Go with the critics on this one; this is another superb show from the always reliable HBO. Lena Dunham has an incredible ear for realistic and interesting dialogue. That alone would be enough for me to watch, but where the show truly shines is in its characters. they are all so strange yet relatable, and frustrating but hopelessly sympathetic. 9.5/10

At first I thought this was going to be stupid. I'm usually like that with the pilot of any new show, so I said well let me watch the next episode and its kinda funny to me. *shrugz*

This is a brilliant show, well deserving of its critical acclaim. Of course you will always have the simpletons who don't "get" shows unless they're completely dumbed down, like 2 Broke Girls or Grey's Anatomy. For those of us who appreciate something edgy, smart, funny unique, this show is fantastic. Something I read online that rings so true: "People are understandably envious of Dunham's success. Hell, I know I am! But she is successful and the show is successful because she is cool as hell. She is funny, insightful, and most of all, devastatingly honest. She lets it ALL hang out there. It's not narcissism. It's art. And the fact that we're even having this discussion is proof that she is a genius. Good art makes you think about things. Dunham makes us think. She makes us laugh. And she entertains us. What's not to love?"

Lena is brilliant fantastic I hope the show has many more seasons on HBO!… Expand

Over-rated self-conscious self-obsessed show about unsympathetic over-privileged girls. So what's to like? My god, these girls are in the 5% of the world and well into the 1% of the world. Why would anyone care about their whining?

I watched the entire first season of Girls to make sure I wasn't missing anything. After the final episode concluded I was left confused why so many critics gave this show glowing reviews. It has moments that are interesting, but they are maybe 2-3 minutes per episode in length. I also was unable to connect with any of the characters since the show did its best to make them all equally unlikable. For me, Girls is one of those shows where the numerous critics glowing praise was completely off base.… Expand

Expanding my previous comment.... the only thing I`m assuming this show is liked for many critics is because shows the stupid that are white imbecile self entitled rich kids... Oh.. some kid is doing coke... oh... the not so atractive girl is naked.... this is the state in every art... put shocking things in your book/paint/sculpture/tv show and idiots will watched and claim that is the best thing ever.... by the way... the music is horrible.. hipster crap..… Collapse

I was apprehensive when I first started watching "Girls", but as the season progressed I became increasingly intrigued by the show, and after finishing the 1st season I realize how good it really was. Some other users have complained about it "not being up to HBO standards", but I believe in all its simplicity it actually shines by being completely straightforward, not hiding anything in it's depiction of a group of mid 20s girls living a glamour-less New York lifestyle.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I watched the first three episodes after seeing the Golden Globe awards. This show is not only bad but disturbingly bad. How interesting that the critics rate this higher than the users, just the opposite of the the uplifting and empowering film Cloud Atlas. This TV show reinforces the lowest expectations that a young person might have for love and romance, as do recent reports in the New York Times about "the end of courtship" and "an oil town where men are many and women are hounded." I don't care whether the characters are rich or poor, but how dispiriting that they demand so little respect for themselves, in relationships and at work.

*** SPOILER ALERT *** There is a lot of nudity and fairly explicit sex scenes, but so joyless! One character halfheartedly participates in fantasies of humiliating under-aged prostitutes, never comes herself, gets a disease, and begs for more. Another one is confronted by a guy who says he will "make you afraid the first time I f*ck you, because I'm a man and I know how to do things" -- and she finds this so exciting she has to run ... run!... back to work to masturbate. Everyone seems to be an unpaid intern or babysitter. Back in Cloud Atlas terms, Girls is a step toward a more barbaric society. There are many more uplifting ways to spend your time, including washing the kitchen floor.… Expand

This is an addendum to my previous review, which is stated far more elegantly than anything I said. It is by the author David Foster Wallace, who talks about the "shallow rebelliousness of TV. Irony and ridicule are effective and entertaining but are at the same time agents of a great despair and stasis..." The full quote is below. I find this show to be too ironic, too full of ridicule and yet at the same time, totally static. ______________________

Wallace's fiction is often concerned with irony. His essay "E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction",[33] originally published in the small-circulation Review of Contemporary Fiction in 1993, proposes that television has an ironic influence on fiction writing, and urges literary authors to eschew TV's shallow rebelliousness: "I want to convince you that irony, poker-faced silence, and fear of ridicule are distinctive of those features of contemporary U.S. culture (of which cutting-edge fiction is a part) that enjoy any significant relation to the television whose weird pretty hand has my generation by the throat. I'm going to argue that irony and ridicule are entertaining and effective, and that at the same time they are agents of a great despair and stasis in U.S. culture, and that for aspiring fictionists they pose terrifically vexing problems." Wallace used many forms of irony, but focused on individuals' continued longing for earnest, unselfconscious experience and communication in a media-saturated society.[34] Literary critic Adam Kirsch said that Wallace's "self-conscious earnestness" and "hostility to irony defined a literary generation… Expand

