Derry Girls creator to write new Belfast-based comedy thriller for Channel 4

The creator of the internationally successful series Derry Girls, Lisa McGee, has announced the launch of a new Channel 4 comedy-thriller How To Get To Heaven From Belfast.

The eight-part series follows a group of Belfast women who, having been friends in school, now are brought back together in their late thirties. While attending the funeral of a former classmate, they find themselves embroiled in a mystery that will take them across Belfast, rural Donegal and the rest of Ireland.

Channel 4 describes the show as an "enthralling and hilarious journey, exploring the themes of friendship, memory and what happens when life doesn't turn out quite how we expected."

Derry Girls. (L-R) James Maguire (Dylan Llewellyn), Michelle Mallon (Jamie - Lee O'Donnell),Erin Quinn (Saoirse Monica Jackson), Clare Devlin (Nicola Coughlan), Orla Mccool (Louisa Clare Harland)

McGee's beloved series Derry Girls, a comedy that follows a group of teenagers in Northern Ireland during the troubles, was launched in 2018 and received multiple awards including a Royal Television Society Award and a Bafta TV award. It aired its third and final series last year, with all eyes on McGee to see what she would do next.

McGee expressed her own excitement over the new show. "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."

Further details about the show, including the cast and potential release date, have yet to be announced.