Forever’s too short — and so is two seasons, which is why Emmy-nominated musical comedy Girls5eva is headed to Netflix for an all-new third season debuting March 14. Seasons 1 and 2 will also premiere on the service the same day. Check out the brand-new Season 3 trailer above and keep reading below for more information about what’s to come. 

What’s Girls5eva about?

Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, and Paula Pell star in Girls5eva as the surviving members of a one-hit wonder girl group from the ’90s who reunite in the present to try their hand at pop stardom one more time, all while juggling the responsibilities of adulthood (spouses, kids, jobs, debt, aging parents, and shoulder pain). 

Who created Girls5eva? 

Multi-hyphenate Meredith Scardino (creator/showrunner/executive producer/Emmy-nominated writer) and executive producers Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, David Miner, Eric Gurian, and Jeff Richmond are also returning for the series, which hails from Universal Television.

“We are thrilled to announce that our reunited girl group will be re-reunited at Netflix. We are so thankful to everyone at the streamer who fell in love with our music-filled comedy. We cannot wait to introduce Dawn, Wickie, Summer, and Gloria to the global Netflix audience,” said the executive producers in a joint statement when Season 3 was announced last year. “Well, not fully introduced — if you look closely, Girls5eva can be seen in the background of the Woodstock ’99 documentary setting a porta potty on fire.”

Who’s in the Girls5eva cast?

While Emily in Paris star Ashley Park plays the now-deceased fifth member of the group Ashley in flashbacks — along with Erika Henningsen as Young Gloria — the series revolves around the four surviving group members in the present day.

Emily V. Aragones/Netflix

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Sara Bareilles

as Dawn

About the Character

Dawn is happily married and raising her son in New York City while working at her family’s Italian restaurant when she unexpectedly revisits her music career. In Season 3, she’s pregnant with her second child.

Previously In

Waitress: The Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, Community, and many of her own music videos

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Renée Elise Goldsberry

as Wickie

About the Character

The undisputed breakout of the group, Wickie has tried her hand at solo superstardom. Despite her first-class posturing, it hasn’t quite worked out for her. Is this her last chance to reclaim the spotlight? But we’ll also get to see what’s behind Wickie’s larger-than-life personality. “This is the time to get her backstory,” Goldsberry says. 

Previously In

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law; tick, tick... BOOM!; Hamilton, Altered Carbon, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Good Wife, Sisters, One Life to Live
 

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Busy Philipps

as Summer

About the Character

After breaking up with her boy bander husband, Kev (Andrew Rannells) and leaving teen daughter Stevia behind as she hits the road, Summer is focusing on bringing more to the table for the band.

Previously In

Mean Girls, White Chicks, Cougar Town, He’s Just Not That Into You, Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks

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Paula Pell

as Gloria

About the Character

Gloria was so deeply closeted during the band’s heyday that she never fully enjoyed the spoils of her fame — so she’s making up for it by trying to hook up with every type of woman during the “Returnity” tour. “I love that my character is the queer older one that’s getting all the action in the show,” Pell tells Tudum. “Gloria is trying to devour up all the potential that her life could be so she doesn’t lose that window of time. It’s like, we’re hot right now. I'm believing in dreams. I want to get my life set up the way I really always wanted it to be.”

Previously In

Saturday Night Live, Big Mouth, A.P. Bio, Mapleworth Murders, Wine Country, Love

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Can I watch a live performance by Girls5eva?

Normally we’d say no, because this is a fake band played by a group of talented performers. But since it is a fake band played by a group of talented performers, Bareilles, Goldsberry, Philipps, and Pell celebrated the Season 3 premiere of their series on Netflix by singing a medley of Girls5eva’s biggest (faux) hits on the red carpet. Watch the video below to confirm that these women are bonafide superstars, regardless of whether their band is real or not.

The Cast of Girls5Eva Performs

What happens in Season 1 of Girls5eva?