Remember the four Manhattan based women on Sex and the City? Splashing the cash to keep up with the fashion and attending NY's most glamorous parties? Forget them. Four girls in New York is where the similarities end. These girls live in Brooklyn, struggle to pay rent and are more likely to attend parties in warehouses.

Based on some of her own experiences, Lena Durham (who plays lead character Hannah) created and wrote the show, as well as directing five of the ten episodes. She deserves credit for writing such a fresh take on the 'girls story'. The girls in question are not always at their glamorous best, crude, promiscuous and are supported by a witty and often hilarious script. Their day to day issues are largely trivial, Hannah's parents cut her off financially, Marnie's boyfriend is too perfect, Shoshanna is a virgin and Jessa returns from travelling unhappy at adapting to the real world. Despite this, the script makes these trivial storylines more than amusing and the pure oddness of the supporting characters, mainly Adam (Adam Driver), really helps. One guy decides not have to have sex with Shoshanna when he discovers she's a virgin because "virgins get attached. Or they bleed.". To which she replies, "I'm a totally unattached bleeder". Chris O'Dowd makes a hilarious cameo in a later episode as a wealthy businessman who gets agonisingly close to having a ménage a trois with Jessa and Marnie, only for it to fall apart before his eyes and actually be more annoyed that the girls spilt wine onto his expensive rug.… Expand

Intolerably bad. Seriously. I didn't just watch the first scene of episode 1 & get sick to my stomach either. I forced myself to watch the entire season & to remain "open minded". What a complete waste of time. I guess if you're into complete **** or if you're an old fogey that wants to live vicariously through these zero- dimensional characters, then have at it.

It's a love-hate relationship with "Sex and the City" that Lena Dunham explores in "Girls". The thing is, yes, not everyone is Carrie from that show, but most people aren't Lena Dunham either which seems to be the thing the show forgets. Thankfully, the over-honesty is mostly endearing and Dunham is as likable as she could be playing what I'd assume is herself.

In my opinion it takes some episodes to really appreciate this show but once you do you love it. It's like a mix between US tv series Sex&the city (but it's deeper and more interesting and realistic) and UK tv series Skins. Give it a shot

I feel that I have to defend the show. Don't get me wrong I don't think it was the perfect start for a freshman series. It was very good, though. It showed how it feels to be young, confused, bold, dreamer, a failure, in love, and above all humane in the city that never sleeps in 2012 where everything is possible and thus in question. By the end of the season finale, I was quite impressed by the universe Mrs. Dunham created and I anticipate the next season eagerly. P.S For those of you who think the protagonist is ugly well...It's not Sex And The City!!!… Expand

i thought this comedy was one of the best new shows of the season. im glad it got renewed. the only bad thing about Girls is the constant attention to Hannah (Lena Dunham). I want to know about the other characters not just her.

OMG. How could the user reviews be so wrong? How can *The Wire*, with its droll attempt at reality, outrank this show with users? Bizarre. If you haven't seen this show, please try it out. It's so honest and likeable. I watched the whole first season over labor day weekend. My fav line: "I am 13 pounds overweight and it has been awful for me my whole life!" The show feels like an attempt to portray everything embarrassing about being a girl in her 20's, while somehow still finding acceptance and joy.… Expand

Pretty darn good, not newsroom quality but significantly better than most everything else on television/HBO right now, looking forward to a second season; have no idea where they are gonna go but will watch.

It is subtly funny and audacious. When I watched the first episode, I wasn't that impressed, but it grew on me over time to the point where I actually looked forward to watching the newest episode. Jessa is the highlight.

Definitely a conversation worthy show for anyone in their 20s. As the season progresses the characters are easier to understand and are more sympathetic. Lena hits topics that no other writer on TV has hit. Hopefully this show does not become Bored to Death or even Eastbound as it is most likely this decade's Sex and the City.

