It has been nearly 10 years since Girlsended, and the show is already beginning to see a resurgence. Led by Lena Dunham (Hannah Helene Horvath), the show starred four women who struggle to manage their lives in the heart of New York City. Dunham starred alongside Allison Williams (Marnie), Jemima Kirke (Jessa), Zosia Mamet (Shoshanna), and Adam Driver (Adam Sackler). The show ran from 2012 to 2017 and featured over 60 episodes across Girls‘ six seasons. While it entered dormancy after the series ended, it has quietly begun to experience a revival, as new audiences are discovering the show.
In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan, Williams opened up about the renewed interest in the series. Williams believes that, because older viewers are now “in the safety of their adulthood“, they can “enjoy watching the chaos” in a way that they could not before. New audiences, however, are “watching a version of their own existence” that is not necessarily close enough to sting. Williams believes that it is the perfect time for both Gen Z and Millennials to approach the series. Check out her full quote below:
I don’t know if it’s just my algorithm, but there’s a sudden, very big resurgence of everyone watching Girls.
There is, actually. I think it is actually just happening. It’s real. It’s incredibly gratifying and very cool…but I am loving it. Gen Z is having a moment with the show almost 10 years after we made it. When the millennial generation was watching it, we were watching our own life happening, and I think now, for my friends, they’re all doing rewatches because now they feel like they’re in the safety of their adulthood and they can enjoy watching the chaos.
And then for current 22-year-olds or whatever, they’re watching a version of their own existence that’s just far enough away that they can enjoy it. And it also means that people like Marnie now, which is not something I lived with while we were making the show. People vehemently hated her. And I do think M3GAN is a Marnie
What This Means For Girls’ Legacy
The Show Is Finally Getting The Attention It Deserves
Marnie was certainly a controversial character, much like the rest of the Girls cast, given that they were designed to be relatively unlikable. She was self-centered, vaguely egotistical, and constantly attempted to micromanage the lives of her friends. While that led to immense vilification at the time, recent years have allowed audiences to develop some empathy for Marnie and other similar characters, given major cultural shifts since the COVID-19 pandemic began. With audiences growing up and looking back at their own 20s, the perception of Marnie is changing.
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The same is true for Girls as a whole, as it was somewhat ahead of its time. Other shows that are like Girlsgenerally came after the series ended, as The Sex Lives of College Girls, Sort Of, and Uncoupled did. Only Sex and the City truly preceded it, and even that was controversial at the time of its debut. The idea of unlikable characters engaging in day-to-day life can be grating to some viewers, but this resurgence means that audiences can now view these characters in their appropriate context without necessarily projecting them onto themselves.
Our Take On Girls’ Resurgence
Streaming Is Saving Shows From Obscurity
In previous decades, it would have been difficult for shows to gain new audiences after officially ending. Without syndication, they would simply fall into obscurity, as they would only be available through physical recordings. Streaming networks, however, are allowing audiences to connect with shows that would otherwise have been lost. On HBO Max, however, viewers can easily watch shows like Girls without even needing to search for them. This show deserved the attention, and it is great to see that the streaming era is saving these otherwise forgotten franchises.
