Girls (TV series)

Last updated

Girls
Girls-logo-widthx300.png
Genre Comedy drama
Cringe comedy
Created by Lena Dunham
Starring
Composer Michael Penn
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes62 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Editors
  • Robert Franzen
  • Catherine Haight
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time26–41 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network HBO
ReleaseApril 15, 2012 (2012-04-15) 
April 16, 2017 (2017-04-16)

Girls is an American comedy-drama television series created by and starring Lena Dunham, executive-produced by Judd Apatow. The series depicts four young women living in New York City. The show's premise was drawn from Dunham's own life, as were major aspects of the main character, including financial isolation from her parents, becoming a writer, and making unfortunate decisions. [1] The series is known for its post-feminist commentary and conversation around body politics and female sexual subjecthood. [2]

Contents

Lena Dunham created the TV series "Girls" with the intention of offering a more realistic and nuanced portrayal of the lives of young women in their twenties. The show, which premiered on HBO in 2012, [3] revolves around a group of friends navigating the challenges of relationships, work, and self-discovery in New York City.

Dunham, who not only created the series but also starred in it, aimed to provide an authentic representation of the experiences, struggles, and relationships of young women. [4] She wanted to present a narrative that went beyond the glamorous or idealized portrayals often seen in mainstream media. "Girls" received attention for its frank and sometimes controversial depictions of sex, relationships, and personal growth. Dunham's creation was seen as a departure from traditional television narratives, offering a more unfiltered and honest exploration of the complexities of adulthood, particularly from a female perspective. [5]

The first season of Girls was filmed between April and August 2011. The first three episodes were screened at the 2012 SXSW Festival and the series premiered on HBO on April 15, 2012. [3] The series ran for six seasons until April 16, 2017. There were a total of 62 episodes. [6] [7]

The show has received critical praise and awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and the British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme.

Synopsis

Two years after graduating from Oberlin College, aspiring writer Hannah Horvath is shocked when her parents announce they will no longer financially support her life in Brooklyn, New York. Left to her own devices, Hannah navigates her twenties "one mistake at a time." [8] Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver, Alex Karpovsky, and Andrew Rannells co-star as Hannah's circle of friends, as they cycle through friendships, romantic partners, careers, and new experiences. [9]

Topics explored

Female Friendship: The show explores the dynamics of female friendships, portraying both the supportive and challenging aspects of relationships between women. It delves into the complexities of friendships, highlighting the highs and lows. [5]

Sexual Liberation: "Girls" is known for its candid depiction of female sexuality and the exploration of characters' sexual freedom. It challenges societal norms by portraying women who are unapologetic about their sexual desires and choices. [10]

Body Image and Self-Esteem: Lena Dunham, who plays the lead character, Hannah Horvath, has been outspoken about body positivity. The show features characters with diverse body types, and it addresses issues of body image and self-esteem. [2]

Career Struggles: The series delves into the professional challenges faced by young women as they navigate their careers, addressing issues such as workplace sexism, unequal opportunities, and the pursuit of creative fulfillment. [4]

Abortion and Reproductive Rights: "Girls" has been commended for its frank portrayal of abortion. The show presents characters making decisions about reproductive rights and depicts the emotional and social aspects of these choices. [11] [4]

Intersectionality: While the show has been critiqued for its lack of racial diversity, it attempts to explore issues of privilege and socio-economic status. The characters grapple with their own privilege, and the show touches on class-related feminist issues. [12]

Self-Discovery and Autonomy: The series follows the characters as they navigate the process of self-discovery and strive for autonomy in their personal and professional lives. It explores the challenges and triumphs of defining oneself outside societal expectations. [11]

Cast and characters

Promotional poster for the series premiere showing the cast. From left to right: Jemima Kirke (Jessa), Allison Williams (Marnie), Lena Dunham (Hannah), and Zosia Mamet (Shoshanna). Girls HBO Poster.jpg
Promotional poster for the series premiere showing the cast. From left to right: Jemima Kirke (Jessa), Allison Williams (Marnie), Lena Dunham (Hannah), and Zosia Mamet (Shoshanna).

