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Derry Girls

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Derry Girls
Derry Girls.png
GenreSitcom
Black comedy[1][2][3]
Created byLisa McGee
Written byLisa McGee
Directed byMichael Lennox
Starring
Theme music composerDolores O'Riordan
Noel Hogan
Ending theme"Dreams" by The Cranberries
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
Production
Camera setupSingle camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companyHat Trick Productions
Release
Original networkChannel 4
Picture formatHDTV 1080i
Audio formatDolby Digital 5.1
Original release4 January 2018 (2018-01-04) –
present

Derry Girls is a British sitcom created and written by Lisa McGee that premiered on 4 January 2018 on Channel 4.[4] The channel's most successful comedy since Father Ted, the series was inspired by McGee's own experiences growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland, during the final years of the Troubles.[5] It stars Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, and Dylan Llewellyn as five teenagers living in mid-1990s Derry while attending Our Lady Immaculate College, a fictional girls' Catholic secondary school based on the real-life Thornhill College, where McGee herself studied.[6][7] Produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions, Derry Girls is filmed in Northern Ireland, with most scenes shot on location in Derry and some in Belfast.

Although the plot lines of Derry Girls are fictional, the series frequently references actual events of the Troubles and the Northern Ireland peace process, including the 1994 IRA ceasefire announcement and the 1995 visit to Northern Ireland of President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton. Archival footage relating to key political figures such as Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams, and John Hume is shown via TV and radio broadcasts in family homes. The soundtrack features popular music of the era, by acts including Ace of Base, Blur, Cypress Hill, Salt-N-Pepa, The Corrs, and The Cranberries.

The first series, broadcast on Channel 4 in January and February 2018,[8] became the most-watched series in Northern Ireland since modern records began in 2002. The series was renewed shortly after the pilot episode aired, and the second series was broadcast in March and April 2019. A third and final series was commissioned for 2020, although filming was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10] The third series finished filming on 21 December 2021,[11] and will be broadcast in 2022.[12] Derry Girls has inspired a mural of its main characters painted on the side of Badgers Bar and Restaurant at 18 Orchard Street, Derry, which has become a popular tourist attraction.[13]

Synopsis[]

The series follows 16-year-old Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), their friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell), and Michelle's English cousin James (Dylan Llewellyn) as they navigate their teen years during the end of The Troubles in Derry, where they all attend a Catholic girls' secondary school. The gang frequently find themselves in crazy situations that almost always lead to them lying to their parents, sneaking off on crazy adventures and getting caught up in wild situations. The group must face political unrest, heated arguments and cultural divides, as well as the already impossible task of growing up, all while trying to stay out of trouble.

Cast and characters[]

Main[]

  • Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Erin Quinn. Aged 16 at the start of the series, she is passionate and ambitious, with literary aspirations, but is at times alternately vain or overly concerned with how she is regarded by others.
  • Louisa Harland as Orla McCool. Aged 15 at the start of the series, she is Erin's detached and eccentric maternal cousin.
  • Nicola Coughlan as Clare Devlin. Intelligent and studious, and often the voice of reason in the gang, she is more intimidated than her friends by authority figures. At the end of series one, she comes out as a lesbian.
  • Jamie-Lee O'Donnell as Michelle Mallon. The wild child of the group, she often gets her friends into trouble through her keen interest in sex, drugs, and alcohol.
  • Dylan Llewellyn as James Maguire. Michelle's maternal cousin, he has grown up in London but comes to live with his aunt in Derry just before the start of the series. Out of concern for an English boy's safety at the local Christian Brothers school, James becomes the first male pupil at Our Lady Immaculate College. Everyone in Derry assumes he is gay, despite his protestations.
  • Tara Lynne O'Neill as Mary Quinn. Erin's mother and the matriarch of the Quinn family, she has been married to Gerry for 17 years at the start of the series.
  • Tommy Tiernan as Gerry Quinn. Mary's husband and Erin's father, he is from the Republic of Ireland. He holds an unspecified job where he drives eight hours a day and has a strained relationship with his father-in-law.
  • Kathy Kiera Clarke as Sarah McCool. Orla's mother and Mary's younger sister, she is sweet but dim-witted, heavily focused on her own and other people's appearance. She is an inattentive mother and takes little responsibility for raising Orla.
  • Ian McElhinney as Joe McCool. Mary and Sarah's father, and Erin and Orla's grandfather, he moved in with the Quinns after his wife died. Joe shows nothing but contempt for Gerry, constantly criticising him and encouraging Mary to leave him.
  • Siobhán McSweeney as Sister Michael. The headmistress of Our Lady Immaculate College, she rules the school with an iron fist. She treats a nun as a job rather than a calling, treating priests with indifference or even contempt and joking that she became a nun for the free accommodation.

