How to Get to Heaven From Belfast: Lisa McGee’s female-led murder caper wins early acclaim
Lisa McGee’s latest series, how to get to heaven from belfast, arrives as a brisk, darkly comic mystery that recasts friendship and small-town secrets as fuel for a caper. The show reunites three women at the funeral of their missing fourth friend, setting off a chain of jolting revelations, intimate flashbacks and a mounting sense that the truth is both more ordinary and stranger than anyone expects.
McGee’s roots and a female-first vision
McGee leans into material that blends humour with menace, drawing on memories of growing up in Northern Ireland to give the series an unmistakable texture. She has described an early fascination with murder mysteries and a lifelong impulse to stage stories for her neighbourhood; that instinct shapes the series’ confident balance of farce and dread. The writer’s aim was clear: a mystery told through female friendship, messy domestic realities and sharp comedic timing rather than through lone detective tropes.
The central trio — a crime writer, a harried mother, and a woman re-entering the world after long absences — are anchored by performances that reviewers say sell both the jokes and the jeopardy. Flashbacks tie the present-day investigation to a traumatic night two decades earlier, and McGee uses those fragments to show how old loyalties and hidden burdens can calcify into silence. The result is a narrative that feels lived-in rather than staged, a quality McGee has tied to wanting to show truthful depictions of life in her hometown.
Critical reaction: wit, heart and a simmering mystery
Early critical response highlights the series’ propulsive energy. Critics praise the pacing — a rare mix of farce and meticulous plotting — and single out standout performances that elevate the material. Commentary frequently notes the show’s tonal kinship with the creator’s earlier work: the same knack for finding warmth and absurdity in fraught situations, now applied to a mystery with real stakes.
Reviewers have emphasised the series’ comedic backbone even as it leans into darker themes. The show’s infectious momentum and layered female characters are commonly cited as reasons it succeeds where many murder-capers can feel hollow. Particular attention has been paid to how the series balances spectacle with small domestic moments, giving the mystery emotional ballast without losing sight of the laughs.
What viewers can expect
Expect a brisk, entertaining watch that rewards attention. The plot moves quickly from funeral to investigation, using both present-day sleuthing and scenes from decades past to peel back secrets. The show leans on archetypal small-town figures — a menacing official, a grieving mother, an enigmatic outsider — but resists easy caricature by investing time in backstory and motivation.
At its heart, the series asks how friendships weather trauma and what happens when a long-buried event resurfaces. It also interrogates the ways communities rewrite memory to survive, and how individual choices ripple outward across years. For viewers drawn to mysteries with a strong emotional core and a comic streak, this series stakes a persuasive claim.
As the season unfolds, the combination of sharp writing, committed performances and a clear auteurial voice make this a standout new entry in contemporary television drama. Whether audiences are led to solve the puzzle themselves or simply ride the twists, the show promises a mix of catharsis and chaos that has critics talking.
