Girls5eva season 3 review: Netflix brings back an insanely fun show
The streamer saves this pitch-perfect musical comedy from cancelation
TV Reviews Girls5eva
A TV world without Girls5eva sounds dull as hell. And if it were up to Peacock, that’s the reality everyone would be living in. Thankfully, after the show was unceremoniously canceled two seasons in, Netflix renewed Meredith Scardino’s ingenious musical comedy. Its third season, which premieres March 14, instantly proves why it was worth saving, serving up a mix of laugh-out-loud jokes, delirious original songs, extraordinarily funny performances, and crafty cameos.
The beauty of Girls5eva lies in how it embraces absurdity. Here’s a TV show that confidently knows its voice and therefore doesn’t struggle to sustain it. In fact, the dialogue, characterizations, soundtrack, and sets only get better and more eccentric here. There’s a constant barrage of one-liners that don’t overpower the storytelling like they often did in season one, when Girls5eva relied a bit too much on its jokes. And if season two nailed a sweet spot between being snappy, stupid, and somewhat sentimental, the six new episodes continue to perfect that rhythm.
Script-wise, Scardino wisely stays in the same quirky vein as Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the hit she wrote for that was co-created by Girl5eva producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. There are tonal similarities to Fey’s work, including 30 Rock and the criminally underrated Great News. So for fans of this peculiar style of humor, Girls5eva is pretty easy to love. And if you’ve made it to season three, you know the biggest bonus is the beautifully unhinged original songs, courtesy of musician Jeff Richmond and lyricist Scardino. The title track, “Famous 5eva,” is un-skippable, as are other earworms like “4 Stars,” “Big Pussy Energy,” and “Bend Not Break.”
Season three delivers more bangers: Busy Philipps croons about watching but not understanding The Witcher, Sara Bareilles has another power ballad, a new cast member sings “Inside My Sweater,” and, best of all, there’s an ode to Fort Worth, Texas. (“Cowtown is a Wowtown with a walkable downtown / Tap into your Fort Worth.”) Yeah, it’s ridiculous, but that’s not to suggest the show doesn’t have something worthwhile to say. Girls5eva, after all, is about four members of a ’90s one-hit-wonder girl band who reunite for another shot at fame. To do so, they have to constantly update their musical sensibilities while shedding past misogynistic experiences. Somehow, Girls5eva navigates those sensitive issues with breezy commentary.
The show also excels at taking jabs at the zeitgeist, which means there are quips about Ticketmaster, musicians filming documentaries about themselves, scam culture, the state of women’s rights, and, of course, Fey regular Jon Hamm. In season three, Dawn (Bareilles), Wickie (Renée Elise Goldsberry), Summer (Philipps), and Gloria (Paula Pell) embark on the Returnity Tour with the hope of selling out a huge venue. But first they must spend six months playing small towns and living in motel rooms. A brief respite comes in episode four, the season’s funniest half-hour, when the women are hired for a lavish birthday party in Orlando along with other forgotten popular acts.
Girls5eva’s goofiness works because the main cast members sell the hell out of it. Broadway star Goldsberry remains the MVP as Wickie Roy, the Jenna Maroney-esque diva who believes the sun revolves around her. It shouldn’t be this easy to root for a selfish Wickie, who spins things out of control by being extra, but Goldsberry pulls off that feat. She plays Wickie with a committed passion, whether she’s sensually flirting with an ex, busting out a dance move, or occasionally displaying emotions. Girls5eva reminds everyone Goldsberry was born to be a scene-stealer, and she better be in awards contention for this one. Philipps, Pell, and Bareilles are pros, too, expertly navigating being kooky and charming. The whole group’s dynamic is what makes the show, well, sing.
Which is not to say that every zinger or song lands equally hard. But the scattered misses are easy to digest and forgivable because of the other gifts Girls5eva bestows on us. Season three alone features Richard Kind doling out advice, John Early playing a triggered senator, Pell’s Gloria on a quest to make up for lost time as a formerly closeted lesbian, Wickie reveling herself in a game of “Find The Lie,” and Dawn coming into her own. Think of it as a show that’s been brought back to life and magnificently fine-tuned.
Girls5eva season three premieres March 14 on Netflix
22 Comments
Please tell me Ashley Park is also back for flashbacks. At any rate, I’m glad Netflix brought this show back. It’s not groundbreaking or must see, but it’s a lot of fun.
The theme song is so damn catchy I find it stuck in my head for weeks.
The theme song and Dream Girlfriend are my ear worms. Four Stars makes me tear up every time I hear it. Andrew Rannell is the secret joy IMO. When he comes home and they have their little get together, singing about Darrell from The Office is Jesus. When they reveal what he was doing in FL I lost it. And Summer goes “well I guess it’s better than golf”. And the third episode with Colbert as Alf Musik. I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t had the ladies on, seeing as how they have a new season on Netflix to promote and he was part of the show.
Glad its back. As a parent of an only child who lives in a city I vote New York Lonely Boy as the best song.
That was my favorite song.
Great song, no question, but the “I’m afraid” song had me almost choking to death with laughter (especially the verses that continue for the song over the closing credits of that episode (i.e., the one where Tina Fey plays “Dolly Parton”).
I’m so pleased Netflix picked it up; I’ve been longing to see this show but I could justify yet another subscription.
I’m glad they were able to save it. Though I’m certainly worried that with the fickle way streaming is, and the total lack of promotion for this season, this could be the end?
Are the earlier seasons also going to be on Netflix?
Yes the first two seasons moved as well.
Appreciated the Great News name drop; that show deserved more.
It is very much what I would call a “grocery store brand 30 Rock,” but there were still a lot of really funny jokes and had a pretty good cast (who knew Nicole Richie could be funny??)
People who watched Chuck.
I love this show. It hits the sweet spot of fast, dumb joke machine I didn’t realize I’d been missing after 30 Rock went off the air, and the musical numbers are all cringe-inducing hilarity. Too many favorites to pick from, but I just love their in-between filler track:
Yeah, it feels like at any moment, Kenneth or Liz could walk straight into this show, which could not be said of, say, Mr. Mayor.
The only upside to this scattershot streaming TV hell we seem to be in is that it’s so easy to lose track of which shows are streaming where, or if they’re canceled or not, is that I am regularly pleasantly surprised to find out a show I liked is coming back. Now save the Save By the Bell reboot!
Oh hell yeah, I’m glad this is back. Need a bit of silliness in my life right now.
The fact that a show this brilliant, this hilarious only gets six friggin episodes is everything wrong with TV in the streaming age in a nutshell.
It definitely feels like they had a much smaller budget; fewer episodes and way less celebrity guests.
‘”The fact that a show this brilliant, this hilarious only gets six friggin episodes is everything wrong with TV in the streaming age in a nutshell.”’From what I recall most original peacock shows only got 6 episodes. But apparently Girls5eva had 8 episodes in its earlier seasons.
I started watching it initially because Tina Fey was involved (and I’ll give anything involving Tina Fey a chance) and was pretty much immediately hooked. Binged the crap out of Seasons 1 & 2 and laughed my arse off (fortunately, it grew back).
Eagerly gave it a shot. Terribly confused about something. Can someonee explain how we’re supposed to just overlook that Paula Pell is clearly 15 years older than the other ladies from Girls5Eva yet her character is the youngest of the group? (Quoth the pilot episode.) That’s a big “blind casting” ask.