Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys
Encyclopedia
Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys is an American reality television series. Each season follows the lives of four gay men and their female best friends. The series debuted on the Sundance Channel on December 7, 2010. World of Wonder produces Girls. Season one was set in New York City.
Critical response to Girls was mixed, trending toward negative among the mainstream press and positive among the gay press. Citing the similarity in premise to Will & Grace
, critics tended to dismiss the show as short on dramatic interest.
The Sundance Channel announced on March 2, 2011 casting calls for season two in Austin, Texas
and Nashville, Tennessee
. Season two, which saw the show relocated to Nashville, premiered November 18, 2011.
and pondered whether a reality version of that show was necessary. Despite that, the News found the lack of "manufactured" drama a positive change from other similar reality programs. The New York Daily Newss Richard Huff, also comparing Girls to the "groundbreaking" Will & Grace, labels Girls "mind-breaking. It has moments, sure, but never enough to make it memorable or a winner." The lack of "reality-show trappings" like "table flipping" and "hair-extension pulling", he writes, means that the series needs "some humor, drama and good storytelling" and Girls lacks these qualities. Hank Stuever of The Washington Post
cites a "curiously sad tone" that pervades Girls. "The show often seems at cross-purposes," he continues, "as if the producers had a clear idea of what sort of peppy project they wanted to film and then picked the wrong people to follow around." Troy Patterson of Slate.com calls the series "intriguingly ridiculous". Girls, he writes, seeks to be a serious show but in trying to be serious it "betrays its core triviality". Writing for The Los Angeles Times, Robert Lloyd calls Girls "reality TV as reality TV ought to be", and Brent Hartinger
of the gay-interest website AfterElton.com writes that it is "a smart, watchable show". Acknowledging the Will & Grace-like premise, Hartinger notes that the series quickly deals with the similarities and "becomes about four very specific pairings, each of which is interesting and unique in its own way. Better still, none of the relationships is perfect, and only one is what might you think of when you think of this type of relationship".
Critical response to Girls was mixed, trending toward negative among the mainstream press and positive among the gay press. Citing the similarity in premise to Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, critics tended to dismiss the show as short on dramatic interest.
The Sundance Channel announced on March 2, 2011 casting calls for season two in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
and Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Season two, which saw the show relocated to Nashville, premiered November 18, 2011.
Season 1
- Elisa and David - Elisa Casas owns a vintage clothing store, Chelsea Girl, in SoHo and David Munk manages it. They met while living across the hall from each other in the Weinstein dormitory at New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. - Sarah and Joel - Sarah RoseSarah RoseSarah Rose is an author and member of the cast of the television program Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys. She is from Chicago and lives in New York....
is a travel writer and the author of For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History. Joel Derfner is the author of two books, Gay Haiku and Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead. He also composes musicals. - Rosebud and Sahil - Rosebud Baker is an actress. She and Sahil Farooqi met in college in Virginia. As of the series premiere, Sahil had not come outComing outComing out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
to his family. - Crystal and Nathan - Crystal McCrary Anthony and Nathan Hale WilliamsNathan Hale WilliamsNathan Hale Williams is an American film producer, television producer, and entertainment attorney. He is also an actor and former model.-Early life and education:...
operate a film and television production company. Crystal is the ex-wife of former basketball player Greg AnthonyGreg AnthonyGregory Carlton Anthony is an American former National Basketball Association basketball player and former personality on the ESPN family of networks. He is currently an analyst for CBS's college basketball coverage...
and with Rita Ewing is the co-author of the novel Homecourt Advantage.
Season 2
- Tenisha and Jared - Tenisha Jackson is a urban book author and Jared Allman is an aspiring actor.
- Kristin and Peter - Kristin is a school psychologist whose husband is deployed in Afghanistan. Peter is a stand-up comedian with three children from a previous marriage to a woman.
- Sherrié and Shane - Sherrié AustinSherrié AustinSherrie Veronica Krenn is an Australian actress and singer, known professionally as Sherrié Austin. Active as a singer since her teenage years, Sherrié initially recorded as one half of the duo Colorhaus, which also featured Phil Radford...
is a former child actress who now writes songs. Shane Stevens is also a songwriter and aspiring singer. - Olivia and Brent - Olivia is a restaurateur and publishes a regional magazine. Brent is an event planner and publicist.
