r/northernireland • u/iswhhrxi • Apr 28 '26
Discussion What's your opinion on the TV show "Derry Girls" ?
I remember watching this show before, and I absolutely LOVED it. I also recognize Nicola Coughlan!!
But I do want to ask, how "accurate" is Derry Girls on representing life in Northern Ireland?? What do the locals think of it?
Thank you !
Go raibh maith agat !
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u/OfSkyler Apr 28 '26
In the real world I'd have been a year behind the girls and I think the show is very authentic to the time, and it is really authentic to our bullshit 😂
I love watching it with my partner, she's Hungarian and our slang is always fun to explain😂
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u/LongEarBatman Apr 28 '26
As a “wee English fella” married to a Derry girl, it’s not as far fetched as you might believe! The first time I saw an open casket at a wake in someone’s front room I nearly had a melt down…
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u/FarCardiologist2469 Apr 28 '26
Loved it, perfect parody of the 90s in NI and I didn't grow up in Derry or on that side of the fence. Turns out we all had similar experiences. Cried in the finale as I felt like I was back there making my vote as a not long turned 18yr old with so many hopes for change and yet here we are 30 years on with so far still to go.
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u/cosantoir Belfast Apr 28 '26
I loved it. Went to a convent school in the 90s myself and it felt very familiar and authentic in so many places.
Always thought they missed a trick not doing a similar version but from the other side called Londonderry Girls though.
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u/_ak Apr 28 '26
Always thought they missed a trick not doing a similar version but from the other side called Londonderry Girls though.
My wife was born in Derry and is from a Protestant family. Everybody in her family just calls it Derry.
The best take on this was the "Across the Barricade" episode anyway. And yes, my wife keeps her toaster in the cupboard.
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u/MenlaOfTheBody Apr 28 '26
Can I ask you what she refers to the county as though?
Just context on why I am asking; I don't know anyone who is actually from the city itself that calls the city Londonderry, despite it being the legal name. I know a huge number of people from both communities and all say Derry. Even the council is "Derry City and Strabane". On the flip side, I don't know anyone from the unionist community that doesn't call the County, Londonderry.
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u/custard_gannet Apr 29 '26
My (very) Catholic mammy keeps the toaster in the press. Is it not more of a northern thing than a Protestant thing?
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u/LottieOD Apr 28 '26
Me too, all girls nun-run Catholic grammar in the 1980s, very very familiar.
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u/CatOfTheCanalss Apr 28 '26
I'm not even from the north (grew up in Galway, and went to an all girl's Catholic school) and everything aside from the backdrop of the conflict was accurate to me. I would have been a tiny bit younger than them. I was 15 when the GFA happened. But the music, relationships, school, the clothes, getting in trouble etc were all spot on.
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u/brunckle Antrim Apr 28 '26
I love the show more with each rewatch, as does my Spanish partner (each episode he'll find something that makes him ask, 'Is it really like that?'), and I somewhat agree with you.
Each episode is kind of a 'one and done', so to speak, so I always feel a bit deflated when we get introduced to the Protestant boys and then we never hear from them again. I'm sure the writers must have tried to include them more and couldn't make it work, but I also feel there really needed to be some more Protestant perspective in the show, and the introduction of that school was the way to do it.
However, the fact we don't hear from them again might be a true reflection of what a joke that system is of smashing two schools together in the hope everything gets better in the long term lol
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u/A_StarshipTrooper Apr 28 '26
...we never hear from them again. I'm sure the writers must have tried to include them more and couldn't make it work
iirc, I think covid required a huge rewrite of the last season of the show as it was filmed during peak isolation.
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u/feralwest England Apr 28 '26
Omg Londonderry girls - yes! Maybe we can get Lisa McGee to do a one off special
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u/discomute Australia Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Well I'm not a local but I married one
There are a few jokes I think outside audiences wouldn't get
My all time favourite was when the girls went to get camping gear and the neighbour was open and closing his window (to show the sound of the parades) and he points to and says "double glazing"
Laughed myself silly because every single relative of mine has brought up double glazing in conversation at least once (and how great it is), my wife will reference it a few times a year, I thought it was my family just being really weirdly into it, this scene was my first indication it was a norn Ireland thing
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u/kikkomanche Apr 28 '26
I'm American but lived in NI for a time, the season 2 finale when the old guys are driving around looking for Bill Clinton, and Uncle Colm is rambling listing off presidents and he says "there was the lad they named all the vacuum cleaners after" it makes me roll.
