The ‘Girls’ Cast Are Finally Getting Their Due

From its first opium-aided disaster of a dinner party, Girls emerged as a true ensemble comedy. Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna were each obnoxious in their own way, but they were also equally insufferable. Together they were a squad that showcased the worst impulses of millennial women in the 2010s. And after years of Adam Driver and Lena Dunham getting all the attention, the rest of the girls are finally seeing the spotlight.

No one made it out of Girls better than Adam Driver. The man has starred in three Star Wars movies, hosted SNL, and has starred in Noah Baumbach and Spike Lee films, both of which earned him Oscar nominations. But as successful as the man who portrayed Adam Sackler has been, Dunham is right behind him. Since Girls, Dunham has produced three series for HBO: Camping, Industry, and Genera+ion. True, two of those series were canceled, but even at her lowest point, Dunham has remained a name in pop culture.

Meanwhile, the women who made Dunham’s original vision feel so very real and toxic have largely been sidelined — until recently. Between The Flight Attendant, Sex Education, and Conversations with Friends, there are currently three ongoing shows that star members of the central friend group. All stand as shining reminders of how deeply talented these women are.

For Zosia Mamet, The Flight Attendant’s Annie is a far cry from Shoshanna. Unlike Shosh, Annie is always composed and is perpetually thinking three steps ahead of everyone else. Yet just like her portrayal of Louisa May Alcott in Dickinson, Annie is infused with the same manic, fast-talking energy that defined Shosh. During her absolute best moments, Shoshanna, with her rambling stories, upspeak, and vocal fry, was a critique on the myriad of ways people don’t take women’s voices seriously. It’s a smart point that has carried into Mamet’s other roles, allowing her to create female characters who are often smarter than anyone wants to believe.

In opposition to the uptight Shoshanna, no one captures the spirit of a modern flower child better than Jemima Kirke. Girls’ Jessa spoke about love, light, and breaking down barriers so often, it was difficult to figure out what she was talking about. Yet underneath even her most pollyanna speeches, there was always the glimpse of naive hope that made you want to root for her. If Jessa is the most annoying form of this trope, then Conversations with Friends‘ Melissa is its most mature iteration and Sex Education‘s Hope is Jessa at her most hypocritical.

Then there’s Allison Williams. Marnie was a master at hiding whatever selfish thing she wanted to do behind long-winded speeches about progress and community. It’s a level of deception that Williams fully embraced through her role in Get Out, and it’s also one she toyed with in A Series of Unfortunate Events. If Shoshanna was a criticism of how women aren’t taken seriously intellectually and Jessa was her emotional counterpart, Marnie was the exact opposite — a perfectly groomed devil of sorts who used her ability to always say the right thing to manipulate others.

It’s been a decade since the premiere of Girls. During that time, no one has skewered both the annoyances and injustices of white cis millennial woman better than Dunham, Mamet, Kirke, and Williams. It’s a trend we need to keep going. Keep casting Zosia Mamet, Jemima Kirke, and Allison Williams. They always understand the assignment, and they always deliver.