320 reviews
One of the top 10 funniest shows I have ever seen and I am a 65 yr. old American. I just binged Season 2 and happy to report Season 3 has been confirmed. I don't often laugh out loud in my home when viewing comedy yet every episode has made me do so. Every cast member is brilliant and so is the writing. I was utteriy amazed that Clare and Michelle are in their 30's. The other 2 girls are 25. It is a testament to their acting ability that they portray teenagers so convincingly. I hope Season 3 has about 10 episodes instead of 6.
Hilarious, quick, quirky and brilliantly written. Funniest thing on Netflix. Set in Northern Ireland during the troubles, the jokes come from all directions-family, growing up, fitting in, Catholic schools, the folly of religious conflicts, and on and on. Lisa McGee has created a phenomenal show populated with engagingly funny characters everywhere you turn.
This show is a heartwarming and hilarious
Brilliant writing and how it's set in Ireland during the troubles in the 90s is just very clever and brilliant
Derry Girls is one of the best new comedies I have seen on TV in recent times. There's great chemistry between the lead characters who are all likable and have their own hilarious personal traits. The supporting cast are also excellent, Grandad Joe in particular I thought was very funny. I laughed a lot throughout the series and it also handled some sensitive subjects very well. I am glad that it's already been confirmed we will have a series 2!
A thoroughly enjoyable and hilarious addition to channel 4's comedic offerings. The extreme success of 'Derry Girls' lies deeply rooted in the effective well-rounded development of the main and recurring characters. With all four of the Derry Girls being totally antithetical to each other, the show seemingly appeals to a wide and diverse audience without losing sight of its purpose as a comedy.
Set in 1990s Derry, McGee intricately intertwines the treacherous and realistic political undertones as an effective backdrop to successfully juxtapose the comedic on-goings in the lives of the core characters. It should win lots of awards.
- deepfatfriedoreos
- Feb 13, 2018
- Permalink
- jamesmylercook
- Jan 10, 2018
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I'd almost given up on TV sit-coms, in fact the last one I really enjoyed was "The I.T. Guys" and how many years ago was that? Anyway, it was my wife who alerted me to this series and a quick look at the first two episodes of the second series found me looking up series one which she'd already watched and I have to say she wasn't wrong, as I found it absolutely hilarious.
It reminded me of so many of my favourite sit-coms, like "Father Ted", naturally, "Press Gang" and yes, "The I.T. Guys", but it still has its own identity. Set in early 1990's Derry in Northern Ireland before the Good Friday Agreement came into place, it concerns the misadventures of a group of five young friends, four female and Irish, one male and English and by extension their eccentric families.
It makes clever use of the political and religious backdrop for the comedy, the families in question being Roman Catholics living in the predominantly Protestant town of Derry, so that one episode has the hapless family attempting to head for a weekend in the country while an Orange Walk is in full swing, while another sees the young gang claim to have had holy visions in a chapel, with a statue of the Virgin Mary apparently "smirking" at them.
The situations are amusingly set up, but it's the rapid-fire gags, often near-the-knuckle, which had me creasing myself as well as the individual characterisations themselves. I don't know who my favourite is amongst them but the central character of Erin, with her teenage crushes, literary pretensions and down-to-earth sensibilities probably shades it, although the hormonally imbalanced Michelle, uber-enthusiastic Clare and ditzy Orla and doormat James run her close and all get their share of the good lines on offer, not to mention their dysfunctional parents and grandparents too.
All the episodes I've watched were of the same high standard with the only difficulty sometimes being the machine-gun-like Northern Irish delivery which can be a bit hard to pick up sometimes. That said I'm getting more than enough laughs from what I can see and hear so I'm not complaining too much.
To all those many millions more people currently watching the appallingly bad "Mrs Brown's Boys" do yourself a favour and switch to this immediately.
It reminded me of so many of my favourite sit-coms, like "Father Ted", naturally, "Press Gang" and yes, "The I.T. Guys", but it still has its own identity. Set in early 1990's Derry in Northern Ireland before the Good Friday Agreement came into place, it concerns the misadventures of a group of five young friends, four female and Irish, one male and English and by extension their eccentric families.
It makes clever use of the political and religious backdrop for the comedy, the families in question being Roman Catholics living in the predominantly Protestant town of Derry, so that one episode has the hapless family attempting to head for a weekend in the country while an Orange Walk is in full swing, while another sees the young gang claim to have had holy visions in a chapel, with a statue of the Virgin Mary apparently "smirking" at them.