Recurring[]

  • Ava Grace McAleese and Mya Rose McAleese as Anna Quinn, Erin's toddler sister.
  • Leah O'Rourke as Jenny Joyce, a prefect and a suck-up despised by the gang. She is from a wealthy family (Jenny's father, a surgeon at Altnagelvin Hospital, once removed Orla's tonsils) and lives in a large house.
  • Beccy Henderson as Aisling, Jenny's best friend and sidekick.
  • Claire Rafferty as Miss Mooney, Sister Michael's deputy.
  • Amelia Crowley as Deirdre Mallon, Michelle's mother and James' aunt, who is a nurse.
  • Kevin McAleer as Colm McCool, Joe's brother and Mary and Sarah's uncle. His slow, ponderous style of storytelling is so boring that his family avoids him, and a short conversation briefly convinced Sister Michael that she was in hell.
  • Paul Mallon as Dennis, the aggressive proprietor of the corner shop the girls frequent.
  • Philippa Dunne as Geraldine Devlin, Clare's mother.
  • Peter Campion as Father Peter, a young priest whom most of the girls (and James) have a crush on.
  • Jamie Beamish as Ciaran, Sarah's love interest who works at a photography chain store.
  • Robert Calvert as Jim, the Quinns' neighbour.

Episodes[]

SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedAve. UK viewers
(millions)
First airedLast aired
164 January 2018 (2018-01-04)8 February 2018 (2018-02-08)2.84
265 March 2019 (2019-03-05)9 April 2019 (2019-04-09)3.10

Series 1 (2018)[]

