THE LONG wait is finally over as Derry Girls will finally begin filming its highly-anticipated third season next month.
Derry Girls fans have been waiting patiently for Season 3 of the hit show for what seems like forever, but there's not much longer to go, one of the stars has revealed.
Ian McElhinney, who plays the lovably gruff Granda Joe on the Channel 4 comedy, spoke to the Belfast Telegraph where he confirmed that work on new episodes will begin in September, just days away.
He also told the outlet that filming of the series should wrap up before Christmas, with spring 2022 earmarked for the release of the new season.
McIlhenney's positive update comes after another star of the show, Tara Lynne O'Neill-- aka Ma Mary-- told The Irish Mirror that after filming was initially disrupted by the pandemic, "It's happening this year, it's definitely happening this year!"
She told the outlet in July of this year that filming will happen "this year, so it will be out early next year," she said, adding that the filming date has been "tied in".
The actress couldn't give much else away however, as she told the outlet "They wouldn't give the scripts to me ... I can't be relied not to tell people what's going to happen!"
(Channel 4)But while Ma Mary might not know what the Derry Girls are up to (What else is new?) Nicola Coughlan, who plays Clare and recently burst into fame through her role in Netflix's Bridgerton, said she has seen the script and "they're so brilliant".
The third series of the show is expected to take place on the backdrop of the Good Friday Agreement, and the gang will be a little older in the new series - around 17, to be precise.
The show's creator, Lisa McGee, told the I Newspaper "They’re going to be forced to grow up a bit this series [but] they’re still eejits, they still get into a lot of trouble, and embarrass themselves and do all those things you’d expect the Derry Girls to do, but they do have to face some big things this time.
"It’s still funny. The most important thing is that it brings joy to people. I want to make people really, really laugh.”
You can learn more about everything we know about Derry Girls season 3-- and even the planned feature film-- here.
