History Series / Girls5eva

* ArtifactTitle: The group was named [=Girls5eva=] for their five-member lineup, which obviously becomes a NonIndicativeName when they return as a foursome.

* BadInfluencer:
** In the first episode, the women (former members of a [[invoked]]OneHitWonder GirlGroup) consider fellow member Wickie to be well above their league, since she's become something of a "girlboss" influencer with thousands of Instagram followers, [[HistoryWithCelebrity various celebrity interactions]], and an up-and-coming handbag business. However, it is shortly revealed that she's a MockMillionaire with a FallenOnHardTimesJob who was faking her online success. After the group reunites she's the most success-focused since she wants to return to the life of luxury she used to lead in the past and was pretending to lead in the present.
** Wickie herself enters into a relationship with a devoted younger man... who promptly reveals himself to be ''two'' different guys with followings on [=TikTok=]. They continuously switched out as part of an online prank, and Wickie didn't notice because of her narcissism.
** Ditzy, rich, and shallow Summer, while a celebrity endorser in her own right, has a daughter whose attitudes towards social media are intended to creep the audience out. She is introduced filming an 'unboxing' video and reacts negatively and woodenly when Dawn gives her a gift, since any endorsement must be done through the proper channels. Oh, and she's ''a preteen''.

* FamilyVersusCareer: Prior to ''[=Girls5eva=]'''s reunion, Dawn and Scott were planning for a second baby. Her revitalized dreams of pop stardom puts a stop to this plan for now. Scott isn't thrilled about it but tries to be understanding.

* SpiritualSuccessor: The series is comparable to the early 2000s Creator/{{MTV}} series ''2gether'', which similarly followed a fictional pop group with a [[Letters2Numbers similar name]] and satirized the industry at the time.
* TransparentCloset: Summer's husband Kev is obviously gay, obvious to everyone except Summer and Kev himself.

* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Parodied with the concept of the "New York lonely boy": a young boy who, because he's [[OnlyChildSyndrome an only child]], makes friends with doormen, enjoys going to the bookstore, watches documentaries, listens to Creator/{{NPR}} every day, and gets niche hobbies.

** In "Can't Wait 2 Wait," the group is asked to write a love song. Dawn mutters, "[[Music/SaraBareilles I'm not gonna write them a love song 'cause they asked for it]]."

* ActorAllusion: Wickie mentions that she had a "Henrietta Lacks situation with HPV cells". Her actress Creator/ReneeEliseGoldsberry played Lacks in the biopic ''Film/TheImmortalLifeOfHenriettaLacks''.

The series premiered on Creator/{{Peacock}} in May 2021.

* MockMillionaire: Wickie is actually doing much worse than the successful entrepreneur/influencer she presents herself as.

The titular group is comprised of Dawn Solano (Music/SaraBareilles), the timid sweetheart; Summer Dutkowsky (Creator/BusyPhilipps), the vapid [[HollywoodToneDeaf non-singer]]; Gloria [=McManus=] (Creator/PaulaPell), the former [[GayEuphemism "tomboy"]]; and Wickie Roy (Creator/ReneeEliseGoldsberry), the glamorous diva. Creator/AshleyPark also appears in flashbacks as [[TheDanza Ashley Gold]], the [[PosthumousCharacter deceased]] member of the group.

When [[TheNineties late '90s]] {{girl group}} [=Girls5eva=] unexpectedly returns to relevancy after their first ([[OneHitWonder and only]]) hit single is sampled by an up-and-coming rapper, the ladies (now in middle age) reunite in the hopes of [[CareerResurrection making a comeback]]. Now they must navigate a music industry that's very different from how it was in the Y2K area, fight the mentality that they are past their prime, and deal with their own personal dramas.

* MistakenForCheating: Kev's suspicious behavior leads the girls to believe that he's cheating on Summer (and almsot certain with another man). His actual secret is that he's quit his job to start a hermit crab rescue shelter, which mollifies Summer for a second before Gloria points out the obvious (that Kev is still hiding from Summer whatever the reason, that their relationship has collapsed and that the shelter is a clear expression of Kev's [[{{Gayngst}} anxiety over his true sexuality]]).

* PublicityStunt: InUniverse, Kev and Summer's relationship started as a ploy to sell Noxzema. * PuttingTheBandBackTogether: The protagonists were once a GirlGroup, and reunite twenty or so years after their breakup for a second shot at pop stardom.