Season 1
| Number | Title | U.S. air date | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Perfect Couple" | December 7, 2010 | The various pairs of friends are introduced. Elisa celebrates a birthday. She and David go running but David injures himself. Crystal and Nathan attend a Fashion Week event. Nathan celebrates his 34th birthday with Crystal and other friends. He wants to be a father by the time he's 35 but Crystal is concerned he doesn't understand what a commitment parenthood is. Joel tells Sarah that he and his psychiatrist boyfriend Mike are engaged. She is happy for him but wishes she had a relationship of her own. Rosebud and Sahil visit Splash, a gay club. Sahil struggles with a number of internalized stereotypes about gay men. |
| 2 | "Three's a Crowd" | December 7, 2010 | David gets botox. He and Elisa interview about his fear of aging, something she does not understand. Crystal and Nathan meet with Crystal's writing partner Rita Ewing about adapting Crystal and Rita's novel Homecourt Advantage into a film. The women questions Nathan's ability to reconcile fatherhood with his partying lifestyle. Joel and fiancé Mike plan for their wedding in Iowa Same-sex marriage in Iowa Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Iowa became legal on April 3, 2009.Iowa's first dealings with same-sex marriage came in 1998, after recent court cases on same-sex unions, starting in Hawaii, found that denying the right to marry to same-sex couples was incompatible with the Equal Protection... . Sarah interviews that she is happy for them but wishes she could find a man as well, something that has proven difficult because she is the primary caregiver for her mother, who has dementia. Elisa throws herself a 45th birthday party. David, who has been having arguments with everyone recently, comes as a mime so he won't be able to speak. Sahil throws a potluck. Rosebud brings along her new boyfriend Jason, of whom Sahil does not approve. |
| 3 | "Baby on My Mind" | December 14, 2010 | Joel and Sarah plan Joel and Mike's wedding in Iowa (where same-sex marriage is legal Same-sex marriage in Iowa Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Iowa became legal on April 3, 2009.Iowa's first dealings with same-sex marriage came in 1998, after recent court cases on same-sex unions, starting in Hawaii, found that denying the right to marry to same-sex couples was incompatible with the Equal Protection... ) and a ceremony in Brooklyn. Elisa's daughter Ruby leaves for a three week trip to Paris. Her ex-husband Steve and David (dressed as "Marge the scrapbooking lady") console Elisa, who interviews that she's saddened by the loss of her family structure. Sahil and Rosebud discuss relationships and whether Sahil should come out to his family. Nathan asks Crystal to be his surrogate Surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus... . |
| 4 | "Matchmaker Matchmaker" | December 14, 2010 | Crystal and Nathan get styled for the NAACP Image Awards and each discusses Crystal's possible surrogacy with their stylist. Joel and Sarah visit a matchmaker for Sarah. She sets up a date for Sarah but it doesn't go well. David entertains a depressed Elisa, who interviews about her need to redefine herself beyond being a wife and mother. Rosebud takes Sahil speed dating but he is only interested in the (straight) bartender. |
| 5 | "Flying Blind" | December 21, 2010 | Elisa and David shop a flea market and talk about her upcoming blind date. A psychic tells Elisa that she will find love with a Libra Libra (astrology) Libra is the seventh astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Libra. In astrology, Libra is considered a "masculine", positive sign. It is also considered an air sign and is one of four cardinal signs... man. Crystal and Nathan don't win the Image Award; Nathan later speaks with his mother about becoming a father and she supports him. Sarah and Joel attend a party for the release of Sarah's first book. Later Joel sets Sarah up on a date; things go well but Sarah learns that her date is leaving town in two months. Rosebud has Sahil meet her friend Luke to share Luke's coming out story. Later she travels to Houston for a memorial for her sister, who drowned eight years ago. |
| 6 | "Great Expectations" | December 21, 2010 | Elisa's blind date turns out to be a Libra, as the psychic predicted. Rosebud and Sahil talk about her sister's memorial and Sahil says he is ready to start coming out to his family. David interviews about his first boyfriend, Stephen, who died of AIDS in 1988. David was diagnosed with HIV in 1995, which led to his becoming an alcoholic. When he got sober he reconnected with Elisa. Crystal dines with her aunt Ruthie and expresses her concern about being a surrogate. Nathan explores adoption and learns that surrogacy contracts are illegal in New York. Joel is increasingly nervous about his wedding which is three weeks away. |