Production

Lena Dunham's 2010 second feature, Tiny Furniture —which she wrote, directed and starred in—received positive reviews at festivals as well as awards attention, including Best Narrative Feature at South by Southwest and Best First Screenplay at the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards. [21] [22] The independent film's success earned her the opportunity to collaborate with Judd Apatow for an HBO pilot. [23] Judd Apatow said he was drawn to Dunham's imagination after watching Tiny Furniture, and added that Girls would provide men with an insight into "realistic females." [1]

Some of the struggles facing Dunham's character Hannah—including being cut off financially from her parents, becoming a writer and making unfortunate decisions—are inspired by Dunham's real-life experiences. [1] The show's look is achieved by furnishings at a number of vintage boutiques in New York, including Brooklyn Flea and Geminola owned by Jemima Kirke's mother. [24]

Dunham said Girls reflects a part of the population not portrayed in the 1998 HBO series Sex and the City . " Gossip Girl was teens duking it out on the Upper East Side and Sex and the City was women who [had] figured out work and friends and now want to nail romance and family life. There was this 'hole-in-between' space that hadn't really been addressed", she said. [1] The pilot intentionally references Sex and the City as producers wanted to make it clear that the driving force behind Girls is that the characters were inspired by the former HBO series and moved to New York to pursue their dreams. [1] Dunham herself says she "revere[s] that show just as much as any girl of her generation". [1]

Dunham's identity and her creative endeavors played a pivotal role in establishing the groundwork for the show, persistently surfacing in discussions surrounding "Girls." There are several key aspects: emphasis on the privileged environment of her upbringing in New York's art scene and her early intellectual maturity; her utilization of personal experiences to craft candid and humorous storylines; her generation's experience of minimal privacy both in real life and online; and her deliberate choice to portray her body onscreen, preemptively addressing potential criticisms regarding her body size. [25]

As executive producer, [26] Dunham and Jennifer Konner were both showrunners of the series while Dunham was the head writer. [27] [28] Apatow is also executive producer, [26] under his Apatow Productions label. Dunham wrote or co-wrote all ten episodes of the first season and directed five, including the pilot. [26] [29] Season one was filmed between April and August 2011 and consisted of 10 episodes. As did the second season, running on HBO from January 13, 2013, to March 17, 2013.

On April 4, 2013,[ citation needed ] Christopher Abbott left the series. Dunham announced via Instagram on September 6, 2013, that production for the third season had concluded. [30] [31] Season 3, which contained 12 episodes as opposed to the previous 10-episode seasons, ran from January 12, 2014, to March 23, 2014. The fourth season of the series started filming in April 2014. [32] On January 5, 2016, HBO announced that the series' sixth season would be its last, allowing the writers to create a proper finale. [33]

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 10April 15, 2012 (2012-04-15)June 17, 2012 (2012-06-17)
2 10January 13, 2013 (2013-01-13)March 17, 2013 (2013-03-17)
3 12January 12, 2014 (2014-01-12)March 23, 2014 (2014-03-23)
4 10January 11, 2015 (2015-01-11)March 22, 2015 (2015-03-22)
5 10February 21, 2016 (2016-02-21)April 17, 2016 (2016-04-17)
6 10February 12, 2017 (2017-02-12)April 16, 2017 (2017-04-16)

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

The first season of Girls received universal acclaim from television critics. On review aggregation website Metacritic, the series' first season holds an average of 87 based on 29 reviews. [34] The website also lists the show as the highest-rated fictional series debut of 2012.

James Poniewozik from Time reserved high praise for the series, calling it "raw, audacious, nuanced and richly, often excruciatingly funny". [35] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter called Girls "one of the most original, spot-on, no-missed-steps series in recent memory". Reviewing the first three episodes at the 2012 SXSW Festival, he said the series conveys "real female friendships, the angst of emerging adulthood, nuanced relationships, sexuality, self-esteem, body image, intimacy in a tech-savvy world that promotes distance, the bloodlust of surviving New York on very little money and the modern parenting of entitled children, among many other things—all laced together with humor and poignancy". [36] The New York Times also applauded the series and said: "Girls may be the millennial generation's rebuttal to Sex and the City , but the first season was at times as cruelly insightful and bleakly funny as Louie on FX or Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO." [37]

