Derry Girls Season 3 filming gets the green light—everything you need to know

Derry Girls Season 3 is finally underway after a long hiatus

Derry Girls Season 3 is finally underway after a long hiatus
(Image credit: Alamy)

Get ready, Irish comedy fans—Derry Girls Season 3 is officially on its way. 

After an agonizingly long two-year wait, Derry Girls is finally confirmed to return for a third—and sadly, final—season. 

The Channel 4 sitcom was an instant hit with viewers when it premiered in 2018, connecting people of all generations with its refreshingly candid teenage take on the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. With so much buzz surrounding its first two seasons, Derry Girls Season 3 was undeniably one of the most anticipated small screen launches of 2020. 

Unfortunately, its filming was abruptly postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of last year, pushing back its entire production and release date. After multiple false starts, it looks like its cast and crew are expected to get back to work in the next few months, with a goal of releasing the farewell season at some point in 2022. 

Channel 4 Derry Girls

(Image credit: Channel 4)

When is the Derry Girls Season 3 release date? 

Derry Girls Season 3 is expected to hit screens in 2022, but frustratingly, an exact release date has yet to be announced. 


What happens in Derry Girls Season 3? 

Derry Girls producers have been keeping relatively mum about Season 3's storylines,  but there's plenty of reason to believe they won't disappoint. Nicola Coughlan, who plays Erin and Orla's no-nonsense friend Clare, took to Twitter in February to confirm the third season is "in the pipeline" before teasing viewers about its upcoming plot. 

"Covid has pushed back filming several times which has been so shite, but honestly the storylines in this series are the best we’ve ever done so I can’t tell you how worth it the wait will have been," she wrote. 

Is Derry Girls Season 3 its last season? 

Unfortunately, Derry Girls Season 3 will mark the end of our journey with the comedy's iconic characters. Show creator Lisa McGee took to Instagram to confirm the sad news, writing, "It was always the plan to say goodbye after three series. Derry Girls is a coming of age story: following five ridiculous teenagers as they slowly... very slowly... start to become adults, while around them the place they call home starts to change too and Northern Ireland enters a new more hopeful phrase —which was a small, magical window of time." 

Derry Girls

Lisa McGee with the Derry Girls cast 

(Image credit: Getty)

Don't get the tissues out just yet though—Lisa also hinted at the possibility of a return of the cast at some point in the future. 

"Who knows if Erin, Clare, Orla, Michelle, and James will return in some other guise someday, but for now this is it for us and we're excited to start filming this series with our incredible cast and crew to hopefully take our loyal fans on one last adventure."

Emma Dooney
Lifestyle News Writer

Hailing from the lovely city of Dublin, Emma mainly covers the Royal Family and the entertainment world, as well as the occasional health and wellness feature. Always up for a good conversation, she has a passion for interviewing everyone from A-list celebrities to the local GP - or just about anyone who will chat to her, really.

Emma holds an MA in International Journalism from City, University of London, and a BA in English Literature from Trinity College Dublin.