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
11"Episode One"Michael LennoxLisa McGee4 January 2018 (2018-01-04)3.28[4]
The series begins on the first day of the 1994 school year. Erin awakes to find Orla reading her diary, and clashes with her mother over teenagers' rights to privacy and individuality. A bomb scare on the Craigavon Bridge makes movement around the city difficult. Michelle introduces her English cousin James to Erin, Clare, and Orla. Erin's crush David Donnelly invites her to his band's gig. Demanding to sit in the back seat of the school bus, Michelle threatens to beat up a first-year pupil who refuses to move, but backs down after learning the first-year's sister is the formidable "Big Mandy" in Upper Sixth. Prefect Jenny Joyce reports the incident to Sister Michael, who gives all the friends detention. The almost 98-year-old Sister Declan confiscates Michelle's lipstick and Erin's diary while supervising detention, but then suddenly dies. Sister Michael enters to find Michelle retrieving her lipstick, Erin climbing out a window in an effort to get to David's gig, Clare (on a 24-hour fast to raise money for an Ethiopian charity) devouring the remains of Sister Declan's sandwich, and James (barred from the female-only toilets) urinating into a bin. The friends' parents are summoned, and James discovers that his mother has gone back to London without him.
22"Episode Two"Michael LennoxLisa McGee11 January 2018 (2018-01-11)3.02[4]
Joe's brother Colm—notorious for his monotonous stories—is tied to his radiator by two IRA terrorists who steal his van, use it to transport weapons across the border, before blowing it up. Sarah and Colm are later interviewed by UTV. The friends are eager to join a school trip to Paris until they discover the cost is £375. Jenny explains she is paying for the trip out of her trust fund, but the friends soon learn that none of them has a trust fund. They decide to seek jobs to earn the money. Michelle steals a noticeboard from a chip shop advertising part-time jobs. After the owner Fionnula discovers the theft, the group is forced to clean her shop while she attends a yoga class. After Michelle accidentally sets fire to Fionnula's flat above the shop with flaming shots, the teens call Mary and Sarah, who tie the teens to the radiators in a re-enactment of the robbery at Colm's, intending to pretend that IRA terrorists tried to steal Fionnula's van. Returning early, Fionnula catches them in the act, and Erin's family is banned from the shop.
33"Episode Three"Michael LennoxLisa McGee18 January 2018 (2018-01-18)2.78[4]
After cramming all night for a history exam, the friends see a dog resembling Erin's recently deceased pet, Toto. They pursue it into a church where, overcome by sleep deprivation and caffeine, Clare imagines a statue of the Virgin Mary is smirking at them. Erin chases the dog to the upper floor, where it urinates directly above the statue. Clare then mistakes the urine for tears. Orla credulously agrees, while Michelle plays along, believing the friends won't have to sit an exam if they are perceived as modern-day children of Fátima. After they tell Sister Michael of the "miracle", a handsome young priest, Father Peter, becomes interested in the story. He suggests Toto was resurrected to lead Erin to the church, which appears to be confirmed when Toto's grave in the back garden is discovered to be empty. Overhearing her mother on the phone, Erin discovers that Mary gave Toto to their elderly neighbour Maureen Malarkey; Toto was the dog they saw. Enamored with Peter, the friends maintain the hoax until Peter reveals to Erin that he was close to abandoning the priesthood to pursue a relationship. Believing he is attracted to her, Erin tells the truth, but the friends are branded liars who pranked the Catholic Church and have to take their exam.
44"Episode Four"Michael LennoxLisa McGee25 January 2018 (2018-01-25)2.55[4]
In an international exchange to help victims of the Chernobyl disaster, several Ukrainian teenagers come to stay in Derry. The Quinn family hosts the deadpan Katya, who is uninterested in Erin and Orla's lives but immediately attracted to James. Mary and Sarah are horrified to discover their father Joe is dating a new woman, 62-year-old Maeve. Michelle is attracted to Artem, the Ukrainian staying with Jenny, and encourages her friends to attend Jenny's party. James plans to lose his virginity with Katya at the party, but Erin is determined to prevent him. After Erin finds condoms in Katya's bag, and several Ukrainian boys ask Erin to give Katya money they owe her, Erin accuses Katya in front of the entire party of being a prostitute. Katya explains she was collecting money from the other Ukrainians to buy Jenny a thank-you gift. Michelle discovers 'Artem' is actually Clive, a Protestant from East Belfast who took a wrong turn leaving Aldergrove Airport; terrified of the Catholics, he pretended to be one of the Ukrainians. Katya decides to stay with Jenny's family for the remainder of her time in Derry.
55"Episode Five"Michael LennoxLisa McGee1 February 2018 (2018-02-01)2.63[4]
On 12 July, Erin's family and friends attempt to avoid the Orange walks by taking a brief holiday to County Donegal in the Republic. The group departs in two cars, with Gerry driving one car and Joe the other. Joe insists on navigating, only to lead the group into the middle of a hostile Orange parade. Sarah tells Michelle's fortune, predicting she will soon meet her future husband. After the group finally leaves Derry and drives toward the border, they pull over to retrieve Mary's purse containing her punts from the car boot, but discover an IRA terrorist hiding there. Using the false name Emmett, he tells them he urgently needs to cross the border. Gerry and Joe argue over whether to risk arrest by transporting Emmett, while Michelle believes Emmett to be her future husband. As Gerry and Joe continue to disagree, Emmett flees the restaurant where they stopped for lunch, steals their tent—borrowed from their neighbour Jim—and departs in the boot of another car as the group watches.
66"Episode Six"Michael LennoxLisa McGee8 February 2018 (2018-02-08)2.76[4]
Ciaran, a photo shop clerk, refuses to let Gerry collect Mary's birthday photos without the red docket that proves ownership. Mary later finds the red docket in the wash, having dyed the white clothes pink, including the friends' school shirts. Joe and Sarah later return to the shop, where Ciaran recognises Sarah as the attractive lady from the photos and begins dating her. Erin is appointed school newspaper editor, but the rest of the newspaper staff quits, forcing Erin to recruit her friends. Struggling to come up with a lead story, Erin finds an anonymous entry by a lesbian pupil in the school's Searching for Myself writing contest. Ignoring Clare's objections, Erin decides to publish the story, printing it under the headline "The Secret Life of a Lesbian!" Fearing it will cause trouble with the board of governors, Sister Michael bans the issue and assumes the friends are wearing pink shirts to support gay rights. The friends distribute the issue regardless, creating a sensation within the school. Clare comes out to Erin, confiding that she is the "wee lesbian" who wrote the story, but is hurt by Erin's negative reaction and stops speaking to her. At the school talent show, Orla performs a step aerobics routine to "Like a Prayer" ("Pray" in the international Netflix broadcast), eliciting ridicule. Coming to her defence, Erin, Clare, Michelle, and James join Orla onstage, ending Erin and Clare's feud. As the friends dance joyfully at school, Mary, Gerry, Sarah, and Joe watch sombrely at home as news reports of a fatal bombing filter through.

