Template:Character infoboxDetention Partners Girls - is an American HBO television series created by and starring Lena Dunham and executive produced by Judd Apatow. Girls is a comedy-drama following the lives of four young women living in New York City. The show's premise and major aspects of the main character—including being cut off financially from her parents, becoming a writer and making unfortunate decisions—were drawn from Dunham's own life.[2]
Appearance[]
The San Peoples Land 2[]
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 second season ran on HBO from January 13, 2013 to March 17, 2013. The third season, which contained 12 episodes as opposed to the previous seasons' 10 episodes, ran from January 12, 2014, to March 23, 2014. The fourth season of the series started filming in April 2014 and premiered on January 11, 2015.[4]The fifth season premiered on February 21, 2016. Girls' sixth and final season concluded on April 16, 2017, culminating in a total of 62 episodes.[5][6]
Since its release in 2012, the series has generated significant controversy over its lack of racial representation and Dunham's frequent on-screen nudity,[7][8] though it has also received considerable critical acclaim and several accolades, including the 2013 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
History[]
Aspiring writer Hannah is shocked when her parents, visiting from East Lansing, Michigan, announce that they will no longer financially support her as they had done since her graduation from Oberlin College two years earlier. Left to her own devices in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Hannah navigates her twenties, "one mistake at a time."[9] Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver and Alex Karpovsky co-star as Hannah's circle of friends.
Background[]
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 Southwestand Best First Screenplay at the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards.[18][19] The independent film's success earned her the opportunity to collaborate with Judd Apatow for an HBO pilot.[20] Judd Apatow said he was drawn to Dunham's imagination after watching Tiny Furniture (2010), and added that Girls would provide men with an insight into "realistic females."[2]
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.[2] The show's look is achieved by furnishings at a number of vintage boutiques in New York, including Brooklyn Fleaand Geminola owned by the mother of Jemima Kirke.[21]
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.[2] 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.[2] Dunham herself says she "revere[s] that show just as much as any girl of my generation".[2]
As executive producer,[22] Dunham and Jennifer Konner are both showrunners of the series while Dunham is also the head writer.[23][24] Apatow is also executive producer,[22] under his Apatow Productions label. Dunham wrote or co-wrote all ten episodes of the first season and directed five, including the pilot.[22][25] Season one was filmed between April and August 2011 and consisted of 10 episodes. The second season ran on HBO from January 13, 2013, to March 17, 2013, and also consisted of 10 episodes.
On April 4, 2013, Christopher Abbott left the series after sources reported he and Dunham had differences with the direction that his reoccurring character Charlie was taking as the third season entered production.[26]Dunham announced via Instagram on September 6, 2013, that production for the third season had concluded.[27][28] Season 3, which contained 12 episodes as opposed to the previous seasons 10 episodes, ran from January 12, 2014, to March 23, 2014. The fourth season of the series started filming in April 2014.[4]
Trivia[]
- Becky Ann Baker and Peter Scolari as Loreen and Tad Horvath (season 1–6): Hannah's parents. They are both college professors at Michigan State University who live in East Lansing, Michigan. Loreen and Tad cut off Hannah's financial support in the pilot episode so that Hannah will become independent and focus on her writing. Hannah then visits them for their 30th anniversary, but does not share her recent financial troubles. In the fourth season, the marriage breaks down when Tad comes out as gay, and after a year of struggling on his own, Tad moves to New York to pursue a relationship with his new boyfriend, while Loreen adjusts to life on her own, starts consuming cannabis and eventually fills the role of grandmother to Hannah's baby. (Baker, 20 episodes; Scolari, 21 episodes)
- Christopher Abbott as Charlie Dattolo (season 1–2, 5): Marnie's ex-boyfriend, with whom she became increasingly bored. For a while they contemplate their relationship and try to make it work, but eventually this erodes and Charlie leaves the series. Upon Charlie's abrupt return in season 5, he and Marnie briefly decide to run away together until Marnie realizes Charlie isn't the person he used to be. (13 episodes)
- Kathryn Hahn and James LeGros as Katherine and Jeff Lavoyt (season 1): The parents of two young girls that Jessa babysat. Katherine is a documentary filmmaker, and Jeff is unemployed. Jeff develops a romantic interest in Jessa, which she eventually stops. She is fired, but is later visited by Katherine who offers her job back. Despite deciding not to see each other again, they have a heart-to-heart over Jeff and Jessa's inability to grow up. (4 episodes each)
- Chris O'Dowd as Thomas-John (season 1–2): An affluent venture capitalist. After an earlier unpleasant encounter with Jessa and Marnie, he ends up marrying Jessa in a surprise ceremony at the end of the first season. They break up after an unpleasant dinner with his parents. (5 episodes)
- Jon Glaser as Laird Schlesinger (season 2–6): Hannah's neighbor and a recovering drug addict. (12 episodes)
- Colin Quinn as Hermie (season 2–6): Ray's boss at the coffee shop. He dies in "Painful Evacuation" from scleroderma. (8 episodes)
- John Cameron Mitchell as David Pressler-Goings (season 2–3): Hannah's editor for her e-book. He is either bisexual or gay, as he downloaded the application Grindr in the episode "She Said OK". He is found dead in the episode "Dead Inside" with his funeral taking place at "Only Child" where it is revealed he had a wife named Annalise. (5 episodes)
- Shiri Appleby as Natalia (season 2–3): Adam's ex-girlfriend. He abruptly breaks up with her after getting back together with Hannah. (4 episodes)
- Gaby Hoffmann as Caroline Sackler (season 3–6): Adam's extremely troubled sister. She is very sarcastic towards Adam and Hannah until the latter kicks her out. She then lived with Laird, became pregnant by him and gave birth to their daughter before going AWOL in the fifth season. (8 episodes)
- Richard E. Grant as Jasper (season 3): Jessa's friend from rehab. He comes to New York to find Jessa but later leaves her to be with his estranged daughter Dot. (4 episodes)
- Gillian Jacobs as Mimi-Rose Howard (season 4), Adam's new girlfriend after Hannah moves away to Iowa. (5 episodes)
- Aidy Bryant as Abigail (season 4–6): Shoshanna's former boss from when she worked in Japan. She later appears again meeting Shoshanna and Ray by chance and works with Ray to continue Hermie's project of documenting the effects of gentrification. Ray and Abigail get on well together leading to them sharing a kiss. (4 episodes)
- Corey Stoll as Dill Harcourt (season 5–6): Elijah's love interest. (5 episodes)