Girls5Eva - General Discussion

[AnimeMania]

Girls5eva streaming on Peacock May 6 and all eight episodes will be released on that date.

When a one-hit-wonder girl group from the 90’s gets sampled by a young rapper, its members reunite to give their pop star dreams one more shot. They may be grown women balancing spouses, kids, jobs, debt, aging parents, and shoulder pain, but can‘t they also be Girls5eva?

The series stars Grammy® Award-winner and Tony® and Emmy® Award-nominated singer Sara Bareilles, Grammy and Tony Award-winning actress and singer Renée Elise Goldsberry, Emmy® winning “Saturday Night Live” mainstay and comedy icon Paula Pell, New York Times Best-Selling author, actor, activist, writer and host Busy Philipps and Ashley Park (Emily in Paris).

Meredith Scardino serves as creator and executive producer for the series. Jeff Richmond, Tina Fey (Little Stranger, Inc.), Robert Carlock (Bevel Gears), David Miner (3 Arts Entertainment), Eric Gurian (Little Stranger) also serve as executive producers.

 

[WinnieWinkle]

I need to check if I can even access this show but if I can I'm in just for the chance to see (and hear!!) Sara Bareilles!  I thought she was amazing in Jesus Christ Superstar.

[AnimeMania]

Unfortunately, if you have the free subscription to Peacock you can only watch the first episode.

Girls5eva

When a one-hit-wonder girl group from the 1990s gets sampled by a young rapper, its members reunite to give their pop star dreams one more shot; starring Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Busy Philipps.

S01.E01: Pilot  (31 Min)
The members of Girls5eva, a '90s girl group, reconnect after a rapper samples their big hit.

S01.E02: D'wasg  (27 Min)
Girls5eva struggles to make their first move; Scott deals with a package Wickie sent from LA.

S01.E03: Alf Musik  (27 Min)
Girls5eva tracks down their old songwriter; Dawn questions if she still wants a second baby.

S01.E04: Carma  (28 Min)
Kev gets home from Tampa; Dawn follows the Dolly method; Wickie dates a younger guy.

S01.E05: Catskills  (26 Min)
Girls5eva rents a cabin upstate to focus; Gloria runs into her ex-wife and tries to reconnect.

S01.E06: Cease and Desist  (26 Min)
Wickie finds fans at a Pride event; Dawn invents an alter ego to deal with pre-show anxiety.

S01.E07: A.I.R.P.I.G.  (28 Min)
Girls5eva pursues a mega-manager at a radio conference; Summer sees Kev’s life in Tampa.

S01.E08: Separ8 Ways  (32 Min)
With Wickie working as a reality TV judge, Dawn, Gloria and Summer struggle to keep Girls5eva alive.

[Aulty]

Very entertaining show, there is a lot to like here. I liked the dialogs more than the overall story to be honest. It is crisp, smart and quick paced and I enjoyed the 90s references as much as the puns about current pop culture. The acting is good too.
I also liked that the girls looked and acted their their age. Weird that Dawn's husband and son were nowhere to be seen in the second half of the season. Andrew Rannell and his crabs were a curveball.

I am pretty sure Ashley is not dead, and there was that little hint at the very end.

If it really was the 4 main actresses singing and harmonising, they did pretty well. Sound mixing was well done.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Aulty

[Kiddvideo]

I enjoyed it! Don’t want to spoil any of the story since it’s so early. I liked all the main characters, even the diva Wickie and the vain but sincere Summer. Lots of dialogue that kept it moving, no time for lulls. I did feel like some of characters outside the core 4 were supposed to have storylines that got truncated for some reason (like Stevia, the husband/son, the brother, and even Kev though he had a lot of story.) Terrific chemistry among all the actors. I was rooting for them all individually as well as the girl group as a whole.

[maggiegil]

It was a really enjoyable first season. I was really impressed by Sara Bareilles as a comedic actress, she was very natural. The 4 main actresses really played well off each other.