Series 2 (2019)[]

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
71"Across the Barricade"Michael LennoxLisa McGee[14]5 March 2019 (2019-03-05)[14]3.68[15]
Students from Our Lady Immaculate attend a weekend-long Friends Across the Barricade peace initiative with pupils from a Protestant boys' school. Erin and Michelle hope to gain sexual experience with the Protestant boys, whom they imagine to be free of Catholic guilt and other hang-ups. Each teen is paired with a "buddy" from the other school, but Father Peter, returned to the priesthood after a failed relationship with a hairdresser, is unable to guide the group toward naming anything that Catholics and Protestants have in common. James and Orla share a buddy, who is disconcerted by the laddish persona James adopts to impress him, as well as Orla's intense survivalism. After the friends sneak into the Protestant boys' dormitory for a late-night party, Michelle is disappointed to find her buddy Harry wearing a purity bracelet while Erin's buddy Dee is unnerved by her advances. Deaf in one ear, Clare's buddy mishears the word "Catholics" as "athletes" and tells her he hates them, shocking Clare. Sister Michael breaks up the party following a tip-off from Jenny. The following day, the group engages in a trust-building exercise that involves abseiling off a cliff. Forced to go first, and terrified that her "Catholic-hating" buddy will let her fall, Clare screams "Don't let the Jaffa bastard hurt me!" Clare's outburst incites an argument between the Protestants and Catholics that escalates into a physical fight. All parents are called in. Their resulting lectures to their children inspire Erin to write "Parents" on the blackboard as something all the pupils have in common, and she shares a smile with Dee.
82"Ms De Brún and the Child of Prague"Michael LennoxLisa McGee[16]12 March 2019 (2019-03-12)3.35[15]
Sister Michael takes a liking to a Child of Prague statue. A charismatic new English teacher, Ms De Brún, inspires Erin and her friends. Mary and Gerry plan a date at the cinema, but Sarah, Ciaran, Joe, and Colm all tag along. Tormented by missing the end of The Usual Suspects when the cinema is evacuated due to a security alert, Mary wonders repeatedly about the identity of Keyser Söze. The adults return home to discover the teens have raided the Christmas snacks for a sugar-fueled poetry writing session to impress Ms De Brún. The friends are invited to Ms De Brún house, where she offers them wine. Eager to prove to her friends that she is not a "craic-killer," Clare drinks freely. On their way home, the friends meet Jenny, who witnesses Clare drunk. The next day, they learn Ms De Brún has left; angrily assuming she was fired because Jenny informed Sister Michael, they steal the statue as leverage to force the school to retain Ms De Brún. Accidentally breaking off the statue's head, they glue it on upside down as Sister Michael walks in. The girls' parents are summoned, soon followed by Ms De Brún, who reveals she resigned for a better position elsewhere, contrary to her lessons of "spontaneity". The families are told to replace the statue, and the teens receive a week's suspension. Sister Michael tells Mary the plot twist of The Usual Suspects.
93"The Concert"Michael LennoxLisa McGee19 March 2019 (2019-03-19)3.05[15]
The friends are looking forward to a Take That concert in Belfast, but their parents forbid them to go after seeing news reports about a polar bear escaped from Belfast Zoo. Determined to attend the concert regardles, the teens tell their parents they will be spending the day at each other's houses and board the bus to Belfast, with Michelle bringing a suitcase of vodka. After Sister Michael boards the bus, the friends claim to be visiting the Ulster Museum for a history project and deny the suitcase is theirs. Sister Michael raises the alarm about unattended baggage, and the army uses a remote control vehicle to detonate the suitcase. Fleeing the scene on foot, the friends encounter a group of Irish Travellers and accept a lift from a passing driver, Rita, who intends to sell knock-off merchandise at the concert. Drunk and distracted by opera, Rita collides with a sheep, which the girls are forced to move off the road. Realising that James—who has the concert tickets—is not with them, they retrieve him from the Travellers. Back home, the adults learn the polar bear was recaptured by firefighters near the A6 whilst eating a sheep carcass. Michelle's and Clare's mothers arrive, expecting to find Michelle, James, and Clare there, and the adults realise the teens lied to go to the concert. Watching the concert on TV, Gerry laughs when he sees them in the audience.
