Lisa McGee gave herself a tough act to follow with her BAFTA-winning hit, Derry Girls. The three-season comedy about a group of teenagers growing up during the Troubles was a huge hit, praised for its authentic yet hilarious depiction of Northern Ireland in the 1990s. But in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, the award-winning writer swaps adolescent angst for midlife messiness with ease.
Part crime caper, part comedy, the eight-part Netflix show feels comfortingly familiar in style, but very tonally different.
© NetflixThe story follows three childhood friends in their late 30s - Saoirse, Robyn, and Dara - who reunite to solve the mystery of their school friend Greta's untimely death.
Until then, the main trio had been living very different lives: Saoirse (Roísín Gallagher) is a high-flying but unfulfilled crime drama writer who's having doubts about her engagement; Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne) is a queer Catholic who lives at home and cares for her mother; and Robyn (Sinéad Keenan) is an uber glamorous but stressed out mum.
© NetflixWhile all three leads are brilliant, Unforgotten star Sinéad is particularly hilarious as the Land Rover Discovery-driving yummy mummy who responds to the news of Greta's death with a trip to the hair salon.
"You can be in bits and have your highlights done, the two things can be mutually exclusive," she says, before later admitting that the trip to Greta's wake in their rural hometown of Knockdara has come at a good time for her.
© Netflix"I could be doing with a bit of a break myself to be honest," she says, complaining that things at home have become "quite difficult" between her and Patrick, whom she says has become "quite controlling" and "very possessive."
Just when you think Robyn must be talking about a strained relationship with her husband, it becomes clear she's actually referring to her "gaslighting" one-and-a-half-year-old son.
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