Usually I love it when Tina Fey does a guest spot in series shes working on behind the scenes but I thought this one wasn't her best. Liked most of the casting except for Dawn's brother, the character wasn't dissimilar enough from the one he played in 30 rock.

 

[TheOtherOne]

I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped to (certainly not as much as 30 Rock or Kimmy Schmidt), but I still really liked it (and it was much better than Great News or Mr. Mayor among the shows Fey's produced). I think that's the main way I would describe it--likeable. I liked all the characters, and even if it wasn't as funny as I'd hoped (there were some dry spots, and the last couple episodes were a little too serious/sad for me) it was an easy watch and I liked spending time in this world and with these people. Good escapism for 4 hours. On a storytelling level, it was very well-constructed, with how everything paid off and little plot elements throughout the 8 episodes came together at the end.

I like Sara B a lot, so it was a bit of a bummer that she wasn't really allowed to be funny, mostly playing the straight character. Renee G had the best character and made the most of it. Everything she did killed--one of my favorite moments wasn't even an overtly comedic one; it was when "Girls5ev..." showed up on the screen in the last episode and she screamed GIRLS5EVA and grabbed the mics--a combination of funny and emotional and triumphant.

Also I can't stop listening to this:

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I've only watched the first episode so far but it was funny and entertaining so I can't wait to watch the rest. Honestly, given the actresses cast as the girl group members, I would have watched this no matter what. The 90s references and silly throwaway lines are just a bonus!

[LisaM]

I enjoyed the first episode - wasn't blown away - but I liked it. Now deciding whether I want to subscribe to yet another streaming service for just one show. 

[DB in CMH]

It was a bit too Tina Fey-y for my tastes, but I adored the actresses. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The cast sings Wannabe by the Spice Girls:

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The cast on Fallon:

4 Stars live:

The cast on Kelly Clarkson, part 1:

Part 2:

Renee and Sara discuss going from Broadway to Girls5Eva:

Access Hollywood interview:

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Famous 5eva

Dream Girlfriends:

New York Lonely Boy:

Space Boys:

I'm Afraid:

The Splingee:

Boyz Next Door (Puber-Dude):

Line Up:

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Dream Girlfriends:

New York Lonely Boy:

 

[TheOtherOne]

Fun interview

Renée Elise Goldsberry Talks Playing a Pop Star in Girls5eva

[Kromm]

The main "5eva" joke is just groaningly bad, so that's a big thing to get over. 

There was a lot of that in the first episode (the only one I've seen). 

As occasionally happens with Tina Fey-ish shows (although I think she only produced this and had no other role) the subtler jokes are actually the better ones. Like them not harping at all on the complete physical transformation of one character, but I think winking at it in many ways.  Or the rap guy aping the huge thing around his neck trope, with what I think was actually a New York City Taxicab Medallion--a joke 95% percent of viewers won't even GET. 

If I eventually get access to the other episodes I may watch further.  Maybe. I'm in the fence, even in the case that I do. 

Waitress was probably pretty good training for Sara, plus I think she did theater back in college, so I wasn't surprised she did okay in this. 

[Dots And Stripes]

3 hours ago, Kromm said:

As occasionally happens with Tina Fey-ish shows (although I think she only produced this and had no other role) the subtler jokes are actually the better ones.

Oh, she has another role, but I won't spoil that if you are only on the first episode. 

I agree that I tend to like the more subtle jokes on her show. I tend to roll my eyes at a lot of the broad, absurd jokes that are thrown in. I've found that this show has some of those jokes, but not as many as Mr. Mayor (which is more fully a Fey/Carlock show).

[Phishbulb]

17 hours ago, Kromm said:

Waitress was probably pretty good training for Sara, plus I think she did theater back in college, so I wasn't surprised she did okay in this. 

I've only watched the pilot so far, but it seems like she is intentionally trying for a Tina Fey/Liz Lemon cadence in delivering her lines.

