying: "If I'm filming, I could be up as early as 4.15am for a shower and then out the door. Aunt Sarah is first into make-up. Obviously!" adding of her lunch times whilst filming, "On set, it will be the full works, with dessert, even if I have to squeeze into another unforgiving, skin-tight number favoured by Aunt Sarah!"
Leah O'Rourke as Jenny Joyce
Leah told Hello! magazine in April 2019 about working on the show: "I went to an all-girls Catholic school and we had two nuns working in it - one nun was very very scary and was intimidating and had some qualities of Sister Michael. It was so similar. I think when I first got the script I really related to it and I found that probably helped me in the audition because I felt I had experienced something similar."
Famous actors who have appeared on Derry Girls
Along with the regular lovable cast, the first episode of the third season had an unexpected cameo from a very famous actor. Viewers were shocked to see Liam Neeson appear as a police officer in the episode.
Before the series started, the cast teased that there would be some exciting guest stars so we're eager to see if any other famous faces pop up!
What are the Derry Girls cast's ages?
Saoirse-Monica Jackson is 30-years-old, Louisa Harland is around 30-years-old, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell is 36-years-old, Dylan Llewellyn is 31-years-old and Nicola Coughlan is 37-years-old.
How can I watch Derry Girls?
All series of Derry Girls are currently on Netflix, in addition to being available to stream on Channel 4.
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