* MistakenForCheating: Kev's suspicious behavior leads the girls to believe that he's cheating on Summer (and almsot certain with another man). His actual secret is that he's quit his job to start a hermit crab rescue shelter, which mollifies Summer for a second before Gloria points out the obvious (that Kev is still hiding from Summer whatever the reason, that their relationship has collapsed and that the shelter is a clear expression of Kev's [[{{Gayngst}} anxiety over his true sexuality]].

* MistakenForCheating: Kev's suspicious behavior leads the girls to believe that he's cheating on Summer (and almsot certain with another man). His actual secret is that he's quit his job to start a hermit crab rescue shelter, which mollifies Summer for a second before Gloria points out the obvious (that Kev is still hiding from Summer whatever the reason, that their relationship has collapsed and that the shelter is a clear expression of Kv's [[{{Gayngst}} anxiety over his true sexuality]].

* PublicityStunt: InUniverse, Kev and Summer's relationship started as a ploy to sell Noxzema.

* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: The protagonists were once a GirlGroup, and reunite twenty or so years after their breakup for a second shot at pop stardom.

The titular group is comprised of Dawn Solano (Music/SaraBareilles), the timid sweetheart; Summer Dutkowsky (Creator/BusyPhilipps), the vapid [[HollywoodToneDeaf non-singer]]; Gloria [=McManus=] (Paula Pell), the former [[GayEuphemism "tomboy"]]; and Wickie Roy (Creator/ReneeEliseGoldsberry), the glamorous diva. Creator/AshleyPark also appears in flashbacks as [[TheDanza Ashley Gold]], the [[PosthumousCharacter deceased]] member of the group.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Alf Musik is a parody of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Martin Max Martin]], a prolific Swedish songwriter and producer responsible for some of the world's biggest hits.

* ReclusiveArtist: InUniverse. Alf Musik, a Swedish-American songwriter who has won every music award there is multiple times and has written for many A-list musicians, is notoriously hard to get ahold of because he is a recluse. After [=Girls5eva=] manage to get an audience with him, he agrees to write them a song because they are his only failure.

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* ActorAllusion: Wickie mentions that she had a "Henrietta Lacks situation with HPV cells". Her actress Creator/ReneeEliseGoldsberry played Lacks in the biopic ''The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks''.

* ActorAllusion: Wickie mentions that she had a "Henrietta Lacks situation with HPV cells". Her actress Creator/ReneeEliseGoldsberry played Lacks in the biopic ''Film/TheImmortalLifeOfHenriettaLacks''.

-->'''Summar:''' I don't want to just be the hot one. I wanna know stuff, read about stuff in books, and then, when I take my glasses off, people will say, "Oh, my God. Wow. She's also hot."

* MemeticMutation: "Cease and desist, bitch!", a line from one of Wickie's tirades, has become an InUniverse meme after Zander's lipsync of the moment when viral. Gay men come up to Wickie to say the line, and Zander has been selling merchandise with the line.

* OnceMoreWithClarity: Played for laughs in "Catskills". We initially see Gloria and Caroline's reconnection through Gloria's eyes and they both appear to be having a good time. Later, however, we see the same events through Caroline's point of view, and Gloria is high-strung the whole time.

When [[TheNineties late '90s]] {{girl group}} [=Girls5eva=] unexpectedly returns to relevancy after their first ([[OneHitWonder and only]]) hit single is sampled by an up-and-coming rapper, the ladies (now in middle age) reunite in the hopes of making a comeback. Now they must navigate a music industry that's very different from how it was in the '90s, and one that thinks they are past their prime, while dealing with their own personal dramas.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Summer's husband Kev, a former {{boy band}} member, has very stereotypical gay mannerisms (and is played by Creator/AndrewRannells), but his sexuality is discussed but never explicitly stated.
* ArmoredClosetGay: Gloria mentions that she tried to go deeper into the closet to deny her sexuality. However, this resulted in mental anguish that manifested itself as an obsession with SteamPunk that became too much for even the most hardcore members of the Steampunk community.

* ButchLesbian: Gloria is a downplayed example. She's not especially masculine in appearance or personality, but she's also the least traditionally feminine of the four and comes across as butch by comparison.

* DirtyOldMan: Larry, the group's former manager, seems to believe that "air honking" women's breasts is perfectly acceptable now that he's gone through mandatory sensitivity training.