The situations are amusingly set up, but it's the rapid-fire gags, often near-the-knuckle, which had me creasing myself as well as the individual characterisations themselves. I don't know who my favourite is amongst them but the central character of Erin, with her teenage crushes, literary pretensions and down-to-earth sensibilities probably shades it, although the hormonally imbalanced Michelle, uber-enthusiastic Clare and ditzy Orla and doormat James run her close and all get their share of the good lines on offer, not to mention their dysfunctional parents and grandparents too.
All the episodes I've watched were of the same high standard with the only difficulty sometimes being the machine-gun-like Northern Irish delivery which can be a bit hard to pick up sometimes. That said I'm getting more than enough laughs from what I can see and hear so I'm not complaining too much.
To all those many millions more people currently watching the appallingly bad "Mrs Brown's Boys" do yourself a favour and switch to this immediately.
Have now watched all three episodes and simply think its wonderful writing and acting . I served in Derry 83-84 and can assure all , the humour of this show is spot on as with the acting , trust me , iv P checked more people in Derry than I care to recall however there humour never ceased to amaze me , specially the young ladies . Great show and wonderful people portrayed in difficult times .
- planktonrules
- Dec 5, 2020
- Permalink
Sitcoms are about set up and execution. The derry girls have enough characters to have an endless amount of series. There isn't a real plot, or developmental story arc, there isn't a single lesson to learn or for the characters to learn, but watching these bold girls navigate teenage responsibilities is fun to watch. The adults are just as fun and interesting as their children. Most situations are based in reality, which makes this show even funnier. Everyone has met the derry girls in their own lives, or knows someone like them. I wish the episodes had more continuity, but the cause and effect set up doesn't disappoint.
- arrowappledesign
- Mar 26, 2023
- Permalink
I have this on a constant loop, can't wait for the next season. Ignore the Erin bashers, she is brilliant and so is the writing and the rest of the cast. I've turned off the nightly news in place of Derry Girls and my outlook has actually gotten brighter, thanks girls (and the wee English fella.)
- DeniseIV26
- Jan 24, 2019
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I've enjoyed it and would have enjoyed it more if Erin wasn't so annoying her facial expressions and the over the top acting is off putting.
- jmcgrathjmg
- Aug 10, 2020
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I couldn't get past the fact that the teens look closer to 30 than 16. Erin and her cousin look to be the same age as Erin's mother. Michelle is a very entertaining character but she too looks older than many of the moms and teachers. Then there's the exaggerated facial expressions and painfully obvious sitcom plots. I really wanted to like this but gave up after the first season.
I haven't laughed so much for any how of late as I have for this one. Saw this on Netflix and can't recommend it highly enough. I thought all the actors did a fantastic job. I especially liked Siobhan McSweeney who plays Sister Micheal. She's an absolute hoot and a real scene-stealer. Her deadpan dialogue delivery left me in splits. The script of this show is extremely witty. It really captures the angst and the indignation that the characters feel in the funniest way possible. I found myself remembering my "rebel without a cause" teenage days while watching this show. The principal cast - the four girls and James - share great chemistry and have done a fantastic job making sure the funny lines from the script really land. It's a pity this show only has 6 episodes. I liked it so much, I've seen it twice and really want more!
Being a non-Irish man in my 40s I'm clearly not in the key demographic, but I really enjoyed this show. It felt a bit too broad and farcical for my tastes in the beginning, but it got better. The acting is solid throughout. I watched the whole thing in two days and am looking forward to season 3.
- shanayneigh
- May 7, 2021
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I'm a 52 yo Australian bloke and this is only the third review I've ever written. Initially I was scepticalabout a show about teenage girls from Derry, but a mate highly recommended it. To put it simply, this is one of the best series I've seen. The comedy is interlaced with some truly poignant observations and social commentary. Brilliant. Kudos to the Lady who wrote and created this masterpiece.
Did I mention Brilliant?!
Did I mention Brilliant?!
- dhop-44683
- Mar 18, 2020
- Permalink
My family moved to Northern Ireland, in 1968, while my Father, who was in the US Air Force, was in Vietnam. This program revives much of the experience my sisters and I had in grammar school, there (albeit we were Protestants in County Down and a generation before).
But this is #@%&* hilarious!
