How to Get to Heaven From Belfast: Lisa McGee’s new murder caper reunites old friends
Lisa McGee’s newest series, How to Get to Heaven From Belfast, blends the writer’s trademark humour with a dark mystery as three former schoolfriends reconvene after the death of a childhood companion. The show’s mix of frenetic plotting, sharp performances and a distinctly female perspective has drawn enthusiastic critical attention.
From street plays to a twisted caper: McGee’s creative through-line
McGee has long mined the comic and the risky from her upbringing in Northern Ireland. She has spoken about staging plays on her childhood street and making neighbours act them out, an early sign of a storyteller who liked to work with ensembles and sharp, observational comedy. That background shapes How to Get to Heaven From Belfast: it feels rooted in small‑town routines and local memory, yet it pivots into darker territory when old secrets resurface.
“I’ve always loved murder mysteries from when I was a little girl, ” McGee said, noting influences that range from cosy crime to TV capers. She has been deliberate about the tone: a female-led story with a big comedy element, messy and human, even as it leans into suspense. The creator’s aim was to take familiar murder-mystery beats and run them through her specific comic instincts.
Plot, performances and the critical reaction
The series opens with the funeral of Greta, the missing fourth member of a teenage gang. The three surviving friends—Dara, Saoirse and Robyn—are pulled back together by questions about what really happened two decades earlier, when a forest shack burned, a menacing figure loomed and an occult marking tied them all together. The body in the coffin lacks a key tattoo that once united the four, and suspicion quickly turns to foul play.
The ensemble cast carries the show’s tonal tightrope. Performances from the lead trio drive the emotional centre, while supporting turns—most notably a troubling portrayal of a local police chief and an imposing maternal figure—add unease and bite. One prominent review called the series “a frenetic, witty caper” and singled out a sensational lead performance as a standout reason to tune in.
Critics have praised the series’ pacing and the way it balances humour with genuine menace. The plotting moves briskly, folding in past trauma, midlife anxieties and the mechanics of an amateur investigation without losing momentum. Viewers familiar with McGee’s previous work will recognise the same DNA—sharp comic timing and sympathy for chaotic female friendships—recalibrated here for a darker, twistier narrative.
What viewers should expect
How to Get to Heaven From Belfast is a season‑long mystery that foregrounds female relationships and the long shadow of youthful secrets. Expect quick shifts in tone, a strong central trio, and a plot that rewards attention: small details from the past echo forward and build toward a tense series of reveals. The show positions itself as both a crowd-pleasing caper and a character drama about loyalty, regret and the consequences of keeping silent.
For audiences who enjoyed the creator’s earlier work, this series offers a familiar blend of warmth and mischief, now sharpened by a criminal puzzle. For new viewers it presents a propulsive entry point into McGee’s world—one in which laughter and dread coexist comfortably, and where a small town’s routines can conceal very big trouble.