Despite many positive reviews, several critics criticized the characters themselves. Gawker's John Cook strongly criticized Girls, saying it was "a television program about the children of wealthy famous people and shitty music and Facebook and how hard it is to know who you are and Thought Catalog and sexually transmitted diseases and the exhaustion of ceaselessly dramatizing your own life while posing as someone who understands the fundamental emptiness and narcissism of that very self-dramatization." [38]

Season 2

The second season of Girls continued to receive critical acclaim. On Metacritic, the second season of the series holds an average of 84 based on 19 reviews. [39] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter stated that "Girls kicks off its second season even more assured of itself, able to deftly work strands of hard-earned drama into the free-flowing comedic moments of four postcollege girls trying to find their way in life". [40] David Wiegland of the San Francisco Chronicle said that "The entire constellation of impetuous, ambitious, determined and insecure young urbanites in Girls is realigning in the new season, but at no point in the four episodes sent to critics for review do you feel that any of it is artificial". [41] Verne Gay of Newsday said it is "Sharper, smarter, more richly layered, detailed and acted". [42] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly felt that "As bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as it was in its first season, Girls may now be even spunkier, funnier, and riskier". [43] In reference to the series' growth, Willa Paskin of Salon thought that Girls "has matured by leaps and bounds, comedically and structurally, but it has jettisoned some of its ambiguity, its sweetness, its own affection for its characters. It's more coherent, but it's also safer." [44]

Metacritic ratings per season
Season 1 2 3 4 5 6
Rating87 [34] 84 [39] 76 [45] 75 [46] 73 [47] 79 [48]

Season 3

The third season of Girls received generally positive reviews. On Metacritic, the third season of the series holds an average of 76 based on 18 reviews. [45] Rotten Tomatoes reports an 89% approval rating from critics, based on 27 reviews with an average score of 7.8/10. The consensus states: "Still rife with shock value, Season 3 of Girls also benefits from an increasingly mature tone." [49]

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter lauded the first two episodes, and commented: "Going into its third season, Girls is as refreshing and audacious as ever and one of the few half-hour dramedies where you can feel its heart pounding and see its belly ripple with laughter." [50] In addition, The New York Times , Entertainment Weekly and PopMatters praised the comedic portrayal of its lead female characters. [51] [52] [53]

Season 4

The fourth season of Girls received generally positive reviews. On Metacritic, the fourth season of the series holds an average of 75 based on 16 reviews. [46] Rotten Tomatoes reports an 83% approval rating from critics, based on 24 reviews with an average score of 7.5/10. The consensus states: "Girls is familiar after four seasons, but its convoluted-yet-comical depiction of young women dealing with the real world still manages to impress." [54]

Season 5

The fifth season of Girls received generally positive reviews. On Metacritic, the fifth season of the series holds an average of 73 based on 13 reviews. [47] Rotten Tomatoes reports an 85% approval rating from critics, based on 20 reviews with an average score of 8.14/10. The consensus states: "Though some characters have devolved into caricatures, watching them struggle in Girls is more fun in season five, with sharper humor and narrative consistency than prior seasons." [55] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter gave the season a positive review writing: "Girls had only a niche audience. It's possible that being freed from the responsibility of the zeitgeist is what has kept Girls so watchable. The start of the fifth season won't launch an armada of think pieces, but if you still get pleasure from watching these flawed, often awful characters make flawed, often funny choices, Girls is still Girls." [56]

Season 6

The sixth season of Girls received highly positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the sixth season of the series holds an average of 79 based on 15 reviews. [48] Rotten Tomatoes reports an 89% approval rating from critics, based on 35 reviews with an average score of 8.01/10. The consensus states, "In its final season, Girls remains uncompromising, intelligent, character-driven, compassionate – and at times consciously aggravating." [57]

The broadcast of the season's third episode "American Bitch" in Australia on showcase had to be edited, due to a scene that breached the maximum MA15+ classification of the broadcaster. [58]

