Lisa McGee on creating BAFTA-winning ‘Derry Girls’: ‘Lean into what’s unique about your voice’
The fourth and final season of “Derry Girls” bowed out with a bountiful haul of BAFTAs on Sunday, May 14. The show came away with two big wins, claiming Best Scripted Comedy for creator Lisa McGee and Best Comedy Actress for Siobhán McSweeney to go with its Best Comedy Writing win for McGee at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards.
“Derry Girls” follows a group of high-school friends — Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Orla (Louisa Harland), Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and James (Dylan Llewellyn) — during the Troubles in 1990s Northern Ireland. McSweeney plays the nun, Sister Michael, who runs the school with an iron fist. The show came to an emotional end (featuring Liam Neeson!) after four seasons last year and earned fans far and wide from McGee’s hometown of Derry to Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese, who previously said how much he loved the show.
McGee spoke to Gold Derby about this backstage at the BAFTAs and said that the show’s reference on “The Simpsons” stood out to her as something special. “The weirdest one for me just because I was such a fan of it was ‘The Simpsons’ reference it in an episode of ‘The Simpsons.’ That was a show I watched a lot of it in the 90s so I just kept staring at it when I got a screen grab of it, so that was surreal,” McGee said.
McGee’s work has now landed her two BAFTA wins and two BAFTA nominations (for Best Scripted Comedy in 2019 and 2020). It’s her writing that ultimately paved the way for the show’s worldwide success and McGee told Gold Derby what advice she’d give to up-and-coming writers hoping to find the same sort of success.
“I always think you should lean into what’s different or unique about your voice, that kind of tone. Having a really strong tone to your voice is what will make you stand out. Work really hard, write a lot, it’s the only way to improve, the only way to learn. I still don’t know anything,” McGee said.
“I thought after nearly 20 years of doing it I might but every time I write a new script, it’s overwhelming but I think that’s good because you’re still reaching to get better.”
And what might that next project be? Well, McGee told the BAFTA winners’ press conference room that she is currently writing a new project that again involves “a lot of high-energy Northern Irish women,” although they will be “a bit older” this time while the show may be “a wee bit darker,” too. For now, though, McGee is enjoying the BAFTA success of “Derry Girls” and attributes the wins and the show to the people of Derry themselves.
“Thankfully they liked it. And I couldn’t have went home again if they hadn’t,” McGee joked. “They’re very honest about what they think over there. They’ve really supported it, they’ve really got behind it, and we have a mural of the show in the center of town. ‘Derry Girls’ tours, afternoon tea. It’s just crazy.”
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions