Here's our thoughts on the much-anticipated new Irish series.

The eight-part series follows three Northern Irish lifelong friends - Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne, Love/Hate), Robyn (Sinéad Keenan, Unforgotten) and Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher, Lazarus) - who learn that their childhood friend, Greta (Natasha O'Keefe, Peaky Blinders), has died.

Travelling together to attend the wake, the three quickly discover that there is way more to their old friend's death than they initially thought, setting them "on a dark, dangerous and hilarious odyssey through Ireland and beyond".

This is as the trio "each tries to piece together the truth of their past".

How to Get to Heaven From Belfast Review

JOE has seen all eight episodes of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast and is happy to report that the show is very fun.

The series sees Lisa McGee testing whether she can apply the same anarchic, fast-paced humour and heartwarming focus on female friendship that made Derry Girls such a smash-hit sitcom to the framework of a Harlan Coben-esque mystery thriller. Like Coben's Netflix work, How to Get to Heaven features a convoluted, multi-stranded plot; a vast supporting cast; and 50-minute episodes punctuated with cliffhangers.

For the most part, she nails the blend of genres. Opening episode 'The Wake' has to race through a lot of plot - establishing its three lead characters, a shared dark secret from their past and their friend's suspicious recent death - and as can be expected, suffers a little from tonal whiplash. But be sure to stick with How to Get to Heaven as it certainly finds its footing.

Director Michael Lennox (A Patch of Fog, Say Nothing) stages several exciting action sequences and forebodingly moody scenes. When the show's mysteries eventually reveal themselves, they are mostly satisfying and also rooted in some fascinating topics and real-world issues, which we won't spoil.

We'd argue, though, that the thriller plot isn't the main reason to tune into How to Get to Heaven. That's its three actresses; their lovable characters and all the madness that McGee sweeps the heroes up in, stemming from both the outlandish central mystery, but also their already pretty chaotic lives.

Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher) is the creator of a hit English detective series (allowing McGee to poke some fun at the entertainment industry). She's dealing with a prima donna star (Leila Farzad) and is also engaged to the show's director (Tom Basden), a relationship which feels more out of comfort and convenience than passion

Robyn (Sinéad Keenan) is a mother and wife of three young children, whose husband (Art Campion) is regularly away from home with work.

Often serving as the peacekeeper between the fiery Robyn and the headstrong Saoirse is Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne). Devoutly religious and a lesbian, she spends her days looking after her elderly mother, perhaps using her relative as an excuse not go out and build her own life.

The three actors have brilliant chemistry with each other, fully convincing as people who've known each other for over 20 years. All the while, McGee's witty, wordy script perfectly captures how old Irish friends will mercilessly slag each other, all the while their love is never in doubt.

McGee's strange mix of buddy comedy and Hitchcockian thriller (there's even a very funny Psycho homage in the seventh ep) works because of the subtext that Dara, Robyn and Saoirse are so quick to embark on this odyssey across Ireland and to Portugal, dodging assassins (Bronagh Gallagher, The Commitments) along the way, because they are already so eager to escape their daily pressures.

Also, for Irish watchers, there is an intertextual element to How to Get to Heaven that winds up feeling very moving and quietly groundbreaking. That is the way McGee has used the success of Derry Girls to level up in scope, while also staying in Ireland and packing her cast full of Irish talent from several different generations. The series is absolutely brimming with scene-stealing supporting turns from Irish legends, as well as a couple of homages and tributes to the iconic Irish shows that came before, ones that McGee probably grew up loving.

How to Get to Heaven From Belfast Interview

JOE had the stars of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast - Caoilfhionn Dunne, Roisin Gallagher and Sinead Keenan - in our Dublin office to discuss the new show.

Speaking about McGee's trademark strong female characters, Belfast actor Gallagher told us she was delighted "to get a script that is driven by these three females in their late 30s" but "it's not necessarily about motherhood or domestic".

"It's not set at home. We like to think of ourselves as really crap James Bonds off on an adventure," she added.

"Or Scooby Doo. We solve mysteries. Jessica Fletcher meets Columbo, all of that. It's amazing."

Dublin actors Dunne and Keenan also spoke to us about how they mastered their Belfast accents.

Keenan told us: "I just think of my mam giving out to me. She's from Belfast.

"It gets stronger as she is annoyed with me. So, I just [think of saying] something to get a rise out of her and there we go, there we go," she laughed.

Dunne, meanwhile, explained: "It's just listening. It's the joy of being surrounded by [the Belfast accent].

"It just makes it that much easier when it's around, when it's immersive. Then… it stops becoming an accent after a while, and it just becomes the voice of that particular person.

"So, you're not having to worry: 'Oh that vowel,' but even then, when that happened, Roisin was great for running a word by her.

"You could drive yourself nuts with that… You can get really pedantic and ultimately ruin it for yourself.

"You've got to let it go and just hope that the performance carries the whole thing. That's enough to get people through."

Gallagher also spoke about how important it is to have the speed of the Belfast accent accurately being portrayed onscreen: "It's a real vision of a director of Mike Lennox to say: 'We're not slowing that down.'

"This is the reality of the language, whether that's a Derry Girls thing or a Heaven to Belfast thing.

"I'm not saying that I spoke way too fast and that people in the audience may not understand what I'm saying," she laughed, before adding: "But if they don't, then that's the way Saoirse speaks, to be allowed to really, really inhabit the place... for the comedy of it. That's why it's funny."

Keenan added: "It's for the rhythm of it to work. It's all music," with Gallagher also stating: "That has not always been able to happen."

Dunne attributes investment from big streamers like Netflix to Ireland's recent movies and TV success: "There's a part of it that feels like: 'Yous took your time getting around to us because we've been doing it to that level for always.'

"I mean, the talent has always existed... It's been here, whether in theatres or in smaller-scale TV.

"But it hasn't been able to get out to that audience, and people haven't turned to look at us… The investment as well needs to happen."

How to Get to Heaven From Belfast is streaming on Netflix now