* DumbBlonde: Summer is the only blonde member of [=Girls5eva=] and is the least bright of all of them because she's never had to think for herself.

* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: In flashbacks, Gloria struggles to pretend that she likes boys.
-->'''Gloria:''' I'm Gloria and I love performing almost as much as I love boys! Because...I like how men's bodies are flat and then there's...a tube!

* HiddenDepths:
** In "Catskills", the kooky owner of the [=AirBnb=] the girls stay at is a former ''Series/AmericanIdol'' winner with a killer voice.
** Kev initially seems like a self-absorbed ex-boy bander, but it turns out that he's [[spoiler:dedicated his life to rehabilitating hermit crabs in Florida]]. He's still a crappy husband, though, and [[spoiler:Summer eventually divorces him.]]

* IHaveThisFriend: Summer gets Kev to spend more time with her by claiming it's what Stevia (their distant and disaffected daughter) wants.

* MeaningfulRename: Played for laughs. Between the first and eighth episodes rapper Lil Stinker rebranded himself Stinker because he's ready to take on more mature material.

* MistakenForCheating: Despite a multitude of suspicious purchases, including a trip to the Florida Keys and a bulk order of condoms, [[spoiler:Kev isn't cheating on Summer. He's instead rehabilitating hermit crabs.]]
* MockMillionaire: Wickie has been pretending to be a successful and glamorous businesswoman. It turns out that she's just been pretending; her job at an airport allowed her to fake owning a private jet.

* {{Narcissist}}: Wickie is exceedingly self-absorbed and doesn't even notice that she was dating two guys (who kept switching out) at the same time until they revealed it to be a [=TikTok=] prank.

-->'''Wickie:''' Why are you whispering?\\
'''Dawn:''' I'm aware of the history of the word, okay?

* PersonAsVerb: They refer to going solo as "Wickie-ing" after Wickie unsuccessfully tried to break out by herself in the 2000s.
* PetTheDog: Gloria takes pity on Summer and tries to be supportive as she struggles in her marriage with Kev. Later, Gloria tries to be as gentle as possible in showing Summer that Kev is gay and that staying with him will only lead to more misery.

* PosthumousCharacter: Ashley, one of the original members of the group, died in 2004 and is only seen in flashbacks. Her absence partially convinces the surviving members to reunite.

* SexierAlterEgo: Invoked and parodied. After Dawn feels rattled knowing her husband is in the audience, Summer urges her to come up with a fierce alter ego in the vein of [[Music/{{Beyonce}} Sasha Fierce]] and [[Music/NickiMinaj Roman Zolanski]]. Dawn comes up with "Fledge Mulholland", a confident and striking woman with a lurid backstory, even if everyone agrees her name is ridiculous.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Wickie continues to act like a diva despite her time in the spotlight having ended decades ago.

* TimeShiftedActor: Erika Henningsen portrays young Gloria in flashbacks.
** An uncredited young boy portrays young Kev in a cereal ad in "A.I.R.P.I.G.", but is still voiced by Creator/AndrewRannells.
* TransparentCloset:
** Kev insists he's heterosexual and Summer desperately hopes it's true, but everyone else can see that they're trying to maintain a fracturing fantasy.
** Gloria was terrible at hiding the fact that she was a lesbian during the group's glory days, refusing to hang out with a contemporary BoyBand and wearing a helmet during a shoot that required kissing a man.
* UnderstandingBoyfriend: PlayedWith in Scott. He and Dawn love each other, but he's dismayed that [=Girls5eva=]'s comeback interferes with their longterm plan for a family, and is insecure that he won't be a suitable partner for Dawn if she becomes famous again. However, he accepts that it's what Dawn wants and tries to be more understanding.
* UndignifiedDeath: Ashley died after swimming off the side of an infinity pool.

* VirtualCelebrity: The group obtains a hologram of Ashley to perform alongside them, but it's glitchy and ends up reading out Gloria's emails in public.
* TheWorkaholic: Gloria realizes that she threw herself into work to avoid having to socialize with men while a part of [=Girls5eva=]. This habit carried over as she started a dental practice and she even worked up to the last minute on her own wedding day.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Gloria appears much older than her bandmates, but also mentions that she's the youngest member of the group. In real life, Paula Pell is the oldest of the four regulars, nearing sixty years old as of the first season, and is the only one to get a TimeshiftedActor to play her character during the group's heyday. This is explained by how she's a workaholic.

