Derry Girls Episode 1 Review

After watching 6Degrees and London Irish I’ve become a fan of Irish TV shows. Made all the better if they are set in my favourite decade, the 90’s. So I felt it a must that I watch Derry Girls, an Irish comedy set in the 90's. We meet the characters in 1994 in LondonDerry, Northern Ireland during The Troubles and see how life carries on in amongst all of that for one group of teenagers (Erin, Orla, Claire, Michelle and James).

We see the gang getting on with normal life, from getting on the school bus and feeling as though you have the right to sit at the back purely because your older in age than the people currently sitting there, or having difficulty keeping your cool in front of a boy you really fancy, Derry Girls proved all teenagers deal with the same issues and dramas no matter what's going on around them.

With some absolute cracking one liners such as "I’m not being an individual on me own” and "that's the English for ya, fucking savages!". A nice nod to the English audience watching that would in no way feel offended and just find it rather hilarious, as I did. But there is also the humour that comes from the serious issues, like the bombs being treated as an inconvenience rather than the serious issue that they are but shows that if you are living with it day in day out you have to carry on with everyday life regardless.

I have read a lot of Irish folk that seem to be concerned whether or not the English would be able to understand the characters accent or not. I for one had no such issue. As I've said above, I've watched a few Irish TV shows now so it's not like I'm hearing an Irish accent for the first time. Fair enough there is the odd phase or saying that out of context I might not understand but I didn't come away from the show with any confusion at all.

If you attended high school in or around the 90's there will be a lot of things in this show that you will be able to identify with but even if you weren't a teenager around that time I still think there will be things that you can relate to.

I do love when a new TV series comes along that I get excited about, and Derry Girls is definitely one of them!

If you missed the first episode you can catch up on All 4.