Channel 4 Commissions Comedy Thriller from Derry Girls Creator

Channel 4 has commissioned the comedy thriller How to Get to Heaven from Belfast from Lisa McGee, creator and writer of Derry Girls.

The eight-part series will follow Saoirse, Robyn and Dara, women in their late thirties who have been friends since school. When they receive an email informing them of the death of an old classmate they were once close with, they find themselves involved in a dark mystery.

Hat Trick Productions is producing the series. Caroline Leddy (Derry Girls, The Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinner), Liz Lewin (Derry Girls, London Irish, Crashing) and Jimmy Mulville are executive producers.

“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,” McGee said. “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.”

Charlie Perkins, head of comedy at Channel 4, said, “This is huge. We couldn’t be prouder that Channel 4 feels like this extraordinary show’s spiritual home. 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.”

Mulville, managing director at Hat Trick Productions, added, “I feel enormously grateful that Lisa, Liz and Caroline have decided once again to team up with Hat Trick and to be yet again working with Channel 4. How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is an extraordinarily rich story that will thrill fans not only of Derry Girls but of lovers of comedy thrillers everywhere.”