Derry Girls Creator Turns to Crime in Netflix’s Intriguing How to Get to Heaven From Belfast

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What happens when a creator makes their masterpiece—a truly unique work that showcases everything they’ve learned and what they do best? It’s a tough question, and many of today’s most talented TV creators have responded by exploring crime dramas. Donald Glover, after the groundbreaking show Atlanta, created a dark satire about obsessed fans in Swarm and a comedic take on Mr. & Mrs. Smith, featuring married assassins. Sterlin Harjo followed the detailed and humorous world of Reservation Dogs with a noir series called The Lowdown. And Phoebe Waller-Bridge, after exploring themes of sex and feminism in the first season of Fleabag, created the thrilling spy drama Killing Eve before returning to that character.

Like many successful creators, Lisa McGee first gained attention with a unique comedy series rooted in her own life. Derry Girls, set in her hometown of Derry, Northern Ireland, before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, brilliantly combined the everyday experiences of teenagers with the serious realities of living during The Troubles. Now, McGee returns with a crime drama, which will inevitably be compared to Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters. Her new Netflix series, How to Get to Heaven From Belfast, blends the complex female relationships and stylish clothing of Bad Sisters with the fast-paced, distinctly Irish humor of Derry Girls. It’s both a move into the crime genre and a playful take on it. While the plot gets a little complicated near the end and the mix of humor and suspense isn’t always perfect, McGee’s clever approach to a familiar genre, combined with her talent for comedy, dialogue, and creating memorable characters, makes the show thoroughly enjoyable. Even if you’re tired of mystery stories, it’s well worth watching.

Okay, so the setup immediately grabbed me – four friends unexpectedly reunited at the funeral of someone they’ve been avoiding for years, all because of a terrible secret they share. Right from the start, you get the sense this isn’t just a simple whodunit. We jump between the present and the past, slowly piecing together what happened years ago – a haunting image of a cabin going up in flames keeps popping up, and it’s clearly central to everything. These women are now in their 40s, dealing with their own messy lives, and this old secret just throws everything into chaos. Honestly, it hits a lot of familiar notes – you’ve got the ‘you can’t go home again’ trope, the idea that pain causes more pain, and the classic reminder that the past always comes back to haunt you. But it’s handled with enough skill that those clichés don’t feel stale.

Despite a potentially uninteresting premise, the show is surprisingly enjoyable thanks to its three main characters. Robyn (Sinéad Keenan, known from Being Human) is now a stressed-out mother of three, feeling unfulfilled in a lackluster marriage. Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne, who starred in Industry and A Thousand Blows) is a lesbian who keeps her sexuality private, limited by her religious beliefs and family responsibilities; she’s a little clumsy, and it’s clear loneliness has contributed to that. The closest thing the show has to a main character is Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher, recently in Lazarus and The Dry), a writer for a TV crime show called Murder Code. She’s dealing with conflict with the show’s lead actor and questioning her engagement to a colleague, leading her to doubt her career choices. She wonders aloud what the show even is – just another murder mystery? Her publicist insists she’s entertaining people, but Saoirse retorts that so are clowns.

It was probably obvious that McGee was up to something beyond just another murder mystery, but if you weren’t sure, this confirms it. Saoirse, regardless of whether she represents the author, is definitely the character who shapes the show’s central ideas. McGee is known for witty, often crude, conversations filled with Irish slang – who else would interrupt a serious moment to declare Belle from Beauty and the Beast “a jerk” and complain about her condescending attitude? But when the characters are being serious, Robyn, Dara, and even Saoirse often criticize writers – like Saoirse herself – for controlling not only their fictional worlds but also the real people they treat like characters in a story. Belfast particularly highlights how far removed our personal narratives can be from actual reality.

As a film lover, I was completely hooked by how the story slowly unravels. It turns out everything these women thought happened on that night twenty years ago – the event that’s shaped their lives ever since – is actually wrong! It’s a really clever idea because it means all their adult choices have been based on a false memory. Watching them race around, trying to piece together the truth about what really happened to their friend, all while desperately trying to keep a damaging secret under wraps, is a wild and captivating ride. It really messes with your head in the best way!

I was initially happy with the show’s subtle exploration of how people form their identities based on false beliefs, especially as it unfolded alongside the main investigation and featured some sharp dialogue. However, as the season progressed, the mystery became overly complicated. The number of characters grew, and the story leaned into fantastical elements – though this did allow for a brilliantly eccentric performance from Saoirse-Monica Jackson (of Derry Girls), even if the role felt like something Emerald Fennell might have written. Ultimately, the overwhelming focus on trauma risked losing sight of the show’s original, more personal investigation into how we build our sense of self from simple, often inaccurate, stories.

Belfast tries to do a lot and change direction frequently, making complete success difficult. However, it’s more often successful than not, thanks to the same strengths that made Derry Girls so good: characters you care about who are realistically flawed, and a dark, witty humor delivered perfectly by a talented cast. I’m not entirely sure the lead actress fits the crime drama genre as well as she did comedy, though. It would be a shame if, despite its popularity, crime became the only type of show during this current streaming boom that allows skilled writers and creators to tell original stories. Belfast is entertaining, but Derry still feels more authentic and comfortable.

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2026-02-13 05:06