When [[TheNineties late '90s]] {{girl group}} [=Girls5eva=] unexpectedly returns to relevancy after their first ([[OneHitWonder and only]]) hit single is sampled by an up-and-coming rapper, the ladies reunite in the hopes of making a comeback. Among them are Dawn Solano (Music/SaraBareilles), the timid sweetheart; Summer Dutkowsky (Creator/BusyPhilipps), the vapid [[HollywoodToneDeaf non-singer]]; Gloria [=McManus=] (Paula Pell), the former [[GayEuphemism "tomboy"]]; and Wickie Roy (Creator/ReneeEliseGoldsberry), the glamorous diva. Creator/AshleyPark also appears in flashbacks as [[TheDanza Ashley Gold]], the [[PosthumousCharacter deceased]] member of the group.

* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: The protagonists were once a GirlGroup, and reunite twenty or so years after their breakup for a second shot at pop stardom in the beginning.

* WelcomeToCorneria: The group obtains a hologram of Ashley to perform alongside them, but it's glitchy and ends up reading out Gloria's emails in public.

* SelfParody: The songs Dawn initially writes sound a lot like her actress Music/SaraBareilles's music, except with totally ridiculous lyrics.

* AgeGapRomance: In the fourth episode, Nick and Wickie discuss the nuances of dating someone younger. Nick is in disbelief that Wickie's current boytoy Cray is apparently so devoted to her. [[spoiler:He's actually two people setting her up for a [=TikTok=] prank, though.

* FakeShemp: The pilot features a flashback of [=Girls5eva=] on ''Series/{{TRL}}''. While Carson Daly voices himself, he is portrayed on screen by a body double seen from the back.

* LGBTFanbase: Discussed InUniverse. While at a gay party, Summer comments on the attendees' "diva worship" towards Wickie, telling the others that they are drawn to divas and figures like Creator/JudyGarland because of their ability to project strength and vulnerability.

* HiddenDepths: Kev initially seems like a self-absorbed ex-boy bander, but it turns out that he's [[spoiler:dedicated his life to rehabilitating hermit crabs in Florida]]. He's still a crappy husband, though, and [[spoiler:Summer eventually divorces him.]]

* ShoutOut: The series has many references to [=1990s=], [=2010s=] and [=2020s=] pop culture due to being about women who were briefly famous in the '90s and are trying to make it again in the 2020s.
** The group becoming a foursome despite being named for its five members echoes Music/FifthHarmony retaining their name even after their lineup change.
** Episode 1:
*** Li'l Stinker's options for {{sampling}} include "[[PlaygroundSong Baby Shark]]" backwards, Creator/SharonStone, and Creator/OliverStone. (
*** The girls have media appearances with Creator/LarryKing and Creator/CarsonDaly. In the present they reunite on ''Series/TheTonightShowStarringJimmyFallon''.
*** Larry is trying to make one of his clients "the next Music/BillieEilish".
*** Summer mentions multiple failed auditions for ''Series/DesperateHousewives''.
*** "We're not little Music/ArianaGrande's anymore."
*** Caroline is teaching a course about Creator/DwayneJohnson.
** Episode 2:
*** When Wickie claims that "Scott" is not a black name, Scott mentions Music/KidCudi[[note]]born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi[[/note]], Scottie Pippen, and Music/TravisScott.
*** The celebrities that played Jingle Ball in 2001: Music/{{Pink}}, Music/AliciaKeys, and Music/JayZ.
*** "Let's warm up with some Music/{{Britney|Spears}} scales. [=#FreeBritney=]"
** Episode 3:
*** Alf Musik's contacts include Music/{{Future}} (whom he rejected because he wants to work in the present), Music/JustinBieber's pastor, and Music/EdSheeran.
*** The girls get a meeting by pretending to be representatives for Masterclass.
---->'''Emil:''' Alf is out of the country, but I'll relay the message.\\
'''[=Girls5eva=]''': Not a problem. We'll just call Music/DavidGuetta instead.\\
'''Alf:''' David Guetta? I am superior. Set the meeting, Emil.
*** "It has been an entire Music/{{Zendaya}} since you have recorded music."
*** Creator/CharliDAmelio gets a reference as one of the influencers who could help propel them to stardom.
*** Dawn despairs when she hears her son Max listen to Creator/{{NPR}}.
---->'''Dawn:''' Shut up, Michael Barbaro!