The China Mail - From 'Derry Girls' to 'heaven', Irish writer airs new comedy

"How To Get to Heaven from Belfast" -- which released Thursday on streaming giant Netflix -- is set in the present day, and features a new band of "women running around being chaotic, crazy and flawed".

"I think female friendships are so complex, particularly those where you've known someone for a long time, and they've known every single version of you," McGee told AFP.

A crime caper blended with off‑beat comedy, fans of "Derry Girls" will instantly recognise McGee's love of the absurd and larger‑than‑life characters.

The show follows three childhood friends whose very different lives converge at a wake for a former classmate in rural Ireland.

There they realise something is amiss and are soon swept up into a wildly unpredictable adventure.

"I really wanted to write a mystery, but I wanted to do it in a very Irish way. I wanted it to be funny and a bit surreal, and I like the idea of having a female ensemble at the heart of it," said McGee.

The protagonists — successful screenwriter Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher), stressed-out mum Robyn (Sinead Keenan) and carer Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne) — are inspired by her own circle of friends.

- 'Small things' -

Although the series does not directly address Northern Ireland's difficult history, McGee draws a parallel between the friends' buried secret and the way Belfast still feels "haunted by the past".

"There's loads of murals, there's the peace walls, the past is everywhere but you know it's a very different time," said McGee.

Born in 1980 into a Catholic family in Londonderry, McGee leaned heavily for "Derry Girls" on her own teenage years during the Troubles, which lasted from the late 1960s until a peace deal in 1998.

She had long resisted writing about the bloody conflict, which pitted mainly Catholic republicans against Protestant unionists in a struggle over Northern Ireland's status and cost some 3,500 lives.

But she was drawn to how, despite the chaos, people needed to get on with their lives.

"I think that's very profound that every day these people just did the small things you know, even though the world was falling apart around them," she said.

Her teenage characters are more preoccupied with crushes and exams than bombs and checkpoints, and their daily squabbles and concerns helped give the show "universal" appeal.

The three seasons of "Derry Girls" aired between 2018 and 2022 on Britain's Channel 4 before finding a global audience on Netflix.

- 'Cool for once' -

When McGee studied drama in Belfast 20 years ago, before moving to London and working in the Royal National Theatre, "there was no television industry -- you had to go away," she said.

Major productions like "Game of Thrones" in the 2010s transformed the creative landscape, helping to build a local industry that ultimately drew McGee back to the city.

"Derry Girls just creaked the door open ... because there's such trust in the fact that people will watch a story about that place, about those people," she said.

Now a BAFTA and International Emmy winner, McGee has "broken such amazing ground not just in Ireland, but internationally," said Dunne.

The success of "Derry Girls" has coincided with a broader cultural boom in Ireland, which will be highlighted again at the Oscars next month thanks to actress Jessie Buckley, nominated for her role in "Hamnet".

"It's amazing because it's a very small country and it's always had such incredible talent, but now maybe the exposure is just much greater," said McGee.

"It's really exciting and I feel very proud of everyone. It feels like we're cool for once!"

B.Carter--ThChM