From Lisa McGee—creator of the hit show Derry Girls—How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is the latest addition to the pantheon of Irish entertainment, right behind Hamnet’s award run and Maura Higgins’ wardrobe on season three of The Traitors.
The eight-episode Netflix series follows three childhood friends in their thirties—Roisin Gallagher, Sinéad Keenan, and Caoilfhionn Dunne—who reunite at the funeral of their fourth friend who, naturally, died under mysterious circumstances. The logline might sound familiar if you’re a fan of HBO’s Search Party, which ran for five seasons. For all its similarities, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast brings a distinctly Irish sense of humor, in the same way Derry Girls did through its three-season run.
So let’s talk about the cast, including some cameos from familiar faces.
Roisin Gallagher as Saoirse
A Belfast local herself, Roísín Gallagher earned critical recognition for her work in The Dry (2022) and The Lovers (2023), and made her US-debut alongside Sam Claflin in the 2025 adaptation of Harlan Coben’s Lazarus. In How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Gallagher plays Saoirse, a television writer and a girl after creator Lisa McGee's own heart.
Sinéad Keenan as Robyn
You may recognize Sinéad Keenan from the long-running British sci-fi staple Doctor Who, or the 2008 the supernatural drama Being Human. If not those, then from season 3 of Derry Girls, where she appeared in one episode as Aideen O’Shea on episode three, “Stranger on a Train.” In this universe, she plays Robyn, a mother-of-three at her wits end.
Caoilfhionn Dunne as Dara
Caoilfhionn Dunne’s face is one you may have seen a time or two. Her recent work includes the return of A Thousand Blows, HBO’s Industry, and Andor. In How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, we’ll see her portray Dara, the “dependable, inhibited carer,” as the logline goes.
‘How to Get to Heaven from Belfast’ streams on Netflix on February 12.
