The emotional final episode may have aired nearly two years ago but Channel 4’s Derry Girls will always have a special place in our hearts. That’s why we were so excited to learn that a brand new comedy thriller, centred on another group of brilliant women in Northern Ireland, is coming our way from series writer and creator Lisa McGee. 

Billed as Netflix’s newest comedy-thriller, here’s what we know about How To Get To Heaven From Belfast so far. 

What is the plot of How To Get To Heaven From Belfast? 

Saoirse, Robyn and Dara have been friends since school. Now in their late 30s, they lead very different lives: Saoirse, a successful writer with a compulsion to hit the self-destruct button; Robyn, a sweary, stressed-out mother of three young boys; and Dara, a full-time carer of an elderly parent who hasn’t managed to move out of her teenage bedroom. But when the women each receive an email informing them of the death of Greta, an old classmate they were once very close with, it becomes clear that there’s some unspoken, unfinished business. The friends decide to attend Greta’s wake to discover all may not be quite as it seems – and soon find themselves embroiled in a dark and twisted mystery.

“Clever, chaotic TV writer Saoirse, glamorous, stressed-out mother of three Robyn, and dependable, inhibited carer Dara have been a tight-knit group since school,” confirms the official synopsis. “Now in their late 30s, but still as close as ever, these three friends are about to embark on the most thrilling adventure of their lives. When an email arrives, telling them about the death of the estranged fourth member of their childhood gang, Greta, a series of eerie events at her wake set them on a dark, dangerous and hilarious odyssey through Ireland and beyond as each tries to piece together the truth of the past. A show about friendship, memory and what happens when life doesn’t turn out quite like you’d expected.”

Described as not so much a ‘whodunit’ and more of a ‘what the hell happened’, the eight-part series will see the women embark on 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. They must 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.

McGee, whose Derry Girls became the biggest series set in Northern Ireland since modern records began in 2002, has said of the upcoming new series: “I couldn’t be more excited to start production on How To Get To Heaven From Belfast. I’ve loved writing Saoirse, Robyn and Dara – three flawed, funny women who are about to embark on the most thrilling and terrifying adventure of their lives. A mystery full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing and make you laugh out loud. Let’s go girls!”

Who Stars In How To Get To Heaven From Belfast? 

The eight-part series will star Roísín Gallagher (The Dry, The Lovers) as Saoirse, Sinéad Keenan (Little Boy Blue, Unforgotten) as Robyn and Dara will be played by Caoilfhionn Dunne (A Thousand Blows, Industry). The supporting cast is yet to be announced. 

When Can I Watch How To Get To Heaven From Belfast?

Production for the show has started in Northern Ireland, so we now know that it will premiere on Netflix in  2025. Exciting times, indeed. 

Images: Netflix; Channel 4