Wildwood’s doo-wop vibes, bustling boardwalk and unmistakable mix of summer excitement and chaos will soon provide the backdrop for a new television comedy from the creator of the acclaimed series “Derry Girls.”
FX and 20th Television are developing “Wildwood,” a comedy series created by BAFTA Award-winning writer and showrunner Lisa McGee.
Set during the summer of 2000, the show will follow a group of Irish college students who arrive in the South Jersey resort town with no money, no visas and virtually no plan for what comes next.
The premise places the young women inside what the series description calls the “neon playground” of Wildwood—a fitting phrase for a destination known for its glowing amusement rides, colorful motels, sprawling beaches and lively boardwalk.
The setting offers plenty of possibilities. The Wildwoods at the turn of the millennium were filled with packed arcades, boardwalk food stands, summer jobs, crowded rental houses and nights spent beneath the lights of the piers. Add several unprepared international visitors to the mix, and the ingredients are there for both culture shock and comedy.
“Wildwood” will mark McGee’s first television project set outside Ireland. She is best known as the creator and sole writer of “Derry Girls,” the coming-of-age comedy about a group of teenagers growing up in Northern Ireland during the 1990s.
Inspired in part by McGee’s own adolescence, the series combined political tension with the everyday dramas of friendship, family, school and teenage embarrassment.
The show originally aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom before reaching an international audience through Netflix. It ran for three seasons from 2018 through 2022 and earned praise for its fast-paced dialogue, memorable characters and ability to find humor in a complicated period of Northern Irish history.
McGee’s success with “Derry Girls” makes “Wildwood” a particularly intriguing project. Both series appear poised to explore young Irish women navigating a specific time and place, although this time the characters will be thousands of miles from home.
The year 2000 setting may also allow the series to lean heavily into nostalgia. Before smartphones, social media and online travel apps, a group of visitors arriving without money or a solid plan would have had to rely paper maps, chance encounters and whatever seasonal work they could find.
No cast members, production schedule or premiere date have been announced. It also remains unclear whether the series will actually film in Wildwood or use another location to recreate the resort town. The project is currently described as being in development, meaning additional details could emerge as the series moves forward.
Still, the announcement adds Wildwood to a growing list of New Jersey communities attracting attention from the film and television industries. The Garden State has increased its appeal to production companies in recent years, while the Jersey Shore’s distinctive architecture, amusement areas and oceanfront scenery make it difficult to replicate elsewhere.
For Wildwood, the comedy could introduce the resort to viewers around the world through a perspective that feels very different from the reality television programs traditionally associated with the Jersey Shore.
Rather than following established celebrities or vacationers living in a luxury shore house a la “Jersey Shore”, “Wildwood” promises to focus on young travelers trying to survive a summer far from home. Their lack of preparation may be a disaster for the characters, but it could prove to be television gold.
And for anyone who remembers Wildwood in the summer of 2000, the series may offer something even better: the chance to return to the boardwalk at the dawn of a new millennium—without needing to find a parking space.
Sarah Fertsch of Egg Harbor Township holds a Bachelors of Arts in Public Relations. She is a locally renowned poet, storyteller, and dog lover.
