“Girls” is undoubtedly the best show ever created, especially if you’re in your 20s and still figuring the whole life thing out (so, basically everyone). It’s a brilliant and brutally honest depiction of just what it takes as you stumble into the chaos of adulthood. If you love “Sex and the City,” like the rest of us, but lack the brunch budget, confidence or designer wardrobe, let me introduce you to your new holy grail.
Premiering in 2012, Lena Dunham’s “Girls” dives into the lives of four post-grads trying to make sense of adulthood in New York City. The thing about this group, however, is none of them are necessarily likable. They are alternatively lovable, selfish, infuriating and sympathetic – almost just like the people you know in real life (and even yourself). That’s what Dunham did so right. She was able to write characters that you simultaneously loathe and admire as they capture the confusion, entitlement, vulnerability and, most important of all, the contradictions of your 20s.
Being young is messy, and these four show just that. Hannah wants to be a writer, with no idea what to say, and wants a boyfriend, with no idea what that looks like. Marnie, Hannah’s best friend, seems to have it figured out in the beginning, but her own sabotaging tendencies get in her way. The free-spirited, never settling Jessa is so cool and carefree while also being unreliable and unstable. Shoshanna, her cousin, seems immature and, at times, too naively optimistic, but eventually the most grounded and focused. They are a walking disaster that makes you feel a little better about your own life.
The thing about “Girls” is that, especially in the early 2010s, it dove headfirst into topics no one dared to touch on television. It talks about abortion and STDs, the ugly and taboo realities of having sex. It explores mental health realistically, watching Hannah deal with her OCD. Almost every character struggles with their careers. They often show unflattering angles of the real female body. The show shows sex for what it really is sometimes – awkward, uncomfortable and confusing. And, most importantly of all, it shows how difficult and taxing maintaining friendships can be during this time of your life.
Few shows then, and since then, have been able to explore young adulthood in such a vulnerable way. As time progresses, it still stands as a “must-watch” for everyone still figuring it out. It is bold and unwilling to shy away from the truth of getting older. In your 20s we’re all confused and we all doubt ourselves, and if you ever begin to forget that, turn on your newest favorite show. Because, as Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna remind us, we are all in this mess together.
