How To Get To Heaven From Belfast

February 17, 2026·16 min·1 clip

Greta Johnson reveals how sharing a name with the murder victim made this Netflix mystery a hilarious and delightful surprise.

Linda Holmes sets up the show's premise: Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher), a TV writer; Dara (Cailin Dunn), a caregiver to her mother; and Robin (Sinead Keenan), a mother of three, travel to the wake of Greta, a childhood friend they had lost touch with. The four girls had shared a big and awful secret during their youth, and the women go partly to pay respects and partly to ensure that secret stays buried. Once at the wake, a real mystery unfolds across eight episodes. The humor of Greta Johnson reviewing a show called How to Get to Heaven from Belfast in which the murder victim is also named Greta becomes a running bit. Greta (Johnson) loved it, calling it a total delight with genuine substance beneath the wackiness — particularly appreciating its handling of trauma and grief, which she notes is unusual for Netflix shows that tend to look polished but lack depth. Jeff Yang drew a chart to organize his reactions: he initially didn't like it, partly because the show's Northern Irish vernacular and rhythms require calibration. His eventual positive assessment came after the show found its footing around episode three. He discusses the way the show uses its specific Belfast geography and post-Troubles cultural context. The hosts agree that the comparison to Derry Girls is inevitable but that this show is tonally darker, more interested in what secrets do to lifelong friendships and what it means to grieve someone you had chosen to stop knowing.

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