NPR

In Northern Ireland, 'Derry Girls' Balance Teen Comedy And Sectarian Conflict

The hit comedy follows teenagers in a Catholic school in the 1990s. Even with The Troubles as the backdrop, it's "put Northern Ireland on the map for all the right reasons," says one Derry Girls fan.
<em>Derry Girls </em>follows five teenagers in a Catholic school in Northern Ireland during the 1990s.<em> </em>"This show, it's very Derry, in all the right ways," says <em>Derry Girls</em> fan Gilly Campbell. "It's put Northern Ireland on the map for all the right reasons."

When Protestant loyalists waving British flags march in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry, Donna McCluskey and other community workers stage what she calls a "diversionary festival."

"In the past, young people used to riot," she says, standing in Free Derry Corner, where the buildings are covered in murals lionizing Irish nationalists. But this year, there wasn't as much trouble. "Maybe they were all watching re-runs of Derry Girls," she jokes. "At our house I think we watched every episode three times."

a critically acclaimed comedy first broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 and now streaming on Netflix, was the in Northern Ireland in 2018. The show follows five

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