When is the Derry Girls season 3 release date? It’s been more than two years since Erin, Orla, Clare, and Michelle proudly declared James an official Derry Girl (it’s a state of mind), and to say we’ve missed watching this unlikely group of friends would be an understatement.
Thankfully, after more than several delays, we now know that this surprisingly delightful TV series about growing up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles will return in 2022. But what can we expect from season 3 of Derry Girls? When is it back exactly? And will we finally find out why Michelle’s mum didn’t want her big bowl back?
To answer all these questions, we’ve done more homework than Jenny Joyce. It involved scouring the web for interviews with the cast and crew, going over to neighbour Jim (lest we forget he once managed to track down Bill Clinton himself, sort of) to get the details, and even a little bit of prayer – not that Sister Michael would approve, she doesn’t go in for all that sort of nonsense.
Derry Girls season 3 release date: When is Derry girls season 3 out?
Derry Girls season 3 will premiere on April 12, 2022. Like a lot of productions, Derry Girls was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced C4 to delay filming and the release.
Thankfully we know – courtesy of Louisa Harland’s Instagram – that filming has now been completed on the series, so it probably won’t be too long before we see the girls back on the box.
My Statement about #DerryGirls. What a ride! pic.twitter.com/TvYKDRY697
— Lisa McGee (@LisaMMcGee) September 23, 2021
Unfortunately, as we said, this will be the girl’s last outing. Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee confirmed the news on Twitter. “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 phase — which was a small, magical window of time,” McGee wrote. “Derry Girls is a love letter to the place I come from and the people who shaped me. It has been an honour to write it, and I will be forever proud of everything it’s achieved.”
Derry Girls season 3 trailer: Does Derry Girls season 3 have a trailer?
It does indeed! C4 gave us all the gift of a short teaser over the Christmas holiday. The trailer doesn’t reveal too much about the upcoming series, but we do see the girls being shouted at by soldiers in the dead of night in what appears to be a church.
Thankfully they manage to stay calm under pressure. Oh, wait, no, they don’t. Clare goes to absolute pieces immediately. Some things never change, I guess…
On March 17 2022 C4 celebrated St Patrick’s Day by releasing a new trailer which taught us all that “English breathing” can be a bit oppressive.
Derry Girls season 3 plot: What happens in Derry Girls season 3?
Like a lot of sitcoms, Derry Girls doesn’t really have an overarching plot. It’s more a loose collection of misadventures. As such we don’t really know what to expect in season 3 of Derry Girls, but there are a few plotlines that have carried through the last few series we can probably expect to see develop.
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In season 1, Clare came out as a lesbian to the shock of her friends. While they were initially surprised by the news, they came to support her wearing rainbow badges in her honour during season 2. The second season also teased something between Erin and James, something that McGee has said we might see more of in the future.
“I’ve always thought James likes [Erin], but I think he maybe doesn’t even understand that yet, and I don’t know when that’ll, it might happen when they’re much older, so it might not actually happen in our show,” McGee told Radio Times. “But I think the potential is there. It’s something I’m interested in seeing – I might toy with it if we do another season, I’m not sure.”
Derry Girls season 3 cast – Who’s in Derry Girls season 3?
You can’t have Derry Girls without the girls, and all five members of the main cast are expected to return.
- Saoirse-Monica Jackson – Erin Quinn
- Louisa Harland – Orla McCool
- Nicola Coughlan – Clare Devlin
- Jamie-Lee O’Donnell – Michelle Mallon
- Dylan Llewellyn – James Maguire
Similarly, there’s been no news that any of the adult cast has left the show, so we can expect the grown-ups of Derry to return as well. As such, we can presume that Tara Lynne O’Neill and Tommy Tiernan will reprise their roles as Erin’s protective mum and dad Gerry and Mary.
They’re unlikely to have shook off either Aunt Sarah (Kathy Kiera Clarke) or Grandad Joe (Ian McElhinney) either, so expect to see them at the Quinn’s dining room table. Finally, it wouldn’t be Derry Girls without the fearsome Siobhán McSweeney as Sister Michael, the stern headmistress of the girl’s school.
What’s next for the Derry Girls?
While Derry Girls will end after its third season that doesn’t mean the story’s completely over. McGee told Ray D’Arcy’s RTÉ Radio 1 show that she’s a few ideas for a Derry Girls movie.
“For a while, I didn’t know if it would work but now an idea is starting to vaguely form in my head, so after series three I’ll think about that a bit more,” McGee said. . “I’d like to do it and I think the cast would too so that would be the long-term plan. We should have been shooting it now but we obviously had to push back. We are waiting until it’s safe as there’s a lot of stuff to work out.”
Where can I watch Derry Girls season 3?
Derry Girls season 3 will debut on Ch4 here in the UK. You’ll either be able to watch it live or, if you prefer, stream it on All4 about an hour after it premieres.
Those in the US and other territories meanwhile can watch the girls’s adventures on Netflix. For more series updates here are our guides to Shadow and Bone season 2, and Squid Game season 2.