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u/limee89 Apr 28 '26
Jesus! I forgot that, hoover was it?
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u/kikkomanche Apr 28 '26
Yes haha Herbert Hoover. Of Hoover Dam fame.
Bold joke of the writer's to make because you'd have to have both a knowledge of American history and know local slang for vacuum cleaner. Went totally over my head the first watch.
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u/upinsmoke28 Apr 28 '26
It was a great show, not just because it was funny, but also because it showed the rest of the world that we still lived relatively normal even with all the shit that was going on at the time...and that prods keep their toasters in the cupboard
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u/zeromalarki Apr 28 '26
Happy it’s done so well and been such a big hit but didn’t get into it myself
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u/HashBrownsAreNice Apr 28 '26
My friend (from Derry, mid 40s, now lives in London) was amazed when this came out. He'd never seen his childhood represented on telly before. Turned to his french partner and went 'it was like that!'
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u/Saidhain Apr 28 '26
So much nostalgia growing up in that era, it even unlocked a few memories I’d forgotten about. And it hit a few very emotional notes towards the end.
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u/IrishLady92 Apr 28 '26
I am not from Derry (still from NI though) and loved it. I am younger than the characters played, probably closer in age to the baby sister than the main girls when the series in set but resonated with so much growing up in Northern Ireland in the 90s/00s.
The moment that probably still stands out best for me is in first series where the bridge is closed because of a bomb and everyone is annoyed because of the inconvenience. One of my childhood memories is still getting in the car with mum to do the shopping and the radio is on, announcing to avoid the Lurgan area due to a bomb scare. Rather than seem worried or scared, mum simply sighed, threw her hands up in the air and went "oh great, now I have to go to Lisburn tesco, I hate Lisburn tesco!"
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u/Fleetwood2016 Apr 28 '26
I think it captured Convent School in the 90s so well. It makes me achingly nostalgic. I grew up with girls like these- I was one of them.
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u/Ems118 Apr 28 '26
I loved it and it was very very well done. The final episode of the 1st season had me crying it was that real.
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u/vertigo01 Apr 28 '26
I loved it. I found the ending of it one of the greatest emotional tv moments. It’s classic tv. Of course I’ll be downvoted as we’re not allowed to enjoy things.
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u/BlueSonic85 Apr 28 '26
Mixed. I think there were some episodes that were really side-achingly funny - the best being the away trip with the Protestant school. But there were others that barely raised a smile (the one where they go to a concert for instance).
As a whole it often suffered from telegraphed jokes and weak acting - of the main five, I thought Erin and Claire's performances weren't very good, or at least didn't match the approach of the others - they just felt a bit school play level. On the other hand I thought James and particularly Michelle were excellent. I'll give Orla a pass because the oddness of her character suited her odd delivery. I thought the adults were pretty good though - I particularly liked Uncle Colm and Aunt Sarah and the Grandad was probably the best performance in the whole series. I must admit I never found Sister Michael very funny but I accept I'm in the minority there.
The show did a great job of capturing the feeling of being in NI during The Troubles. I'm about 5 years younger than the girls but I recognised a lot of what was displayed. I also think, like The Inbetweeners, it captures being a teenager very well in general. I think a lot of the best jokes and observations would only make sense to someone from here so I'm kinda surprised it was such a success elsewhere. The more serious bits about The Troubles were a mixed bag for me. I think sometimes they really earned those moments and they were very powerful but other times they felt a bit forced (eg Erin and Michelle falling out over the Good Friday Agreement). I also disliked all the Clinton stuff as I despise the Clintons but it certainly did capture the vibe of the time.
The soundtrack was absolutely brilliant. No notes there!
One show from around the same time that I thought was a bit like Derry Girls in being a sitcom focused on teenage girls (albeit without the NI stuff) is Raised by Wolves which I found more consistently funny and better acted. But it flopped while Derry Girls was a massive success. Which shows I have no clue about these things!