104"The Curse"Michael LennoxLisa McGee26 March 2019 (2019-03-26)3.08[15]
At a family wedding, Sarah upsets the guests by wearing a white dress and upstaging the bride's entrance. Clare, Michelle, and James attend the wedding reception as Erin's guests. To Clare's horror, Michelle announces plans to obtain drugs from a shady connection called "Macca". After Mary and Sarah's maternal aunt Bridie insults Mary, Sarah, and Joe, Mary responds by telling Bridie to "drop dead"; seconds later, Bridie dies. Mary is perturbed by speculation that she has the power to curse people. At Bridie's wake, Michelle produces hash scones, which are inadvertently distributed to the other mourners. After retrieving most of the scones, the friends try to flush them down the toilet, blocking it and causing a flood. Recognising Bridie's earrings as having been stolen from their mother, Mary and Sarah take them off Bridie's corpse but are caught by Bridie's son Eamonn. Back home, to Erin's horror, Joe offers the family several scones saved from the wake.
115"The Prom"Michael LennoxLisa McGee2 April 2019 (2019-04-02)2.88[15]
Jenny organises a 1950s-style prom. Erin ditches Clare as her date to invite John Paul, the subject of her unrequited affection. Mae, a new pupil of East Asian descent from County Donegal, asks Clare to go with her instead. Michelle steals her mother's credit card and the girls charge new prom dresses to it, planning to return them the following day as unworn. Mae vows revenge on Jenny for reserving the dress she wanted. Erin is crushed on the night of the prom when John Paul fails to show up, but Mary calls James, who skips his Doctor Who convention to take Erin to the dance. After Clare learns that Mae was expelled from her last school for bullying, the friends realise Mae is planning to humiliate Jenny as she is crowned prom queen. Noticing buckets suspended above the stage, James quickly explains the plot of Carrie. Clare tries to stop Mae as the others try to move Jenny offstage, but Jenny, Aisling, James, Erin, and Michelle end up drenched in what turns out to be tomato juice. Michelle realises she will be unable to return her dress. The adults watch a TV news report of the IRA's ceasefire on 31 August 1994, and join their neighbours celebrating in the street.
126ais"The President"Michael LennoxLisa McGee9 April 2019 (2019-04-09)2.57[15]
Derry awaits the visit from President Bill Clinton on 30 November 1995. Although Sister Michael insists that Our Lady Immaculate will remain open, all pupils besides Jenny and Aisling play truant for the occasion. Having written to Chelsea Clinton, the friends naïvely hope to spend the day with her. Joe, Colm, and Jim attempt to track down the Clintons by listening to a "CIA agent" on CB radio. Gerry drives them to Burt in County Donegal, where they believe the Clintons are staying, only to discover that they have been listening to a taxi dispatcher. Meanwhile, James's self-absorbed mother Cathy returns to Derry. Later in Guildhall Square, where the friends have gathered for Clinton's speech, James tells the others that he is going back to London with his mother that same day, and bids them goodbye. Michelle follows James and angrily confronts him, warning that his selfish mother will inevitably let him down again. She tells him that despite his gender and English accent, he is a true Derry girl who belongs with them. Regardless, James departs for the airport with his mother in a taxi. As Clinton is introduced, Orla spots James on the city walls shouting "I am a Derry girl!" Realising James has decided to stay in Derry, the girls run to him and embrace him. The friends then walk arm-in-arm past a TV rental shop broadcasting Clinton's speech as he speaks of a peaceful and prosperous future for the city's young people.

