Derry Girls will be on our screens for the final time ever tonight.
Four years since it began, the Channel 4 show is coming to an end after three series of the girls and the 'wee English fella'. However, The Derry Girls are going out in style with an hour-long "encore" special episode tonight, at 9pm.
The show will follow on one year later from last night's episode which saw a devastating ending. It will follow the friends preparing for their final year of school as Erin and Orla plan a joint 18th birthday party.
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But with a much-loved programme coming to an end so soon, fans will be left wondering why now and will we ever see more from the cast in the future? Here is everything that you need to know about the finale.
Why is Derry Girls ending?
The show's writer Lisa McGee confirmed that series three would be the last. In September 2021, Lisa took to Twitter to tell fans "it was always the plan to say goodbye after three series" but added that it had been an "honour" to write the sitcom. She added: "Who knows if Erin, Clare, Orla, Michelle and James will return in some other guise someday, but for now this is it for us."
Speaking of the finale, Lisa said coming to the end of the sitcom was "emotional" and the fact she was allowed to finish the series how she wanted to "has been incredible". In a statement about the final extended episode, she said: "Like all the very best 90s' bands, I couldn't resist ending our farewell tour with an encore for our loyal fans. I'm delighted to say we'll be returning for one extended special - airing in the same week as our final episode.
"The special deals with the historic and momentous Good Friday Agreement vote, which coincides with the gang's coming of age, they enter adulthood just as Northern Ireland embarks on a new future. I'm so proud of this show and of our incredible cast and crew and everything we've achieved over the past five years.
"What a journey it's been. I'm so grateful Channel 4 gave me the space to end the stories of these characters that mean so much to me with this special. I really hope the fans love it as much as I do. Derry people aren't great at saying goodbye so I will instead use one of our native expressions 'That's us away now'. Love Lisa McGee, always a Derry Girl".
Dylan Llewellyn, who plays James Maguire, has teased that we can expect a satisfying ending. He said: "I'm sad it's the end of an era, but happy because Lisa McGee has written such a perfect ending. It feels like the right time to stop. Quality, not quantity."
Will there be a spin-off?
Lisa has recently confirmed that, although fans would absolutely love one, there won't be a spin off of Derry Girls. Speaking to DigitalSpy, she said: "I wouldn’t do a spin-off now, and I have no plans to do a spin-off."
She added: "I have all this stuff that's been put to one side because I wanted to finish Derry Girls properly, and put all my focus on that and do it justice, but those things have to sort of move up the queue. So I wouldn't be able to make another for a while even if I wanted to, but I always thought, just for my own amusement.
"There's something in Aunt Sarah and Ma Mary, and there's something in Jenny Joyce and her little sidekick Aisling. Jenny thinks she's in a different show. Jenny's in an American high school. She's like Beverly Hills, not Derry Girls , and I just love her energy."
What do the cast have planned next?
Many of the cast have gone on to star in other hit shows, Nicola Coughlan (Clare) is now part of Netflix's hit period drama Bridgerton and earlier this year Jamie-Lee O'Donnell (Michelle) played the lead in Channel 4 prison drama Screw. Dylan Llewellyn (James) is also set to star in a new Channel 4 sitcom, Big Boys.
The finale of Derry Girls will air in a one-hour special tonight (May 18) at 9pm on Channel 4
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