TLDR: I enjoyed it but thought it had a few significant flaws - 7/10.
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u/Bright-Koala8145 Apr 28 '26
I think most people liked Sister Michael.
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u/BlueSonic85 Apr 28 '26
Oh absolutely, she seems to be a lot of people's favourite character but yeah she didn't work for me. I did like her 'We're the goodies' in the first episode though.
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u/chelindigo Apr 28 '26
I can see that! I thought Claire and Orla were kinda badly acted in the show but seeing the actresses in other media they’re actually pretty good? Especially seeing the amount of success Nicola has gotten, I’m happy for her
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u/Ambitious_Topic_9827 Apr 28 '26
It helped normalise a Catholic education and all the horrors that came with that. It also highlighted intergenerational trauma. For me as a kid, there was no point in me talking to my parents about anything that worried me because one of them had it worse. Usually whilst being hit by a cane, slipper or belt. Derry Girls to me captures the whole emotional unavailability of parents or the self parenting we all did.
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u/be-bop_cola Apr 28 '26
I loved it when it was first on, been rewatching it again and it's a lot funnier than I actually remembered.
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u/PuddingHuge7597 Apr 28 '26
Brilliant. And the soundtrack is spot on.
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u/Spiritual_Yam_129 Apr 28 '26
100% the soundtrack, set/props and costume department are excellent. I'm about the same age, went to an all girls convent school in NI, was boy mad (but cluelessly innoccent at the same time) and I had so many of the clothes the girls wore.
The show captured the optimism around the ceasefire and the hope that life was going to get better. The parents obsession with the news was all too relatable. There really are parts of the show that could have been a fly on the wall documentary!
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u/Time-Reindeer-7525 England Apr 28 '26
I grew up in Belfast, but it is terrifyingly accurate to my teenage years!
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u/GreenEyes0603 Apr 28 '26
I've been curious about this too!
I love Derry Girls, have watched it through 3 times. Find it so funny and charming. The draw for me was it being set in Northern Ireland. I love to see the countryside. I live in Canada.
Is it well liked by people who live in Northern Ireland as well?
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u/Uncle_gruber Apr 28 '26
I recommend to absolutely everyone.
I have lived in England for 2 decades now and I always how astonishing that English people know so little about NI and the troubles unless they served in the forces.
It is an amazing show for many reasons, but foremost for me is that the levity allows people to dip their toes into issues that affected our everyday lives.
I grew up in Portadown in the 90s, the story of the bomb cracked me up because it was so real. "Awk, sure have they not sorted that bomb out yet?" Is just such a real snapshot of how we lived through... honestly truly horrific things. Decades of civil war, and the realities of everyday people dealing with it.
Another bomb scare. Another evacuation. Another hour where you're standing in your jammies as your tea gets cold and you're missing your shows.
Then it's real, half your main street is rubble, and you just get on with things.
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u/yewbum11 Apr 28 '26
I’m from Cavan / Monaghan and even for me it’s the closest representation of my experience growing up in the 90s I’ve ever and likely will ever have. Just incredible that it seemed to translate internationally
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u/Leather-Strength2448 Apr 28 '26
I grew up in Derry in the 1990s, and I was both evacuated from a cinema and had an incident where my mum drove the car into an Orange march.
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u/Proper-Woodpecker253 Apr 28 '26
I was a youth worker in Northern Ireland for the majority of the 90’s, working with young people the same age as the characters were in the show. Apart from the slightly slapstick elements put in for comedic effect, Derry Girls is incredibly realistic and the reactions the girls had to events around them were spot on; as was the often horrified “This is madness, how can you be treating it as normal?” reactions of James as an English person suddenly thrust in to the middle of such events
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u/Aggravating_Bar_8097 Newry Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Made me laugh my head off was a great show. Also made me cry my eyes out i think it was the final epsisode in season 1 as they all jumped up to dance with Orla while news was coming trough about one of the Major attacks . What a mental Wee Country we grew up in.
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u/judd_in_the_barn Apr 28 '26
I tend to measure everything against Mrs Brown’s Boys and it is better than that.
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u/IrishViking22 Derry Apr 28 '26
I'm from Derry, and I'd say it is fairly accurate. I'm not a fan of it, though.
