Derry Girls Season 3 - What We Know So Far

Diehard Bridgerton fans know all about Penelope's other show. Nicola Coughlin, who plays Penelope Featherington in the period drama, is also one of the stars of Channel 4's Derry Girls. Two seasons (or series, as they call them across the Atlantic) of the award-winning show are available on Netflix right now, but the third series was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Happily, Coughlin announced on Twitter that Derry Girls series 3 will begin filming this year.

Derry Girls is, naturally, set in the Northern Ireland city of Derry near the end of the Troubles. The titular girls are a clique at Catholic school: friends Erin, Clare, and Michelle, Erin's cousin Orla, and Michelle's English cousin James. The five "girls" navigate popularity, faith, first love, and so, so much embarrassment. The show has won numerous screenwriting and comedy awards, and has been nominated for multiple BAFTAs. Almost as importantly, clips from the show have become popular TikTok sounds.

Although guaranteeing that Derry Girls will start filming in 2021, there is no official premiere date set for season 3. According to RTE, Nicola Coughlin said the show has been on hold because the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented filming in Derry. "We're still waiting, because it's integral to the show that we film in Derry," she said. As anxious as viewers are to watch a new season, Coughlin is champing at the bit to start filming it. On Twitter, she said she "cannae bloody wait," despite the fact that the pandemic has pushed back filming "several times." 

Coughlin has not one, but two shows waiting for premiere dates. Netflix announced that Bridgerton season 2 will begin filming sometime this spring. The second season will most likely be based on the second novel by Julia Quinn, The Viscount Who Loved Me. Coughlin's character, Penelope Featherington, is the star of the fourth book in the Bridgerton series: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.

Cosmopolitan UK is reporting that all of the girls will be back in town for series 3. Expected to return are Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Erin, Coughlin as Clare, Louisa Harland as the spacey Orla, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell as Michelle, and Dylan Llewellyn as James. Also expected to return is their headmistress, Sister Michael, played by Siobhán McSweeney.

Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee told the Radio Times that she would love to have comedian Dara Ó Briain cameo in this upcoming series. Ó Briain hosts the long-running British panel show Mock the Week, and is a regular guest on The Big Fat Quiz. He has expressed love for Derry Girls on social media, specifically lauding Saoirse-Monica Jackson's performance.

Other potential guest stars or cameo appearances are not currently known at this point, though we'll be sure to update this story with relevant updates.

In her Twitter thread, Coughlin said that "the storylines in this series are the best we've ever done," but did not reveal any specifics. She spoke to the Belfast Times about season 3's production woes and discussed the storylines. "[W]e can't do anything involving a crowd right now, so logistically, it's really tough. But I spoke to Lisa McGee recently and she talked me through the storylines. They're so brilliant, which doesn't surprise me — she's just incredible — but it made me want to do it right now."

The show maintains a tricky balance of acknowledging the politically tense world in which the girls live while keeping the tone mostly lighthearted. The Troubles, the conflict between those wishing for Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland and those who wanted to remain with the UK, usually provide a background hum of violence for the character of Derry Girls rather than defining their lives. Outside of that historical backdrop, not much is known about the season 3 plot.