Criticism and impact

The pilot was met with criticism regarding the all-white main cast in the otherwise culturally diverse setting of New York City. [59] Catherine Scott of The Independent asked: "What's there to celebrate for feminism when black, Hispanic or Asian women are totally written out of a series that's supposedly set in one of the most diverse cities on earth? But also, what's there to celebrate for feminism when a show depicts four entirely self-interested young women and a lead character having the most depressing, disempowered sexual relationships imaginable?" [60] Fox News's Hollie McKay wrote that many white Americans are friends with other people of the same race, and adding a "token" African-American or Asian-American friend would be "immature" to reality. [61] Writing at The Hairpin , Jenna Wortham deemed the series' lack of a main black character "alienating, a party of four engineered to appeal to a very specific subset of the television viewing audience, when the show has the potential to be so much bigger than that". [62] Maureen Ryan from The Huffington Post attributes the lack of diversity to the industry as a whole, specifying that not only is it "easier (and lazier) to attack a 25-year-old woman who's just starting out than to attack the men twice her age who actually control the industry", but that "of all shows, this is the one that is being attacked for being too white." [63]

Lesley Arfin, a writer for the show, responded to the criticism, tweeting: "What really bothered me most about Precious was that there was no representation of ME". Arfin later deleted the comment following backlash. [64] Dunham has publicly said, "I really wrote the show from a gut-level place, and each character was a piece of me or based on someone close to me". She adds that she wanted to avoid tokenism in casting. The experience of a black character would involve a certain specificity, a type she could not speak to. [65]

The New York Times concluded that the series earned praise "for its sexually frank, wryly satirical look at millennial angst" and criticism "for its lack of diversity while raising "an endless stream of essays and social media posts thanks to its explorations of gender politics and post-collegiate social panic". [66] In a review for Ms. , Kerensa Cadenas writes, "Despite its lack of a serious class and race consciousness, Girls does address other feminist issues currently in play, among them body image, abortion, relationships within a social media age, and street harassment." [67] Kim Price of The Independent predicted that the Girls' legacy would be the series' "mainstreaming of 'gross-out' femininity" and "intermittent and sometimes cack-handed attempts to comment on contemporary issues such as race relations or lack of opportunities for young people". [68]

In response to the critiques, Lena Dunham has acknowledged the concerns raised by viewers and critics. [4] Dunham has expressed a commitment to learning and growing from the feedback she received. She mentioned that she appreciates the discussions sparked by the show and has apologized for unintentional insensitivity or oversight in her portrayal of certain issues. She has also outwardly expressed her frustration at the critics’ tendency to overlook her ability to write with nuance, specifically in regards to her commentary on class. [5] While the characters in Girls are often criticized for their narrow and privileged view of the world, being from clearly wealthier families, Dunham actually intended this specific portrayal to use and explains how it is a tool to justify their slow maturation. [4]

Since the series' last episode premiering in 2017, the show's impact and Lena Dunham's identity have inevitably evolved. [69] Initially hyped and criticized for various reasons, including lack of diversity, "Girls" became a cultural lightning rod. Over the years, Dunham distanced herself from the show, focusing on personal and professional growth. The show's satirical elements and its influence on the portrayal of sex and body image with disarming honesty trademark its originality. Despite initial controversy, "Girls" is appreciated for this originality and its contribution to feminist television. [70]