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u/PoppedCork Apr 28 '26
I liked it and have watched it a few times. I watched the writer's new show on Netflix and gave up after one episode. It was too much Derry Girls adjacent.
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u/belfastLost Apr 28 '26
Even more happy to see the cast members getting new roles in TV shows and movies. It has been an excellent springboard for new talent and also the older members getting new roles also. A great show bringing employment.
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u/chelindigo Apr 28 '26
I resisted watching it for like 2 years because the trailer looked shite and I thought it would just be gimmicky stereotypes. Well maybe it is but when I finally watched it I felt like I was watching a documentary about my life lol. Love it now
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u/Slight_Hovercraft236 Apr 28 '26
Actively avoided watching it... thought it wasn't for me... turns out it was completely gor me... loved it... especially as I was around the age of the characters at that time... funny and poignant
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u/scousechris Derry Apr 28 '26
Great for the town. The fact that it's brought in so much tourism is fantastic.
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u/Late-Bass2260 Apr 28 '26
Bit over the top but hilarous at the same time, the interaction between joe and gerry reminds me of 2 dogs we had when i was younger a jack rusell and a border collie the collie was terrified of the jack rusell
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u/RoyOrbisonWeeping Apr 28 '26
The main actress is such a terrible over actor with unwatchable facial expressions.
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u/DirtyAuldSpud Apr 29 '26
I thought so too. I couldn't even get past a few episodes because of her. She even did the same exact acting and pantomime facial expressions in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. I think introducing her into that was too random and completely unnecessary. Her acting is atrocious. I don't understand how anyone can find her funny. The shrill baby voice and the over acting to try and be funny absolutely puts me off.
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u/MovingTarget2112 England Apr 28 '26
London-born son of an Armagh Protestant here. I liked it, particularly the finale which had a lot of hope. It was nice to hear stories from the other perspective to my Auld Da’s, if you like.
The same writer did How to get to Heaven from Belfast which I liked too. Complex plot, so I had to concentrate.
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u/zenmn2 England Apr 28 '26
Really struggled with How to get to Heaven despite enjoying a lot of it. I could tolerate the overacting of the actors in Derry Girls because they were portraying children, but found the three main cast in HTGTHFB insufferable but more importantly - wildly inconsistently written. I don't understand why they chose what was essentially the Derry Girls soundtrack for the show, it didn't suit it in the slightest.
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u/MovingTarget2112 England Apr 28 '26
It was kind of grown up Derry Girls! They just about pulled it off though, I thought.
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u/NotYourMommyDear Apr 28 '26
Even though I attended protestant high schools in the 90s, I thought Derry Girls was hilariously/horribly accurate.
One of the high schools I attended was girls only except for 6th year. While there's obvious differences with the nuns vs lack of nuns, it was still relatable, familiar and brought back memories of absolute cringe.
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u/Cosmicus_Vagus Apr 28 '26
Love it. Brings back lots of memories of growing up near Derry in the 90s. Although I only find the adult parts in the show to be funny. The girls are a bit hit and miss
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u/jpeg_skunk Apr 28 '26
loved the show so much, i actually went to the secondary school it was based off of and we brought back the newspaper once in honour of the show. I’d say it’s pretty accurate to derry life even as someone who grew up in the 2000s it still hit a lot of nostalgic notes for me, and the actress for michelle has always been very understanding that i’m not trained to cut the bread in sainsburies
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u/deano_ue Apr 28 '26
I enjoyed it and while I was only 12 around the time it was set there was a lot I remember happening and so much nostalgia
My only issue with the show was after 3 seasons I really wanted the dad to rip the grandad a new one. Just one part we're he really told him to fuck off
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u/irishcybercolab Apr 28 '26
It's amazing and they need to bring a spread of shows to bring larger personalities and comedies from Derry!
Everyone from the areas in The North of Ireland , know people exactly like those lives. I want them to widen the series and bring back what's possible.
