Derry Girls is back for round two this week (Tuesday at 9.15pm, to be exact) and we cannot wait to see what’s next for Erin, her three best pals and the wee English fella.
But if that group of people means nothing to you right now, then panic not – we’re here to introduce you to Channel 4′s hit comedy. And it won’t take long to catch up.
Set in The Troubles, the series tells the story of a group of teens just going about their business, with countless hilarious mis-steps and cringe-inducing mishaps along the way.
Yes, we said ‘The Troubles’ and ‘comedy’ in the same sentence. Trust us, writer Lisa McGee makes it work.
All of the episodes are available to watch on All4 and now really is the time to get involved so you can have some seriously good laughs with the rest of us.
If you’re somehow unsure (or have no idea what it is) then here are 8 reasons why you should watch Derry Girls immediately...
1. The whole gang is seriously hilarious
There’s Orla (living in a dream world we’d gladly inhabit), Clare (stressed, very stressed), Erin (trying to take charge and failing slightly), James (the wee English fella) and Michelle (extrovert with a filthy mouth) – and every single one of them is hilarious.
Seriously, there’s not one weak link.
2. And Aunt Sarah is one of our faves too
It’s not hard to see where Erin’s cousin Orla gets her laid-back and unusual attitude from and while it’s wrong to pick favourites, Aunt Sarah has all the best one-liners and an equally hilarious outlook on life.
Hats off to whoever made this video dedicated to her, which we watch at HuffPost Entertainment HQ at least once a week:
3. You’ll learn a load of new lingo
Obviously if you’re from Derry, this point doesn’t apply. But the show gives the rest of the UK (and indeed the world, these girls deserve global domination), a crash course in spotting a ride from a total dose.
4. It shows The Troubles from a different point of view
There’s nothing funny about The Troubles themselves, but by telling the story of a group of teens just trying to get through their final years of school, writer Lisa McGee presents a fresh outlook.
The Irish sense of humour is in full swing throughout every single episode and Lisa finds the funny moments in bomb scares playing havoc with tanning appointments and a disastrous trip across the border.
5. You can quote it constantly
This scene takes place about three minutes into episode one and it only gets better from there.
6. The soundtrack is full to the brim with ’90s nostalgia
The opening moments of the show are soundtracked by The Cranberries’ debut single Dreams, which is the first of many chart hits to feature.
The trip down musical memory lane (a lot of which was chosen by writer Lisa as she was penning the scripts) also includes Cypress Hill, En Vogue and House Of Pain’s Jump Around.
If you were also a teenager then, get ready for some serious flashbacks, and if you’re too young to remember the hits, it’ll honestly be a musical education.
7. Derry loves it
If it’s good enough for Derry, it’s good enough for you.
This mural was painted in the city centre shortly before the launch of series two, which was also premiered there last month.
Prior to series one, the good people of Londonderry were understandably skeptical about how their city would be brought to the small screen but writer Lisa, a Derry girl herself, did them proud.
The day after the first episode of series one aired last year, the Derry Journal ran their review with the headline: “The Verdict is in: Derry Girls is class.”
8. As does the rest of Northern Ireland
Derry Girls soon became the most-watched programme ever in Northern Ireland, with an average of over 500k residents watching each episode.
Other NI media outlets also heaped praise on it (with their reviewers also being honest about how nervous they’d been), including the Belfast Telegraph, which said: “In the end Derry Girls turned out to be an authentic and hilarious depiction of life in a troubled city during the early ’90s.”
They also praised Lisa for doing “an amazing job of bottling the Derry spirit and unleashing it in her four strong female leads”.
Watch series one of Derry Girls on All4 here.