Production[]

Filming took place in Northern Ireland, with most scenes being shot in Derry and Belfast.[17][18]

The show was renewed for a second series shortly after the airing of the pilot episode of the first series. Production of the second series began on 8 October 2018.[19][20] The second series began airing on 5 March 2019.[14] On 9 April 2019, immediately after the second series finale, it was confirmed by Channel 4 that Derry Girls would return for a third series.[21][22] Production of the third series was due to commence in the spring of 2020, but was suspended following the announcement of the COVID-19 lockdown.[23] On 21 July 2021, Nicola Coughlan confirmed that filming for the third season was set to commence in late 2021, with a premiere in early 2022.[24] On 23 September 2021, series creator and writer Lisa McGee confirmed Derry Girls would end with its third series, stating “it was always the plan to say goodbye after three series.”[25] On 21 December 2021, McGee and Coughlan announced on social media that filming of the final series had completed.[26]

Broadcast[]

The first series premiered on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on Thursday nights at 10:00 pm, while the second series was moved to Tuesday nights at 9:15 pm, with the exception of the sixth episode which was aired at 9:00 pm. The entire series is available to stream in the UK on All 4.

The series was picked up by Netflix internationally, with series 1 being released on 21 December 2018.[27] Series 2 was released on 2 August 2019.[28] The international version of the first series is now available to stream on Netflix in the UK and Ireland. The second series was added on 9 July 2020, but was temporarily removed from the service as it was mistakenly released a year early.[29]

Merchandise[]

A Derry Girls book was released on 12 November 2020, entitled Erin's Diary: An Official Derry Girls Book, published by Trapeze Books.[30]

Reception[]

Derry Girls has become Channel 4's most successful comedy since Father Ted.[31][32]

Derry Girls mural[]

Located at 18 Orchard Street in Derry,[33] a mural of the main cast of characters can be seen on the side of Badger's Bar.[34] This popular tourist attraction was created by UV Arts and is one of many political murals across the city. Derry is known for politically charged art, and the famed mural speaks to the popularity of the television programme and its relation to cultural change in the area.[34]

Critical reception[]

Derry Girls has received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first series holds an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 24 critics. The website's critical consensus states: "A perfectly curated cast and raw writing drive Derry Girls's dark humor as creator Lisa McGee makes frenetic light of teen life in 1990s Northern Ireland".[35] The second series has an approval rating of 97%, based on reviews from 30 critics. The website's critical consensus states that "The sophomore season of Derry Girls doesn't lose any of its irreverent charms thanks to its predictably unpredictable romps and canny characterizations".[36]

Derry Girls was the most watched series in Northern Ireland since modern records began in 2002, with an average audience of 519,000 viewers and a 64.2 per cent share of the audience.[37] Una Mullally of The Irish Times praised the series: "The writing in Derry Girls is sublime, the performances perfect, the casting is brilliant."[38] On 11 January 2018, after the first episode had aired, the programme was renewed for a second series.[39] Each episode was watched by over two million people.[4] At the conclusion of the first series, Barbara Ellen of The Guardian wrote that Derry Girls evoked such programmes as The Inbetweeners, Father Ted and Bad Education.[40]

Public reception[]

As there are slight political undertones to the show, responses have highlighted the comedic nature as keeping the material lighthearted enough to enjoy. Certain writers from various online articles have noted that their own Northern Irish family appreciated the way the show gave an honest portrayal of how life was for teens in the Troubles, and how much was endured by families during that time.[41] The way it portrayed the events and circumstances with a sense of normality echoed the real lives of both Protestants and Catholics in that area.[41]

Lisa McGee based events in the programme on her own life, such as writing a letter to the Clintons' daughter, Chelsea.[42] Adding real stories such as this to the episodes grounded the show in a way that allowed viewers to connect with the teenage attitudes of the characters, and served as a stark contrast to the events around them. The juxtaposition of the Troubles violence and teenage life resonated with many viewers and critics alike, making it one of the features of the show that made it so successful.[43]