It's kind of like when other actors star in Woody Allen movies and try do to their best "Woody" imitation in the lead role.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

When the show initially mentioned a New York lonely boy, I was sure it would be a Gossip Girl joke. To be fair, I'm pretty sure a lot of those New York lonely boys end up turning into a version of pretentious Dan Humphrey.

[Corgi-ears]

I'm pretty sure it's more a reference/tribute to this Simon and Garfunkel song:

 

[Kiddvideo]

There was a fun celebrity appearance in "New York Lonely Boy."

I think having the show set in NYC is one of the reasons I liked it so much. I've been sticking close to home and have missed going out and about. I'd even /shudder/ go to Times Square again.

[TheOtherOne]

He guested on 30 Rock, so obviously has a prior relationship with Fey and co., but I was still surprised when I recognized his actual wife as herself (and then searched during the show to confirm that yes, that was their actual son, who really is an only child). Afterward I wondered how the appearance and storyline had come about: if it was something he'd discussed with Fey and others--raising an only son in the city--that led to the storyline, or if they came up with the storyline and reached out to their family about making their appearance. Either way, it was a cool scene.

Edited May 11, 2021 by TheOtherOne

[Dots And Stripes]

I finished season 1. With only eight episodes, it didn't take long. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I'm a sucker for comedies that get sentimental. 

One of the problems with such a short season is it doesn't give the cast much time to develop chemistry or explore different group dynamics (we got mostly Dawn/Wickie and Summer/Gloria).

On 5/6/2021 at 2:19 PM, Aulty said:

Weird that Dawn's husband and son were nowhere to be seen in the second half of the season.

The husband featured heavily in episode 6 of 8. His absence was a little odd in the last two episodes, but it wasn't all that long.

On 5/6/2021 at 3:05 PM, Kiddvideo said:

I did feel like some of characters outside the core 4 were supposed to have storylines that got truncated for some reason (like Stevia, the husband/son, the brother, and even Kev though he had a lot of story.) Terrific chemistry among all the actors. I was rooting for them all individually as well as the girl group as a whole.

I'm definitely curious how Peacock landed on only 8 episodes. I wonder how much of that is pandemic related. I Imagine scenes with a crowd were probably expensive even if I'm certain they used some Hollywood magic to make crowds look bigger than they were.

[Unraveled]

I enjoyed this a lot, but I have a much lower bar for anything musical. It reminds me of Andy Samburg's movie, "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping." Both share ridiculously inappropriate songs. I don't think there's anything particularly original in this show from other musician biopic type TV shows/movies.

Sara Bareilles is a great songwriter, so I was curious about who wrote the music. It looks like Tina Fey's husband, composer Jeff Richmond, had a hand in many of the songs. However, Sara has the sole writing credit for the last number, "4 Stars."

Busy Phillips and Paula Pell were the weaker singers, but have more acting credits than Sara Bareilles and Renée Elise Goldsberry.

I was very curious when watching the trailer what happened to the Asian one. I'm glad I waited until I saw everything before I found.

At least two of "Mean Girls" musical were in this. The aforementioned Ashley (Gretchen) and Erika Henningsen (Cady) was the young Paula Pell.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Paula Pell on Late Night:

Paula Pell talks about working with NSYNC and the boy band parody she wrote for SNL:

 

[Paloma]

I found the first episode clever and very entertaining, but the second episode was a big letdown and I turned it off about halfway through. I'm not sure if it was not written as well or if the novelty of the concept wore off. Or maybe part of the problem is that I am simultaneously rewatching the first season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which for me is far superior in writing, acting, and musical performances.

We get Peacock free as part of our Xfinity service, so I may give it another try after a while. But it's not good when you have to convince yourself to try a show again after giving up in the second episode. 

