Channel 4 ditches Derry Girls writer’s new comedy series as Netflix swoops in to save show
Lisa McGee is back with more comedy gold
LISA McGee’s new comedy thriller How to Get to Heaven from Belfast has been scrapped by Channel 4 because of “cost.”
The Derry Girls creator delighted fans when Channel 4 announced she’d be returning with a new comedy series — and it seems Netflix has swooped in to save the day.
Lisa’s new comedy thriller was announced by the broadcaster last summer, but has now been scrapped due to creative differences and “rising costs.”
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: “We loved Lisa McGee’s How To Get To Heaven From Belfast and offered a substantial licence fee to be its UK home…
“Unfortunately, due to changes in editorial direction as the development process progressed, coupled with rising costs and the recent cooling in the US co-production market, it became impossible to get the right international partner and funding plan in place.
“We wish Lisa and Hat Trick Productions all the best and look forward to working together on future projects.”
The series, which has not yet begun filming, will now go straight to Netflix. Derry Girls and London Irish writer Lisa remains on board.
What is How to Get to Heaven from Belfast about?
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is an eight-part comedy series which follows high school friends Saoirse, Robyn and Dara. “Now in their late thirties, they lead very different lives,” the synopsis teases.
“Saoirse is 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.”
“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 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.
Which TV shows has Lisa McGee created?
Critically-acclaimed and award-winning writer Lisa McGee has found great success telling stories from her early life and drawing on her personal experience.
- Raw – Raw was the first series Lisa McGee created. The drama ran from 2008 to 2013 for five season on RTE and the escapades of staff in a Dublin restaurant.
- London Irish – Prior to Derry Girls, Lisa wrote the sitcom London Irish. The six-part series premiered on Channel 4 and followed friends Packy, Bronagh, Conor, Niamh navigating life in London. It stars Peter Campion and Kat Reagan who went on to star in Derry Girls.
- Derry Girls – Erin, Orla, Claire, Michelle and James navigate their teenage years in Derry during The Troubles.
- How to Get To Heaven From Belfast – a new comedy thriller about three former besties in their thirties who have grown apart.
- Lisa also has writing credits on shows like The White Queen and The Deceiver, and she has also written several plays.
“These women are about to embark on the most exciting adventure of their lives. 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, as they 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.
“How To Get To Heaven From Belfast takes us on an enthralling and hilarious journey, exploring the themes of friendship, memory and what happens when life doesn’t turn out quite how we expected.”
