Derry Girls: once a Derry Girl, always a Derry Girl

 Derry Girls: Up to no good...


Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls is a show which takes the sitcom genre and makes something truly genius. The show is based on McGee’s own experiences of life as a teenager in 1990s Derry towards the end of the Troubles, but rather than being a dreary political and historical drama, the politics of the setting are written into the everyday lives of the Derry girls. Police checks of school buses, checkpoints at the border, these are just features of day-to-day life for the Derry girls, alongside all the other normal problems of teenage rebellion, identity crisis and existential crisis. When each season comes to an end, we’re moved because we’ve seen these kids go through so much together in ways that are more personal and fundamental than the politics of their time. 



Derry Girls depicts a very particular time and place, but it’s also a great reminder that our history is never far behind us. We are now thirty years on from the Good Friday Agreement but it’s clear that we don’t always learn from our mistakes. History does not stay in the past; if we let it, it will haunt us. That seems like a fairly grim and dreary overview of what is genuinely a hilarious, warm, and heartfelt show, but it’s worth remembering that everything comes from some kind of history or context, and that those contexts are a fundamental part of how we understand a story. 



All the while, the Derry girls are getting up to their own trouble, finding themselves in places and situations which are quite tricky to explain their way out of (unless you’re a snake like Clare I guess), discovering new things about themselves and each other, and making us laugh at every turn. Each of them have their own challenges and anxieties (except for Orla, living her best life) but they don’t let anything stop them from living their lives and having new experiences. Yes, maybe Clare needs a little extra push sometimes and maybe Michelle needs to rein it in on occasion and maybe Erin should get out once in a while and maybe James needs to shut up more and maybe Orla should never change because she’s perfect as she is, but they’re all on a journey of their own making. 



If there’s any reason why you should be watching Derry Girls it’s because it’s everything you could want from a TV show. It’s funny in every way from the slapstick to the genius and occasionally grotesque. Its characters are well-rounded and lovable and honest. It makes its history part of its reality as opposed to something it’s just commenting on for the sake of being political. It has a great soundtrack of ‘90s classics including The Cranberries, of course. It’s heartwarming and emotional in the way that real life is, with all its ups and downs, diversions and tangents and crazy adventures. It’s brilliantly acted by all its cast members and brilliantly written by Lisa McGee. It may only be three seasons long but each episode is worth every minute, and unlike other shows which have been unceremoniously cancelled and left audiences with unsatisfying conclusions, Derry Girls finishes right where it’s meant to. Life goes on, but we’ll always have the Derry girls. 

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