By Coren Feldman
I was sold on Derry Girls about 20 seconds into the first episode. The show opens with a cliche voiceover monologue in a wonderful Northern Irish accent about the protagonist's life, only to reveal that we're actually hearing her cousin reading her private diary out loud, much to her dismay.
The show follows Erin Quinn, a fifteen year old high school student in Derry, Northern Ireland who lives with her parents, baby sister, aunt and cousin in the 90s, at the height of the troubles, a bloody conflict between England and Irish separatists.
Erin, her cousin Orla, and their friends Michelle and Clare are forced to open up their social circle when Michelle's cousin, James is unceremoniously dumped on her family by his absent mother. Being British in Northern Ireland, James is somewhat despised in Derry and is forced to go to an all-girl's Catholic school where the other girls attend.
The writing is a perfect storm of quality jokes, well fleshed out and interesting characters, societal commentary and 90's nostalgia, but the thing that elevates this show from good to great is its setting.
Growing up in Israel during the second intifada (and living through the conflict in general) always had a mixture of normalcy, fear and sadness. Derry Girls has a similar backdrop, a brutal conflict that claimed over 3,500 lives over the course of about 30 years. Growing up in that environment, you feel like a regular teen; you go to school, you write bad poetry, you have unrelenting crushes. But then every now and then, there's a devastating event that reminds you where and when you are.
That's where Derry Girls really shines. It's much more of a comedy than a drama, but it so perfectly portrays living through that hardship, being an unwitting bystander caught in the crossfire. To be clear, you will laugh very hard at every single episode, but there's something deeper this show offers, a focus on love and hope in difficult times, and that's what makes it incredible.
Coren Feldman is the founder of CorenTV. In his free time not reviewing TV shows, he has a job that tends to keep him busy.