Derry Girls creator and Derry girl Lisa McGee
The latest project by Lisa Magee will follow three women who are reunited at the wake of an old friend.
The broadcaster has commissioned the new eight-part comedy-thriller which focuses on long time friends Saoirse, Robyn and Dara, who are now in their late 30s.
Saoirse is described as a “successful writer with a compulsion to hit the self-destruct button” whereas Robyn is a “sweary, stressed out mother of three young boys”.
Meanwhile, Dara is the “full-time carer of an elderly parent, who hasn’t managed to move out of her teenage bedroom.”
Ms McGee has said she had wanted to make a comedy-thriller set in Northern Ireland “for a long time”.
“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,” she said in a statement.
“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.”
The brand new series will be produced by Hat Trick Productions and executive produced by McGee’s “Derry Girls” collaborators Caroline Leddy and Liz Lewin, as well as Hat Trick’s Jimmy Mulville.
“When the women each receive an email informing them of the death of Greta, an old classmate they were once very close with, there’s clearly some unspoken, unfinished business,” the description states.
“The friends decide to attend Greta’s wake and discover all may not be quite as it seems.
“They soon find themselves embroiled in a dark and twisted mystery. It’s absolutely terrifying. But it’s also… utterly thrilling.”
How to Get to Heaven From Belfast was commissioned by Channel 4 head of comedy Charlie Perkins as part of a rare collaboration between the network’s comedy and drama departments.
“This is huge. We couldn’t be prouder that Channel 4 feels like this extraordinary show’s spiritual home,” Perkins said.
“Getting to know the multi hyphenated talents of Lisa, Liz, Caroline and their collaborators at Hat Trick Productions has been one of the greatest pleasures in my first year as Head of Comedy.
“We can’t wait to bring Lisa’s next world to life for all those who already love her work and many more to come.”
Derry Girls first aired on Channel 4 in 2018 to critical acclaim.
The triple Bafta winning show followed four teenage girls and “a wee English fella” growing up in the city during the 1990s and ran for three seasons before finishing in 2022.
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