The Playlist

'Family Guy' Shoots A Load On 'Girls' In For Your Consideration Poster Parody For Emmy Campaign

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 14, 2013 3:50 PM
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4 Comments

Television

Of course, nothing has been sacred when it comes to "Family Guy" and making jokes. No subject, person, historical event or [insert whatever] has been out of bounds for the creators, so as the four-time Emmy winning show gears up for another campaign, they've put last year's breakout show firmly on their radar.

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Christopher Abbott (AKA Charlie) Abruptly Exits 'Girls' Season 3 As Production Starts

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 4, 2013 9:04 AM
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21 Comments

Television

The unstoppable "Girls" may have just closed out its second season with its divisive finale, but it looks like one of the major storyline developments is getting an unexpected shakeup. Not all is sunny on Lena Dunham's set of the now-shooting third season, and one major character has abruptly exited the show.

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Recap: After An Adventurous Season 2, 'Girls' Finale Plays It Safe & Conventional

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 18, 2013 9:56 AM
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3 Comments

Television

It has been a pretty adventurous second season for "Girls," and one has to look no further than the experimental, format-breaking mid-season episodes. The nearly standalone short film "One Man's Trash," the Staten Island-set "Boys" and Jessa one-off "Video Games" were all fascinating detours from the show's more traditional HBO comedy format, and often delivered bigger dramatic and emotional payoffs. But as the series wound down, the return to a more conventional approach has been less satisfying, and this weekend's finale is certainly a let down for anyone hoping that Lena Dunham might regularly be taking "Girls" into bolder waters structurally.

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Recap: Charlie & Marnie Spin Their Wheels As The Jim & Pam Of 'Girls' In Subpar Outing

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 11, 2013 10:02 AM
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3 Comments

Television

How do you solve a problem like Marnie? If you're a writer for "Girls," it's currently a difficult one to puzzle out. The idea of having her and Hannah switch roles, with Marnie's life falling apart while her (former) best friend begins to have a taste of success, is a great one. And bringing to light some of the unsavory and unlikeable aspects of her personality to add a little of grime to the pretty face and fabulous dresses, is a nice touch too. But outside of that, Lena Dunham and co. haven't really figured out what to do with Marnie this season. Allison Williams has been more than game to follow her character on a downward spiral, from her brief drunken sexual encounter with Elijah to her misguided relationship with Booth. But at some point, this on again/off again thing with ex-boyfriend Charlie (Christopher Abbott) has got to end.

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Recap: The Gang Returns In 'Girls' As Dreams & Disorder Take Center Stage

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 4, 2013 10:02 AM
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1 Comment

Television

After three episodes of detours, following the travails of Hannah (Lena Dunham), Ray (Alex Karpovsky) and Adam (Adam Driver), and the for-the-moment departed Jessa (Jemima Kirke), "Girls" gets the gang back together for yet another strong episode in which some of our favorite supporting players get to shine. For those feeling a bit let down by the recent experimental plays on form from Dunham, last night's episode returns to season one familiarity, with results just as winning as anything the show has done.

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Recap: 'Girls' Goes To The Country With Jessa & Hannah

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 25, 2013 10:02 AM
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0 Comments

Television

After the solo Hannah episode two weeks back and last Sunday's focus on Ray and Adam, once again "Girls" is allowing its focus to flesh out a particular character, with Jessa (Jemima Kirke) getting the spotlight. The episode kicks off with her and Hannah (Lena Dunham) at the Manitou train station, about an hour outside of New York City, where they're awaiting Jessa's father and a weekend out in the country, in an episode that seems to ultimately serve as a goodbye to the character for a while.

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Recap: Staten Island Is Really Getting Ray & Adam Down In 'Girls'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 17, 2013 9:30 PM
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2 Comments

Television

If last week's episode of "Girls" is still being talked about as an outstanding outlier in the series thus far, an almost self-contained, Euro-flavored short film, this week the show returns to more familiar territor but still retains a melancholic air. Once again pitching focus, as the title suggests, we spend much more time with the guys as Adam (Adam Driver) and Ray (Alex Karpovsky) take center stage, while we also visit Marnie (Allison Williams), who continues her relationship with Booth Jonathan (Jorma Taccone). But before we get there, we kick things off with Hannah (Lena Dunham).

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Recap: Hannah Tastes The Good Life In Melancholy, Boundary-Pushing 'Girls'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 11, 2013 10:22 AM
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5 Comments

Television

After rolling out of the gate for season two with solid, but not especially top-tier episodes, last week "Girls" finally stepped up and delivered the best effort of the season thus far. Incorporating the entire cast equally, it was both funny and moving, an emotionally real installment that pushed forward a handful of storylines into some interesting directions. But if that episode was Lena Dunham at the height of her powers, delivering the kind of material we've come to expect, "One Man's Trash" is an eye-opening preview of where this talent can go. Unlike anything we've seen in the series so far, last night's episode shifted in unexpected, near profound ways, opening up a new dimension for the series we hope to see more of.

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Recap: 'Girls' Delivers Best Episode Of Season 2 Yet With The Touching "It's A Shame About Ray"

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 4, 2013 10:04 AM
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2 Comments

News

With the second season of "Girls" arriving less than a year after the first season wrapped, and with the third season slated to start production in March, we've been wondering if the quick turnaround has had a detrimental effect on the show. So far season two has been good, just not great. The first three episodes have hopscotched around a bit, setting up the characters again in the premiere, quickly dealing with an interracial relationship by the end of the second episode and last week, the show dipped toward novelty with cocaine-fueled hijinks. However, last night Dunham delivered an episode that harkens back to the heart and humor that made the first season so winning, in what is easily this season's best instalment so far.

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Recap: 'Girls' Tries Cocaine & Discovers A Bad Friend

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 28, 2013 10:05 AM
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0 Comments

Reviews

The first season of "Girls" was both entertaining and refreshing simply by the virtue of Lena Dunham's voice, which found a milieu of New York City life for young women that was perhaps more real and honest than anything we've seen on television in quite some time. Spanning flawed to fabulous, sometimes in the same episode, these characters were not only three dimensional and complex, so too were the episodes around them, which rarely fell back on novelty gimmicks.

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