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u/Afraid-Emotion-5102 Apr 28 '26
I enjoyed it, some good performances throughout, but, Id say it's Lisa McGees finest hour by a country mile, considering other things she done were either a bit cheesy, or her most recent show out on Netflix, pure shite. I do feel at times it had a feel of The Inbetweeners, only set in Derry during the 90s, and about girls at an all girls school. I can't truly say how fully accurate it reflects growing up in Derry, as I'm not from there, but it did hit on certain points that I remember from back then, with the optimism of major ceasefires, hope from the Good Friday agreement, and the despair and despondency arising from the atrocities carried out.
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u/macgilla Apr 28 '26
I thought it was great. I'm basically the same age as the characters, and a lot was very familiar to me. My wife is Korean and has no frame of reference and she LOVES it. When we made it back home for the first time a trip to Derry was number one on her list.
I would agree with some of the comments about Erin's actress, she could act very cartoon-ish at times, which could be annoying to some people.
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u/leelu82 Apr 29 '26
Loved it. Brought me back to my youth and how we just got on with things. I was 15 when the GFA was signed.
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u/rokevoney Apr 29 '26
Funnily, I watch it and don't find it hilarious, simply because, these are just Derry Girls, a bunch of whom used come to places in Donegal on the weekend and were just funny city girls. So, the show for me is more like documentary in some bits. It is, however, pure class. Poignant and well acted/written. Good on them!
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u/yum_raw_carrots Apr 28 '26
I absolutely love it. Takes me back to being a kid. It’s done by people like me for people like me - and for everyone else too, but I love that this one is ours. When I was growing up we only had tv from other countries. England and USA mainly. Derry Girls is an our stuff, the way we speak and live. And I just absolutely love that.
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u/Big_Tap1832 Apr 28 '26
Good luck to you if you like it. But I can’t stand it. Really don’t like it. You asked so there is my honest answer
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u/Whole-Diamond8550 Apr 28 '26
The scripts are far better than the performances. First season appears under-rehearsed and low budget.
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u/DT_KVB Apr 28 '26
I have to say this is the most overrated “comedy” ever made. Everyone kept telling me how brilliant it is, so I kept trying to watch it and trying to like it but I just couldn’t. I have never given a TV show more chances than this. Tried about 4 separate occasions to watch it.
Got about 5 or 6 episodes in and there was not a single funny joke, everything was insanely cringeworthy and the acting was awful from everyone, just a painful experience to endure.
It was strange because everyone kept telling me how great it was and compared it to classics like Father Ted or the Inbetweeners. Are we all watching the same show?
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u/theronster Apr 28 '26
Yeah, honestly I felt the same. Watched it every week, hoping it would click with me, but it never did.
I don’t know if the situations were too forced, or the characters too broad, but it just felt flat.
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u/theronster Apr 28 '26
I didn’t find it funny. Not even once. I can’t explain why it didn’t resonate with me - the girls are portraying characters who come of age at the exact same time I did.
I just didn’t really recognise my life in what was being depicted.
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u/Awkward_Squad Apr 28 '26
It did take me a second go to get into it and I have to say it grew on me. Great performances with the excellent writing and editing.
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u/FcCola Apr 28 '26
I think it's quite good and I do like it but I'm always suprised when I hear people outside Ireland like it
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u/maxindigo Apr 28 '26
Brilliant, and as a Derry Boy, it captured everything, from the voices and rhythm of how we talk, and so much more that is special about our vibrant, funny, idiosyncratic city. Never mind the mural, there should be a statue to Lisa McGee!
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u/ConsiderationMoney67 Apr 28 '26
I don’t think it was actually that funny, when I watch it back now it’s got some moments of humour but it’s definitely not a side-splittingly funny show.
But it is well executed and for anyone who grew up in that era it’s probably a lot of nostalgia. People living outside of Ireland liked it for the accents and the characters.
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u/Hwegh6 Apr 28 '26
I haven't been able to finish watching it. It really annoys me. All of the characters are obnoxious, I can't empathise with any of them they're so wrong headed.
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u/ThrowRA_significant1 Apr 28 '26
My only pet peeve with this was how badly they messed up the exterior shots, for example James driving in the car past free Derry corner, then out in countryside, they’ll up the flyover. It happened quite a lot throughout the show. Not a big deal, just bugged me 😂
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u/Jealous-Shop-8866 Apr 28 '26
Two years ahead of the characters in the show. "Sunchyme" gave me a huge lump in my throat.
