After winning a BAFTA Television Craft award, Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee has teased at details of a new comedy thriller series.
On Sunday, 23 April, the BAFTA Television Craft Awards took place, and Lisa McGee won in the highly-contested category ‘Writer, Comedy’ for Derry Girls.
The ceremony honoured the behind-the-scenes talent from the hit shows of 2022. McGee was one of a few first-time winners at this year’s ceremony.
As well as winning the BAFTA Television Craft award, Derry Girls and its cast and crew are up for a number of BAFTA Television Awards, which will take place on 14 May.
Derry Girls creator is working on new comedy thriller – something “very different” to Derry Girls
Speaking to the press after her win on Sunday, Lisa McGee revealed a few details about a new comedy thriller series in the works, as well as a mockumentary.
She said that the currently nameless thriller series will be “very different” to Derry Girls. She also said that the idea was born from talking to friends at home in Derry when she returned for the premiere of Derry Girls.
She said in an interview with Broadcast Now, “We’d have a drink and wonder what our teenage selves would make of us now and that’s where the idea came from.
“It’s about women of my age that are still friends all these years later. We always say we’d bury a body for each other”.
Working on a mockumentary – something she has always been interested in
Lisa McGee also revealed that mockumentaries are something she always wanted to “take a crack at”, and that ideas are in the works with Hat Trick Productions, the same producers behind Derry Girls.
As for the prospect of a Derry Girls movie, there is no further news. In April 2022, McGee said, “You never know what will happen in 10 years’ time, but as a writer, you just know when it’s complete. I’ll miss them, but I feel like I got to take those characters exactly where I wanted to take them”.
However, speaking ahead of the third and final series premiere, she also said, “I definitely think [there’s a potential for a spin-off about] the mums and those maybe older characters… There’s so many like, generations and stuff on it. But no, basically we haven’t really thought”.
Could we get the Ma Mary and Aunt Sarah spin-off Derry Girls fans are dreaming of? For now, who knows?
Regardless, the new thriller comedy and mockumentary in the works should be enough to satiate fans as Mcgee’s genius deserves to be explored in other avenues.
The BAFTA Television Awards – taking place on 14 May
As for the BAFTA Television Awards taking place on 14 May, the Derry Girls cast and those behind the scenes are up for a couple of different categories.
Siobhan McSweeney is up for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for her role as Sister Michael.
As well, Lisa McGee, Liz Lewin, Caroline Leddy, Michael Lennox, Brian J Falconer, and Jessica Sharkey are up for the Scripted Comedy award for the show.
You can check out the full list of awards and nominees on the BAFTA 2020 website here.
