‘Derry Girls’ creator reveals happy news (and sad news) about Season 3

We’ve finally got an update on the long-awaited return of Derry Girls.

Set in Derry, Northern Ireland in the mid-nineties, Channel 4’s charming comedy series follows a group of four best friends, along with hapless English cousin James, as they navigate their teenage years in a Catholic girls’ secondary school during the end of the Troubles.

Derry Girls launched in 2018 and returned for a second season in 2019, but it’s been a long wait for more episodes since then.

Production on the new season has been heavily hit by delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, we can now confirm that Season 3 has begun filming!

Saoirse-Monica Jackson, who plays Erin, shared a photo on Instagram with co-stars Tommy Tiernan and Ian McElhinney yesterday:

Sadly it’s not all positive news, as Derry Girls creator and writer Lisa McGee revealed last week that Season 3 will be the show’s final season.

McGee explained in a statement: “It was always the plan to say goodbye after three [seasons]. Derry Girls is a coming of age story following five ridiculous teenagers as they slowly… very slowly… start to become adults, while around them the place they call home starts to change too and Northern Ireland enters a new more hopeful phase — which was a small, magical window of time.”

She added: “Derry Girls is a love letter to the place I come from and the people who shaped me. It has been an honour to write it and I will be forever proud of everything it’s achieved….”

 

McGee did hint that this might not be the last time we see the characters though!

She teased: “Who knows if Erin, Clare, Orla, Michelle and James will return in some other guise someday, but for now this is it for us and we’re excited to start filming this [season] with our incredible cast and crew to hopefully take our loyal fans on one last adventure.”

Season 3 will premiere in 2022 on Channel 4 in the UK, and on Netflix internationally.

Nicola Coughlan, who stars as Clare Devlin, is currently still filming the second season of Bridgerton.

She’ll be heading straight to the Derry Girls set once production wraps on the hit Netflix drama, in which she plays Penelope Featherington.

The Bridgerton novels are available on Amazon.