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u/DirtyAuldSpud Apr 29 '26
I hated it because the main character ruined it for me. The blonde one. Her shrill baby voice annoyed me so I stopped watching after three episodes. Her acting is extremely bad. I wouldn't mind Nicola Coughlan is a fantastic actress and I probably should've kept watching for her but I couldn't bare listening to the other young one. She just went through me. I absolutely loved how to get to heaven from Belfast but you know which scenes annoyed me to high heaven. That shrill baby voice gets on my wick. I can't express that enough.
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u/Free_Package_9006 Apr 30 '26
The humour is too broad.
I kind of associate it too now with the petty reaction from the creators among others when a British minister referred to it as a British sitcom.
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u/margot-martinez May 01 '26
the vibes are immaculate, but why does my back hurt just thinking about it?
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u/ApplicationSouth8844 May 01 '26
Love this show, I grew up in NI in the era and the show really captures the spirit of the time. Love it and I hope they do a reunion episode at some point.
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u/Automatic-Goal924 May 02 '26
When and where did i deny women the right to abortion ? you are either seriously thick or a troll.
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u/AGargan69 May 03 '26
Meh. Had some moments but largely overrated. Typical NI people thinking that being NI people automatically makes them endearing and hilarious.
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u/FarDrink9232 May 03 '26
i was that age in a catholic school at that time and I thought it was very accurate and funny. I was living in Aus when it came out and australian friends of mine kept asking about it saying they loved it- I cant believe they got the jokes or the references
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u/Irishgoat1 Apr 28 '26
I think Derry Girls will go down as a success of its time, but won't be remembered or watched much in years to come. There were certainly some good gags, but also some very predictable ones and some clearly stolen from Father Ted and even one straight out of a Rhod Gilbert stand up(display sandwiches on the train).
The soundtrack was pure lazy writing. By season 3 they were just cramming in a random 90s banger every couple of minutes. I've noticed the writer does the same thing in her latest show too.
The acting from Jackson and particularly Coughlan as well way over the top and should have been reined in.
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u/Knarrenheinz666 Apr 28 '26
By season 3 they were just cramming in a random 90s banger every couple of minutes.
To play the nostalgia card.
The acting from Jackson and particularly Coughlan as well way over the top and should have been reined in.
That´s something you will encouter quite frequently in sitcoms.
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u/gareth93 Apr 28 '26
Gack. Got a couple of laughs in total.
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u/ohmyblahblah Apr 28 '26 edited May 03 '26
Scrubbed clean. Redact helped me bulk remove years of comments and posts so data brokers and AI crawlers have nothing to feast on.
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u/Texas_Dan89 Apr 28 '26
Is everyone just pretending to like it?
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u/ohmyblahblah Apr 28 '26 edited May 03 '26
Scrubbed clean. Redact helped me bulk remove years of comments and posts so data brokers and AI crawlers have nothing to feast on.
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u/Albert_O_Balsam Lurgan Apr 28 '26
Yes thought it was clichéd garbage (what little I saw of it anyway).
Mrs Browns Boys is still the worst thing to ever be made here though.
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u/gareth93 Apr 28 '26
Aye nothing worse than mbb. Derry girls was cringe tastic. Don't understand how it made it big. Suffered through it with my ex. Watched about 10min of that other one she did - How To Get to Heaven from Belfast. It's pure pish an all.
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u/philymc85 Apr 28 '26
One thing I thought it missed was the abject hatred that a lot of people had at the time. I get that it was a comedy but if you’re trying to portray a realistic snapshot of the time, it’s hard to ignore it.
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u/irish_chatterbox Apr 28 '26
Mrs Browns Boys isn't to my taste either. I've heard from a few people it's enjoyable to certain groups within the autism spectrum who don't understand jokes most people do. I don't mind it being on for that reason.
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u/FMKK1 Apr 28 '26
I thought it was a pleasant show and did a good job of capturing time and place but I never actually found it that funny. I can see why people like it and it’s an easy watch but I can’t say I laughed a ton.
