Story by Anna Johns, Reporter
Photo courtesy of The Irish Times

The current situation has made most people stir crazy, including me, but don’t worry, Netflix has your back. Like most people, I have resorted to bingeing as many Netflix shows as possible during this time. One of the hidden gems I stumbled on is “Derry Girls.” 

The Northern Irish sitcom “Derry Girls” is one of Netflix’s top shows. The series follows a group of Irish Catholic school students during the 1990s. Stubborn teen Erin Quinn is the leader of the gang. Erin is rebellious and ambiguous and always seems to find trouble wherever she goes. She lives with her cousin, Orla McCool. Orla is quirky and unpredictable. She dances to her own beat with confidence.

Claire Devlin is one of the girls’ best friends. She is intelligent and focused on her studies. Their other best friend, Michelle Mallon, is quite the opposite. Michelle has a filthy sense of humor and tends to care more about men than her academics. Michelle’s cousin James Maguire, also known as “The English Fella,” is also part of the group. Most of the time, James feels like an outsider to the community, since he is British and also forced to attend the all-girl Our Lady Immaculate College with the Derry girls. The school is led by the fearsome headmaster Sister Michael who tries her best to keep up with the student’s antics. 

The show is centered around the highs and lows of the teenage years, while in the midst of one of Northern Ireland’s most historic conflicts. During the late 20th century, Northern Ireland was in the center of a heated ethno-nationalist conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants, better known as The Troubles. However, the sitcom has an odd combination of humor and tragedy, so there is a hopeful outlook during the time of conflict. 

Personally, I love the show. I can best describe the sitcom as a heartfelt but raunchy coming-of-age series. As someone who enjoys history, I feel that The Troubles is a forgotten period in media and deserves more attention. I would give this show a nine out of ten. Though the series is short, it can be a great day activity for quarantine and bring some much-needed humor into your life.