Why You Should Be Watching ‘Girls’
If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll probably already have seen me waxing lyrical about HBO‘s new series ‘Girls’, but heck, it warrants being spoken about in more than 140 characters, so here we are. Being that we are in the UK, Lord only knows when this gem of a show will make it to our shores and frankly, I don’t have the patience, hence, I watch it online, so shoot me. Following the lives of four girls in New York in their early 20s, from that description you’d think it’s all fairly predictable, so what makes ‘Girls’ so special?
Alright, let’s get the obvious out of the way first: no, it’s not like Sex and the City. In fact, to even compare it is to do ‘Girls’ a disservice – and I was a fan of SITC (up until those two dire movies). Where SITC gave us escapism, in the form of four power women with no financial struggles, always looking at the top of their game, ‘Girls’ gives us New York life for a young woman, straight up, no chaser. The good, the bad and the ugly.
In the four friends; Hannah, Jessa, Marni and Shoshanna, you will find traces of characters you know in your own life. The lead character, Hannah, is a writer who, when we meet her, is doing an unpaid internship at a publishing house, struggling to feed herself and believes she’s in a ‘relationship’ with a guy who actually has no interest in her.
Why do I relate? Because I moved to New York when I was 23 to further my writing career (by doing unpaid internships), I struggled to feed myself and pretty much all my ‘relationships’ in my early 20s were with men who had no interest in me. This character is basically me and my life. And Lena Dunham (creator and writer of the show) plays her to perfection.
It is brilliantly written, with classic, stand out funny lines and a truly excellent soundtrack. The girls live in Brooklyn and the locations used highlight what a beautiful part of the city it is.
All in all, the look, the feel, the message and the awesome script make this well worth watching. The first series (comprised of ten episodes) just finished in the States a couple of weeks ago – I am now watching the whole thing for a second time, to fully digest any bits of genius I missed during the first viewings. What I also love is that the show has a wicked Twitter account and they’re on Instagram – basically, I’m just behind anything that embraces technology and uses it to its advantage.
Since we don’t know when it’ll be out on these shores, you may just be able to watch it online here, but I didn’t tell you that.
To learn more about ‘Girls’ check out the HBO website.
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Tags: girls, HBO, Lena Dunham, tv
