Lena Dunham, the creator and star of the series, announced it on social media with a group call, asking the cast about their summer plans and suggesting they return to shooting the series. In 2012, when we discovered Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna on TV, we had no idea how revolutionary Girls would be. We had recently said goodbye to Gossip Girl and The O.C..
Girls captured that feeling of thinking you had it all figured out at twenty and discovering that college credits don't guarantee a salary. It nailed the questionable choices the characters made in love, the awkward and sometimes not even enjoyable sex they were having, and the anxiety of a future that was beginning to reveal itself as a broken promise. In those formative years, where “formative” means “making mistakes in the hope of learning,” the protagonists of Girls were making the same mistakes as us.
The series did not teach or romanticize; instead, it spoke about the real life of 20-somethings, and the fact that it was written and performed by a 25-year-old Dunham made this story authentic, creating great empathy with those watching at home. So while we wait for the revival, here are other series to watch, featuring protagonists we can see ourselves in, which might even help us understand ourselves better—why not. One of the most acclaimed series of recent years, born from a Phoebe Waller-Bridge stage show; she is also the writer and star of the streaming production.
The 30-year-old Fleabag, constantly breaking the fourth wall, hides deep traumas behind sarcasm that she processes with us, in a story full of irony and raw reality, just like life itself. You can find it on Prime Video. More comedic than Girls but just as tied to post-adolescent realism, this series, which began as a web project and then made its way to streaming, centers on two 20-somethings in New York: Abbi, an aspiring illustrator, and Ilana, who wants to avoid becoming an adult.
Both are trying to survive in the broad city, while, more or less willingly, they get themselves into bizarre situations that make up the plot of each episode. Jane, Kat, and Sutton are three 20-somethings who work for a women’s magazine in New York. Full of ambitions and fears, they try to find their way, exploring their identities and sexuality and pursuing their goals while standing by one another.
A series about friendship and more, which also touches on sensitive issues, always through the eyes of its young protagonists. You can find it on Hulu, Disney+, or HBO Max. We have Dunham to thank for this Netflix Gem, too.
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