There are definitely some funny moments in the first season of 'Girls' but they are fairly spread out throughout the 10 episodes. The first episodes are the funniest and, I think, most well-written. There are some unrealistic aspects of the main characters. Not much information is given that connects the 4 main girls together, because frankly it seems that they aren't all that amazing of friends. Allison Williams' portrays her character the best. Not to sound like an old geezer or anything, but I just feel like there were way too many (purposely) uncomfortable sex scenes to fit into a 30-min time-slot. They could of toned that down a lot and still have portrayed the sexual frustration and misunderstandings just fine. If they would've replaced some of those dragged-out scenes with more plain comedy or character-development, 'Girls' could have been golden. What I really enjoyed, however, was the "What Am I Going To Do With My Life" factor of the show. Lena Dunham portrays that life confusion in the writing very effectively, and it is a tad bit sobering at times. The serious aspects of the show and character portrayals are what make this show good. Comically speaking, episodes 2 & 3 are the funniest by far when displaying Hannah's (Dunham) fears about STDs. Dramatically speaking, episodes 6 & 7 are the best, displaying the confusion about life ahead. I definitely recommend, but it is not for everyone!… Expand

Usually I pay metacritic's user score more heed than I do the actual critic score. This is because I find people obsessed with critic ratings to be the best critics out there. They know not to put all your eggs in the basket of one critic, but coming to metacritic also means they appreciate incite that critics offer. In the case of Girls, the metacritic user base has completely and utterly failed me. I have not seen such an innovative style for a show in a long time. The humor is wry and witty, while somehow managing to be equally vulgar. The issues and the characters feel real. I was not going to give this show a chance after I saw the extremely low Metacritic user score (at the time it was like 5.X), but my wife loved it, so I gave it a try. I'm really glad I did because it by far my favorite comedy of 2012.… Expand

The show is just like the main actress: An Granade. It's the worst thing I ever saw.It's boring, most of the girls are very ungly, slow, not point and absolutely not funny at all.

The best thing that I can say about Girls is that it is genuinely funny. It's the antithesis and the facsimile of Sex and the City at the same time. It's Woody Allen meets Louie CK but with a vagina. Girls is a great piece of television.

I absolutely fell in love with the first episode because its about a spoiled girl who wants to manipulate her way into getting her parents into supporting her at 24 yrs old. Just because she may be "a good girl" who finished college, has an intership, has not gotten pregnant, is not an addict, and loves her parents, does not mean she can live off them forever. Her father wants to protect her and her mother does no longer want to have that responsibility. Its as real as it gets. Not your average comedy show more of "duh hahaha"… Expand

What an amazing show!

Being a female in her mid 20's there wasn't one episode in it that I could not relate to or laugh at. Sometimes it was sad, sometimes hilarious, and always entertaining. My boyfriend loved this show just as much as I did and we absolutely loved the finale.

This is refreshing to see the reality of being a girl in her early to mid 20's, almost like a Sex and the City, with less glamour and more realistic scenarios.

From the struggles of finding yourself, finding a career, a relationship, friendship and gaining respect as an individual, they definitely have my life pinned down and will truly miss this show until Season 2 airs.… Expand

Possibly the worst show HBO has put on air. Not clever. Not insightful. Not funny. In the words of Peter Sellers, 'There's no there, there.' Haven't we had enjoy of privileged, young, Anglos gone wild in New York City see Felicity, Sex in the City, Gossip Girl. This is really the worst of the bunch. Quirkiness has to come naturally it can't be manufactured.

The amount of times I've been forced to watch The OC or Gossip Girls in my life makes me sick. I have found entertainment through the ridiculous and contrived situations on those shows like an episode of Jersey Shore. But now! Finally, a silly little show about boys and girls that is so entertaining and relateable I find myself ruminating on the situations of the characters for hours after. It's weird and I love it!… Expand

I started watching this show a few days back, just decided to give it a shot after such superb critical acclaim and a very shocking awful response by viewers which is something i hate because they love Gossip Girl and PLL but hate "One of the Best Comedy Show of all time" no kidding this show rocks. Lena Dunham is a real genius, very supremely talented, she created it, writes it, directed a few episodes and is a executive producer. HBO always comes up with great TV shows but this is something else, last year was Enlightened and now Girls. The very raw, raunchy, bold, dark and yet quite touching, funny and utterly lovable nature of this show makes it one of the best offerings. They aren't just rich and spoiled because they actually work, or on the verge of becoming responsible, this is based on actual realistic experiences and shows much closer the life of ordinary GIRLS in New York. A brilliant effort, i truly love this show and very happy for Lena Dunham.… Expand