| 7 | "Out of the Closet" | December 28, 2010 | Nathan tells Crystal he plans to adopt and withdraws the surrogacy question. David celebrates 18 months of sobriety. His boyfriend Richie initially texts that he can't make the party but later shows up as a surprise. Sarah throws Joel and Mike an engagement party; Joel and Sarah are upset because Sarah doesn't think she can afford the trip to Iowa for his wedding. Rosebud breaks up with Jason. Sahil comes out to his brother Taasin, who says he wishes Sahil had done so earlier but supports him nonetheless. Sahil meets up with Rosebud, who gets angry that Sahil is not supportive enough of her pain at her breakup. |
| 8 | "Til Death Do Us Part" | December 28, 2010 | Joel and Mike marry in Iowa joined by family members. Sarah surprises them by making it to the ceremony. Rosebud and Sahil argue some more over Sahil's level of support over her breakup. Later he invites her to a poetry reading, where he performs a poem by way of apology. David has head shots taken in pursuit of an acting career. Nathan and Crystal are relieved that the surrogacy question is behind them and devote themselves to producing the movie based on Crystal's book. In closing, each of the friends interviews about their relationships and how important their friends are in their lives. |
Season 2
| Number | Title | U.S. air date | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Naughty or Nice" | November 18, 2011 | |
| 2 | "Let's Get This Party Started" | November 18, 2011 | |
| 3 | "Too Heavy, Too Hard, Too Fast" | November 25, 2011 | Brent takes Jared on a date but his excessive drinking and behaviour make a poor impression. The next morning Brent misses a meeting with Olivia; he has been taken to a hospital after passing out on his front porch. Derek blames a bad reaction to Botox but Olivia remains worried about his alcohol use. Shane is also concerned, meeting with Derek regarding his calling Danny Gokey Danny Gokey Daniel Jay "Danny" Gokey is an American country music singer and church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol... gay in his toast. Kristin has a pregnancy blood test. It is negative but she still believes she is pregnant. |
Critical response
Ellen Gray of The Philadelphia Daily News found Girls to be similar in tone to the series Will & GraceWill & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
and pondered whether a reality version of that show was necessary. Despite that, the News found the lack of "manufactured" drama a positive change from other similar reality programs. The New York Daily Newss Richard Huff, also comparing Girls to the "groundbreaking" Will & Grace, labels Girls "mind-breaking. It has moments, sure, but never enough to make it memorable or a winner." The lack of "reality-show trappings" like "table flipping" and "hair-extension pulling", he writes, means that the series needs "some humor, drama and good storytelling" and Girls lacks these qualities. Hank Stuever of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
cites a "curiously sad tone" that pervades Girls. "The show often seems at cross-purposes," he continues, "as if the producers had a clear idea of what sort of peppy project they wanted to film and then picked the wrong people to follow around." Troy Patterson of Slate.com calls the series "intriguingly ridiculous". Girls, he writes, seeks to be a serious show but in trying to be serious it "betrays its core triviality". Writing for The Los Angeles Times, Robert Lloyd calls Girls "reality TV as reality TV ought to be", and Brent Hartinger
Brent Hartinger
Brent Hartinger is an American author and playwright, best known for his novels about gay teenagers.-Early life:Hartinger was born in Washington State. His family moved to Fircrest, Washington when he was an infant. He attended a Catholic grade school and middle school, and a Catholic high...
of the gay-interest website AfterElton.com writes that it is "a smart, watchable show". Acknowledging the Will & Grace-like premise, Hartinger notes that the series quickly deals with the similarities and "becomes about four very specific pairings, each of which is interesting and unique in its own way. Better still, none of the relationships is perfect, and only one is what might you think of when you think of this type of relationship".