Ratings[]

Series Timeslot Episodes First aired Last aired Rank Avg.
viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions) 		Date Viewers
(millions)
1
Thursday 10:00 pm
 6 4 January 2018 3.28[4] 8 February 2018 2.76[4] 4 2.84
2
Tuesday 9:15 pm (episodes 1–5)
Tuesday 9:00 pm (episode 6)
 6 5 March 2019 3.68[15] 9 April 2019 2.57[15] 4 3.10

Accolades[]

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2018 Radio Times Comedy Champion Award Derry Girls Won [44]
IFTA Gala Television Awards Best Female Performance Saoirse-Monica Jackson Nominated [45]
Best Male Performance Tommy Tiernan Nominated
Best Comedy Derry Girls Won [46]
Best Writer in a Comedy or Soap Lisa McGee Won
British Screenwriters’ Awards Best Comedy Writing on Television Won [47]
British Comedy Guide Awards Best New TV Sitcom Derry Girls Won [48]
2019 Royal Television Society Awards Best Scripted Comedy Won [49]
Best Writer (Comedy) Lisa McGee Nominated
BAFTA TV Awards Best Scripted Comedy Derry Girls Nominated [50]
2020 Royal Television Society Awards Best Scripted Comedy Nominated [51]
Best Comedy Performance (Female) Saoirse-Monica Jackson Won
BAFTA TV Awards Best Scripted Comedy Derry Girls Nominated

In other media[]

The Crystal Maze special[]

Cast members Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan and Dylan Llewellyn appeared in a 2018 special episode of British game show, The Crystal Maze.[52] The episode raised money for Stand Up to Cancer UK and was well received by viewers and fans of the show.[53]

Great British Bake Off holiday episode[]

For the 2020 New Year holiday, the cast competed on a special episode of The Great British Bake Off. Cast members Nicola Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, Dylan Llewellyn, Siobhán McSweeney, and Saoirse-Monica Jackson all appeared for the special.

In GBBO fashion, there were three challenges to be completed and tasted by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. The first challenge was a trifle, then blinis in the technical round, finishing with a showstopper tiered cake that each member had to design in a decades theme. At the end of the competition, Saoirse-Monica Jackson was declared the winner.[54]

Fans of the show greatly enjoyed watching the actors interact with the judges and hosts, as well as with each other outside of character. Many positive responses were recorded on Twitter, praising the fun attitude, cast hijinks, and even calling for more crossovers with Derry Girls and GBBO.[54]

References[]

  1. ^ Power, Ed (4 January 2018). "Derry Girls, episode 1 review: as much a black comedy about the Troubles as a teenage nostalgia fest". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  2. ^ Lanigan, Michael. "Tommy Tiernan's new Channel 4 comedy is a must-watch for anyone staying in tonight". www.joe.ie. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  3. ^ Bain, Jennifer (2 July 2019). "From the Troubles to teen angst: Derry Girls helps Northern Ireland city tell a new story". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Weekly top 30 programmes - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Derry Girls: criminally underrated Irish sitcom fuses hilarity with political heft". the Guardian. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Derry Girls: Father Ted meets The Inbetweeners". The Irish World. 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018.
  7. ^ McClements, Freya. "Real-life Derry Girls: 'The nuns are gone but the pupils are the same'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  8. ^ Little, Ivan (20 December 2017). "Derry Girls could become TV hit – if viewers can understand them". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  9. ^ Moore, Paul (10 April 2019). "Official: Season 3 of Derry Girls is happening". JOE. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  10. ^ Harding, Laura (21 February 2021). "Nicola Coughlan gives update on Derry Girls season 3". sundayworld. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Derry Girls finishes filming final season". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  12. ^ "WATCH: Derry Girls wraps filming on final season, drops teaser trailer". IrishCentral.com. 25 December 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  13. ^ O'Connor, Rachael. "Iconic Derry Girls mural gets a social distancing-friendly makeover". The Irish Post. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "When is Derry Girls back on TV?". Radio Times. 19 January 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h "Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
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