When rapper Lil Stinker samples a 20-year-old song by one-hit-wonder girl group Girls5eva, the surviving members Dawn, Wickie, Summer, and Gloria — RIP Ashley, who died when she swam off the edge of an infinity pool — reunite and decide to start performing again. 

For the most part, they’ve all gotten out of showbiz. Wickie, the ultimate diva, has remained in the public eye, but she’s been faking most of her recent success for Instagram. Dawn’s left her music days behind and is happily married to husband Scott (Daniel Breaker) and raising her young son. Summer, still married to boy bander Kev, has embarked on a Housewives-esque influencer era and spends most of her time being ordered around by her intimidating teen influencer daughter, Stevia (Penelope Richmond). Gloria, meanwhile, has become a successful dentist — and, most importantly, come out of the closet she was so deeply wedged inside during her earlier fame. 

By the end of the season, the members of Girls5eva have all restarted the clock on their 15 minutes of fame. Dawn reignites her passion for songwriting and has a slew of new material for the band, Summer realizes it’s time to divorce Kev, and — after temporarily going their separate ways — the women meet up at the Jingle Ball for an unauthorized (read: uninvited) performance. Sure, they’re subsequently kicked out of the venue, but they’re more certain than ever they want music careers again.

What happens in Season 2 of Girls5eva?

Girls5eva signs with up-and-coming label Property Records — a new venture by Property Brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott, of course — and enters “album mode.” They’re recording new songs, staying in the public eye, and trying to regain a foothold in the music industry. Meanwhile, Summer lets Kev keep their fanbase in the divorce, Wickie learns she can fall for a normal guy and not just a celebrity, Gloria undergoes an important surgery as she tries to reconnect with her ex, and Dawn learns that she’s pregnant with baby No. 2. Even though they’re rejected from the Property Records’ tour, they don’t let it get them down. The band decides to take their new album on tour and set off for Fort Worth, Texas.  

Emily V. Aragones/Netflix

What happens in Season 3 of Girls5eva?

Girls5eva have reunited and recorded a new album, Returnity, so it’s time for the next logical step: a comeback tour. With no plan, tour manager, or venues secured, the ladies pile into a van and hit the great unknown, doing their damnedest to promote their album and get back on top. In the process, Girls5eva grapple with life on the road, see their relationships tested, play a billionaire’s birthday party, sow their oats, confront parents they believe held them back, cross paths with Gray Holland (the biggest pop star on the planet, duh), and question if they really want “the big time” again. 

The man who plays that pop star, Thomas Doherty, made just as big an impression on the stars of the series as Gray does on their characters. “When he showed up on set, we were, like, giggling, giddy,” says Bareilles. “It was so funny. It was just — I remember what I was wearing!”

Because this is Girls5eva, the tour doesn’t go as planned because they have trouble booking cities outside of Fort Worth, including the prestigious venue Wickie reserved for them on Thanksgiving: Radio City Music Hall. Luckily, they figure out how to sell out Radio City. Sure, it’s through a technicality and not high demand from fans, but it’s a success nonetheless. 

Says Scardino, “The whole time they’re building this show. ‘OK, what is the show?’ And then to be able to see them perform all their songs on an amazing stage in Radio City and knowing that they’re pretty much just doing it for themselves is a really beautiful, joyous moment.”

Adds Pell, “Its about the joy of doing it and not how many people are there in the seats.”

Ultimately, the years between Girls5eva’s public successes have given them the biggest gift of all. “It’s such a beautiful grace note that these women are on,” says Scardino. “They’re in progress and they’re learning what they value because the gifts of time and age and experience give you perspective. They’re in real time understanding that what they thought they were reaching for is changing shape — and that it might be enough to be doing this with and for each other. And then you see what happens from that. I think it’s so cool to watch them get to that place.”

When does Girls5eva premiere on Netflix?

The brand-new, six-episode Season 3 will stream exclusively on Netflix beginning March 14, which is also when Seasons 1 and 2 will become available.