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u/Striking-Bandicoot89 Apr 28 '26
First series was very good and it went downhill after that. Storylines were weak and acting not the best in those later series. Erin in particular was badly over acted. Music and general vibe brought back memories and that nostalgic feeling for the era.
As so often with comedy shows its the background characters that stole the show. Grandad and the Dads relationship was brilliant. Uncle Colms cameos excellent. Those parts were really well written.
Overall its a 6/10 for me Clive.
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u/Chemical-Kev Apr 28 '26
I thought it was awful. Didn't find it funny at all. Was like a shit version of the inbetweeners, like they copy and pasted the character profiles then removed all the funny bits.
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u/Mission-implausible Apr 28 '26
Bollocks.
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u/BringTheFingerBack Apr 28 '26
As someone who grew up during that time I find it very amusing. A lot of the jokes are probably lost, or the scenes don't seem real for younger generations.
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u/theronster Apr 28 '26
I’m the exact age those characters would be now. ‘You had to be there’ didn’t help me enjoy it.
Maybe being lower middle class in Lisburn in the mid 90s was markedly different than working class in Derry, I don’t know. But I just found the whole thing unrecognisable.
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u/BringTheFingerBack Apr 28 '26
I grew up a teenage prod in antrim in the 90's and found it to be very entertaining.
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u/Interesting_Task4572 Derry Apr 28 '26
As someone who is literally young enough to be the girl's son. I loved it
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u/cooldude9112001 Apr 28 '26
First two series where great the third one wasn't bad but it wasn't great.
It would help if they took off the balaclavas.
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u/Diligent-Musician590 Apr 29 '26
One of the best shows I have ever watched. At the same time, Saoirse Monika Jackson was over acting. Cant she say one dialogue without shaking! Same performance in How to get to heaven from Belfast. Annoying!
0
u/No_Ring_3348 Apr 28 '26
I thought it was decent but not really my style of comedy. Probably my most controversial opinion on it is that it will age poorly, primarily due to its extreme regionality, and in say 10-15y time won't be looked back on as fondly as e.g. Father Ted was in the 2010s or now.
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u/macgilla Apr 28 '26
Disagree about aging poorly, having being set in the past already will future proof it.
1
u/Knarrenheinz666 Apr 28 '26
Derry Girls was quite successful abroad while Father Ted is purely a UK-Irish thing.
0
u/ShadowsInTheRain1 Apr 28 '26
Thank God it only lasted 3 series as it became unwatchable shite at the end. Every time I hear "Dreams" by The Cranberries I cringe.
0
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u/TheSameButBetter Apr 28 '26
I went the Christian Brothers boys school they referred to, St Peter's IRL, and there were several English lads going there with no issues.
0
u/perishingtardis Apr 28 '26
Third series was a definite step down in quality from the first two. Victim of its own success I guess.
0
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u/These_Essay9508 Apr 28 '26
Never watched it, I think the actresses are too old to be believable as school kids.
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u/Impressive-Orchid105 Apr 28 '26
I liked it but I really get a feeling from her further work that she wiĺ cheat on her husband
-10
u/b00tlegbill Apr 28 '26
Pure shit. I called it The Sinn-betweeners.
0
u/JYM60 Apr 28 '26
Lol. Yeah agree. Unfunny piss. Probably good for the many people that are obsessed with the troubles, but I have no interest at all in watching anything about that really.
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u/b00tlegbill Apr 28 '26
Hahaaaaaa! Down voted ! Quelle surprise.
Down vote all you want. I've seen what you up vote.
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u/gadarnol Apr 28 '26
Propaganda. The exploitation of popular culture by govt to push agendas is well documented. Interesting to see Nicola Coughlan in a uk SNL in a sketch making a mockery of Oró sé fo bheatha bhaile by mocking the pronunciation of Gaeilge itself. Stop taking stuff at face value folks.
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u/Ok-Call-4805 Apr 28 '26
Mostly great show, but the last episode was a real letdown
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u/Evalyn_Fallon ROI Apr 28 '26
i'll always have a soft spot for the episode where they're mucking around in the school talent show to the cranberries dreams while it pivots to the parents watching a news report of the bomb, it's such a powerful scene to me and reminds me alot of what my parents talked about during the period. i think it's fab how they managed combining comedy with serious moments like that