It's rare for any TV writing to surprise me with originality, and far rarer still for a "comedy" show to exhibit enough originality to catch me off guard, but this is a piece of abso-frecking-lute genius!
If you're from the UK of GB & NI, watch it; you'll laugh your @rse off.
If not, give it a try, and google lots. to try to get where these absolutely brilliant characterisations come from.
I'm actually jealous that someone else wrote this brilliant work!
- themwallace
- Jan 16, 2018
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I'm a Sri Lankan 27-year old man, and after finding about Shaun of the dead and watching it, I became an UK comedy fan. The dark, sarcastic comedy style was right up my alley. US comedy can be too over-the-top, silly and too corny sometimes, in my opinion (As a man from a country with 0 movies in any recognized comedy list). I completed the trilogy then, and bunch of other UK movie classics after and then got into TV shows. Inbetweeners, IT crowd, Peep show are some of my favorites. And after searching for a show in the style of Inbetweeners, I found about this show - Derry Girls. And as a lover of the classic UK sitcoms, and as a avid comedy fan, I can genuinely say this is right up there with the classics, and as much hilarious as one of the best in the genre. Can't really relate to the culture or the style of behavior of the characters, but the comedy gold was not lost on an average south asian. We watch a lot of US shows & UK shows in Sri Lanka, but the accent was sometimes too hard to follow but the subtitles definitely helped. Inbetweeners is still my favorite of the two, maybe because it was somewhat relatable when it came to guys stuff. Still easily one of the best sitcom shows I have seen period, NOT ONLY from UK. If you are not from the UK, please keep the subtitles on, because some of the jokes can get missed due to how fast and nonchalant they deliver the lines (part of the UK style, I think). 10/10 Show, 10/10 comedy, 10/10 acting, 8/10 story, and 9/10 teenage drama. Sorry if my English was bad, this isn't my native language.
- navodwijerulz
- Aug 19, 2024
- Permalink
Season One: 6.5/10
Season Two: 6.5/10
Season Three: 7/10
Themes: Comedy, Friendship, Northern Ireland, Religious Conflict, High School, Adults & Family.
Top three characters: 1) Sister Michael, 2) Michelle Mallon and 3) Gerry Quinn.
Season Two: 6.5/10
Season Three: 7/10
Themes: Comedy, Friendship, Northern Ireland, Religious Conflict, High School, Adults & Family.
Top three characters: 1) Sister Michael, 2) Michelle Mallon and 3) Gerry Quinn.
- Imme-van-Gorp
- Oct 10, 2021
- Permalink
This was an absolute TREAT. I did not know what to expect when I started watching this but after 2 or 3 scenes, I knew I was gonna binge watch this.
I dont feel like The Troubles is a historical event that has been touched on very often in popular culture. That´s why I found it so refreshing to see it in a comedic way through the eyes of Derry teenagers.
The writing was spot on, you could never tell what was going to happen or what someone was going to say. Everything was just surprisingly hilarious all the time. If you can overlook the fact that the actors who are playing the teenagers are around ten years older than they should be, then you´ll find their performances convincing. Some of them overacted sometimes (Erin´s character is a little unnatural) but since the whole show is a bit nutty it kind of works.
The writing was spot on, you could never tell what was going to happen or what someone was going to say. Everything was just surprisingly hilarious all the time. If you can overlook the fact that the actors who are playing the teenagers are around ten years older than they should be, then you´ll find their performances convincing. Some of them overacted sometimes (Erin´s character is a little unnatural) but since the whole show is a bit nutty it kind of works.
I enjoyed watching this show and was sad when I finished season 2. The misadventures the main characters go through are hilarious to watch, the main character's family is fun to watch and relatable as well - I'm not even Irish ! While it's true that it can be over the top in some ways, like Erin's (the main character) constant face squirm and Claire's over the top breakdown in every episode. Little things like that become unfunny and old. Still, I can overlook that and honestly say that I love this show. I like the idea of setting it in a really turbulent time in the country's history and showing how even with the violence going on, these girls are still living out their teenage years as best as they can. I see other reviews bashing the show for following sitcom conventions and honestly, that says more about those user's over esteemed egos than the show. God forbid different genres follow similar conventions, could you imagine ? It's a great show and I highly recommend it.
What am I missing? I forced myself to get through the first episode and it was painful. I didn't laugh once. I don't understand why people are giving it such great reviews.