In December 2023, Variety ranked Girls #86 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. [71]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultEpisode
2012 2nd Critics' Choice Television Awards [72] Best Comedy Series GirlsNominated
Best Actress in a Comedy Series Lena Dunham Nominated
28th TCA Awards [73] Outstanding New Program GirlsNominated
Individual Achievement in Comedy Lena DunhamNominated
64th Primetime Emmy Awards [74] Outstanding Comedy Series GirlsNominated
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Lena DunhamNominatedEpisode: "She Did"
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Lena DunhamNominatedEpisode: "She Did"
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series Lena DunhamNominatedEpisode: "Pilot"
Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series Jennifer Euston Won [75]
17th Satellite Awards Television Series, Comedy or MusicalGirlsNominated
Actress in a Series, Comedy or MusicalLena DunhamNominated
65th Writers Guild of America Awards Comedy SeriesSeries writersNominated
New SeriesSeries writersWon
Women's Image Network Awards Outstanding Film / Show Written by A WomanLena DunhamNominated
Outstanding Film / Show Directed by A WomanLena DunhamNominated
Peabody Award Area of ExcellenceGirlsWon [76]
2013 70th Golden Globe Awards Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical GirlsWon
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical Lena DunhamWon
65th Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy SeriesLena DunhamWonEpisode: "Pilot"
Art Directors Guild AwardsEpisode of a Half Hour Single-Camera Television SeriesJudy BeckerWonEpisode: "Pilot"
British Academy Television Awards International PrizeGirlsWon
3rd Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actress in a Comedy Series Lena DunhamNominated
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Alex Karpovsky Nominated
Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series Patrick Wilson Nominated
65th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy SeriesGirlsNominated
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy SeriesLena DunhamNominatedEpisode: "Bad Friend"
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Adam Driver NominatedEpisode: "It's Back"
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy SeriesLena DunhamNominatedEpisode: "On All Fours"
Outstanding Casting for a Comedy SeriesJennifer EustonNominated
2014 71st Golden Globe Awards Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical GirlsNominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical Lena DunhamNominated
3rd Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series Andrew Rannells Nominated
66th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy SeriesLena DunhamNominatedEpisode: "Beach House"
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy SeriesAdam DriverNominatedEpisode: "Two Plane Rides"
2015 72nd Golden Globe Awards Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical GirlsNominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical Lena DunhamNominated
67th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Adam DriverNominatedEpisode: "Close-up"
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Gaby Hoffmann NominatedEpisode: "Home Birth"
4th Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series Becky Ann Baker Nominated
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Adam DriverNominated
2016 68th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series [77] Peter Scolari WonEpisode: "Good Man"
7th Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Allison Williams Nominated
2017 69th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series [78] Becky Ann BakerNominatedEpisode: "Gummies"
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Riz Ahmed NominatedEpisode: "All I Ever Wanted"
Matthew Rhys NominatedEpisode: "American Bitch"
Outstanding Music Supervision Manish Raval, Jonathan Leahy and Tom WolfeNominated

Broadcast

Girls premiered on April 15, 2012, on HBO in the United States. [79] [80] The first three episodes were screened at the 2012 SXSW Festival on March 12. [3]

HBO renewed the series for a second season of ten episodes on April 30, 2012. [26] [28] [81] [82]

On January 7, 2014, the premiere of the third season of Girls was shown at the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City. [83] Models Karlie Kloss, Karen Elson, and Hilary Rhoda; designers Nicole Miller, Cynthia Rowley, and Zac Posen; and editors Anna Wintour, Joanna Coles, and Amy Astley were all in attendance. [83] The after party was at the Allen Room and "hosted by HBO and the Cinema Society". [83]

International

Girls premiered on OSN in the Middle East on September 7, 2012. [84] In Australia, it premiered on Showcase on May 28, 2012. [85] The series began airing on HBO Canada on April 15, 2012. In New Zealand, the SoHo channel premiered Girls in May 2012. [86]

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series premiered on Sky Atlantic on October 22, 2012. [87] The second season premiered on January 14, 2013, [88] and the third season began airing on January 20, 2014. [89] The fourth season premiered on January 12, 2015. [90]

Home media

SeasonEpisodesrelease dateRating
Region 1/A Region 2/B [9] [91] Region 4/B [92] [93] BBFC ACB [94]
Standard releases (DVD and Blu-ray)
Season 110December 11, 2012February 4, 2013December 12, 201218MA15+
Season 210August 13, 2013August 12, 2013October 23, 201318MA15+
Season 312January 6, 2015January 12, 2015December 10, 201415MA15+
Season 410February 16, 2016February 15, 2016December 9, 201518MA15+
Season 510January 3, 2017January 16, 2017December 7, 201618MA15+
Season 610July 26, 2017July 24, 2017July 26, 201718MA15+
Multiple releases (DVD only) [95]
Seasons 1–220No releaseAugust 12, 2013November 20, 201318MA15+
Seasons 1–332No releaseJuly 12, 2015No release18
Seasons 1–442No releaseFebruary 15, 2016December 9, 201518MA15+
Seasons 1–552No releaseNo releaseDecember 7, 2016MA15+
Seasons 1–662No releaseJuly 24, 2017July 26, 201718MA15+

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  93. Region B (AU) Blu-ray sets:
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