History Series / Girls

An {{Creator/HBO}} comedy-drama series about a FourGirlEnsemble living and loving in [[BigApplesauce New York City]]. No, not [[Series/SexAndTheCity that one]].

That ''[[Series/SexAndTheCity other]]'' {{Creator/HBO}} comedy-drama series about a FourGirlEnsemble living in [[BigApplesauce New York City]].

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/girlstropes_6098.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[WaxingLyrical So many girls in here, where do I begin?]][[note]]L to R: Jessa, Marnie, Hannah, Shoshanna[[/note]]]]

The ''[[Series/SexAndTheCity other]]'' {{Creator/HBO}} series starring a FourGirlEnsemble living in [[BigApplesauce New York City]], ''Girls'' is a {{dramedy}} series created, co-produced[[note]]with Creator/JuddApatow[[/note]], written by and starring Creator/LenaDunham which follows the lives of four young women transitioning into full-blown adulthood. The show ran for six seasons from 2012 to 2017.

* '''Hannah Horvath''' (Dunham), TheLeader of the group and a recent college graduate who, after being cut off by her parents, is fired from her interning job after demanding full-time employment from her boss. She finds employment as a writer.
* '''Marnie Michaels''' (Creator/AllisonWilliams), Hannah's best friend and art gallery assistant. A bit of an IceQueen, she's in a long-term relationship with a loving boyfriend, but finds herself bored with him. She settles on a career in music.
* '''Jessa Johansson''' (Creator/JemimaKirke), a [[TheDrifter drifting]], [[GranolaGirl Bohemian]] Brit who returns to New York after a bit of traveling around. She has a reputation for being unpredictable and flaky.
* '''Shoshanna Shapiro''' (Creator/ZosiaMamet), Jessa's American cousin. An excitable [[TheIngenue ingenue]], Shoshanna is extremely insecure about being a virgin, and despite having the most ambition and goals of the girls, she has the least clear idea of what she wants from her life.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[WaxingLyrical So many girls in here, where do I begin?]][[note]]\\
L to R: Jessa, Marnie, Hannah, Shoshanna[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:300:[[WaxingLyrical So many girls in here, where do I begin?]][[note]]L to R: Jessa, Marnie, Hannah, Shoshanna[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:300:[[WaxingLyrical So many girls in here, where do I begin?]]]]

That ''[[Series/SexAndTheCity other]]'' {{Creator/HBO}} series starring a FourGirlEnsemble living in [[BigApplesauce New York City]], ''Girls'' is a dramedy co-produced (with Creator/JuddApatow), written by, and starring Creator/LenaDunham which follows the lives of four young women transitioning into full-blown adulthood. The show ran for six seasons from 2012 to 2017.

The show's tone is difficult to encapsulate, engendering a polarizing response. It relies on CringeComedy and tongue-in-cheek humor, portraying its characters as immature, flawed and often deeply selfish--{{Designated Hero}}es, in short, who may be lovable but are not necessarily likable. The show also catches flak for being almost comically hipsterish, privileged, white, and New York-centric. Critics, however, have come down pretty strongly on the "Love It" side; the show's won a number of "Best Comedy" and "Best Performance" Golden Globes and Emmys, as well as a "Best Comedy Director" for Dunham from the Directors' Guild of America--the first time a woman has ever won that award.

* Hannah's impious behaviour at [[spoiler: David's]] funeral stands out. She actually does try to act appropriately, but then she winds up expressing concern only for herself and her book project, in front of the widow, no less. Adam has to call her out several times during that story-arc.
** Marnie [[spoiler:getting engaged to Desi. They've only been together for a few months (to be fair, not counting the time when he ''cheated on his previous girfriend'' with her...), are far from being functional in any way whatsoever and getting married is one of the most stupid ways to fix that.]]

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Frequently, both male and female.
** Hell, the second episode of the fifth season shows Adam and Jessa doing it ''individually'' on opposite ends of a sofa.

** ItsAllAboutMe: This has incredibly harmful effects on friendships and relationships in general, and cause many recurring characters to actually despise the protagonists.
** IdealizedSex: Averted. EveryoneHasLotsOfSex, but it's easier to count the number of times people have good sex.
** FriendsRentControl: Several arcs and motivations are kicked off because people can't afford their lifestyles. This is played straighter as the series goes on, with many of the characters having no problem finding jobs whenever the plot demands, many of which still couldn't support their rent.

* SuperOCD: Hannah has had obsessive-compulsive disorder since her teens, and suffers a major relapse as a result of her breakup with Adam and her nervousness over her e-book deal.

---> '''Marnie:''' I know that, and it's fucking hard, but did you really think [[spoiler:you and Adam were gonna be [[OfficialCouple a forever couple]]?]]
---> '''Hannah:''' I would've liked the chance to find out.
---> '''Marnie:''' I think you have your answer.

* SpiritualSuccessor: As a FourGirlEnsemble dramedy set in New York that airs on HBO, it's naturally one to ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. [[ShoutOut Shoshanna even has a poster of the SATC movie in her apartment, and designates Jessa as a Carrie/Samantha]].

* DudeNotFunny: InUniverse, Hannah gets this reaction after [[WhatAnIdiot making a joke implying that the guy conducting her job interview is a date rapist]]. Needless to say, she isn't hired.

* ShesGotLegs: For the promotional photos for the first season, the main girls show off a lot of leg....

* YouHaveToHaveJews: Shoshanna, Adam and Elijah due to surnames (Shapiro, Sackler and Krantz). Also...Shoshanna, by virtue of being called Shoshanna. {{Word of God}} states that the four main girls are "[[http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls two Jews and two WASPs]]", but it's not clear who the other is. (As for the actors, Lena Dunham, Zosia Mamet, and Jemima Kirke all have a Jewish parent.)

Supporting characters include Adam Sackler (Creator/AdamDriver), an awkward carpenter and actor; Ray Plochansky (Alex Karpovsky), manager of a coffee shop and about ten years older than the rest of the cast; Elijah Krantz (Creator/AndrewRannells), whose LastHetRomance was with Hannah; and Tad and Loreen Horvath (Creator/PeterScolari and Becky Ann Baker), Hannah's long-suffering parents. CastCalculus being what it is, basically every character except Hannah's parents has had a flirtation with at least two of the girls. (Yes, even Elijah.)