TV Review: Girls Premiere

HBO's latest sitcom, Girls, tackles sex and love in New York City with an exhilarating honesty. Produced by Judd Apatow and written, directed by, and starring Lena Dunham, last night's first episode was reminiscent of the latter's semi-autobiographical breakthrough, Tiny Furniture, looking at life in NYC through the lens of a twentysomething with big ambitions but little hope.

Here Dunham plays Hannah, a self-conscious aspiring writer who believes she may be the voice of her generation. The pilot has her "groovy lifestyle"--as her no-nonsense mother puts it--cut short when her parents decide to stop paying her way. Two years out of college with a non-paying internship, no job prospects, and a horridly insensitive boyfriend (Adam Driver), Hannah is kicked out of the nest and forced to grow up, supported by her circle of friends, which includes her prudish but practical roommate, Marnie (Allison Williams), and her British Bohemian gal pal with a serious case of wanderlust, Jessa (Jemima Kirke), as well as Jessa's preppy, Sex & the City-obsessed cousin, Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet).

Inviting the comparison, Girls immediately rejects Sex & the City's sense of whimsy and fantasy, by revealing the not-so-fabulous side of living in New York. Wielding her sharp and insightful sense of observational humor, Dunham offers a refreshingly frank and unsentimental perspective on sex and friendship that's sure to make Girls a series worth following.

You can check out the first episode of Girls for free on HBO.com, YouTube, DailyMotion, TV.com, and various on-demand platforms from April 16th through May 14th.