[TheOtherOne]

The Making of Girls5eva’s Catchy, Laugh-Out-Loud Fake Pop Songs

There's the answer to my earlier wondering how New York Lonely Boy came about:

Quote

 

It’s the most personal song Scardino wrote, thanks to its real-life references to her son. “We don’t live in a building with a doorman anymore, but he was always such buddies with ours,” she says. John Slattery’s cameo in episode three, the same one in which the song debuts, was also quite special to her. She often sees the Mad Men star and his only son walking around downtown New York City together: “They always seem like best friends. I always think, ‘This is so great. This is what I want my son to be like.’”

 

 

Edited May 13, 2021 by TheOtherOne

[MMLEsq]

I loved this.  But if I like a show, I tend not to get overly critical and I'm willing to overlook things.  I found myself actually sitting through the credits of each episode, just to listen to the songs again.

As an attorney, I got a kick out of the 1,000-year contract.  As a mom, I got a kick of the fact that their goal was to sing at Jingle Ball, an event I (willingly, but also somewhat grudgingly) attended several times when my daughter was a pre-teen.  As someone who once discovered a person hiding in a bathroom when we were touring a place with a realtor, I got a kick of the Air BNB host camping out in the Owner's Closet.

I hope there's a second season; I'd definitely watch.

[Quickbeam]

I loved Paula Pell in AP Bio and she’s great in this as well. It’s a fun show so far ...... I originally only watched it to get some use from my Peacock subscription but I’ve enjoyed it.

[tessaray]

I've only seen the first episode so far (and just watched for Renee Elise Goldsberry) but it was cute and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. 

I'm not a binge watcher and hate complete season drops. I much prefer an episode a week. At least Disney and HboMax are making it easy for me to watch their shows. 

[arc]

On 5/9/2021 at 6:25 PM, DB in CMH said:

It was a bit too Tina Fey-y for my tastes, but I adored the actresses. 

I just finished the first episode, and fully realizing this is Meredith Scardino's show... yeah, it had a lot of 30 Rock style jokes and IMO that style  of comedy hasn't aged too well.

[tessaray]

I'd give the second episode a C- mainly due to the gross dental scene.

The third was better. I didn't realize who was playing the songwriter until the credits, though. I still like the characters but the humor, while clever, rarely makes me laugh. 

[tessaray]

This was a very weird, uneven show but worth powering thru to the end. I'd definitely sign up for a second season. Especially if Vanessa Williams was on board. 

[Quof]

The cast and creators will be on Stars in the House this evening.    Watch live, or see on YouTube any time. 

https://www.starsinthehouse.com/schedule

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 5/22/2021 at 3:36 AM, tessaray said:

I'd give the second episode a C- mainly due to the gross dental scene.

The third was better. I didn't realize who was playing the songwriter until the credits, though. I still like the characters but the humor, while clever, rarely makes me laugh. 

W Network is showing them weekly 2 at a time in Canada. I watched the first two last week and didn't enjoy them as much as I had hoped. I wanted more character, less predictable joke-joke-joke pacing, and less Liz Lemon in my Dawn. However this week I watched again since I have read so many raves. I really enjoyed episode 3 with the visit to the songwriter (although I was a little surprised that the guy they picked was credited with the lyrics -- I really thought that they would find him to be a bust and have to go to whoever was the one who wrote the music to get a real hit) and episode 4 with Gloria trying to look out for Summer.

 

On 5/10/2021 at 4:40 PM, Kromm said:

The main "5eva" joke is just groaningly bad, so that's a big thing to get over. 

I actually really love it as it starts from a convincing manufactured group name concept, goes beyond, and then keeps hitting the same spot over again (5eva, 3gether, so what are you waiting 5) until it is ludicrously funny again. And I laugh every time I see the credit "cre8ted by Meredith Scardino" . . . although maybe it should have been cre9ted?

[zenithwit]

On 6/10/2021 at 9:39 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

I actually really love it as it starts from a convincing manufactured group name concept, goes beyond, and then keeps hitting the same spot over again (5eva, 3gether, so what are you waiting 5) until it is ludicrously funny again. And I laugh every time I see the credit "cre8ted by Meredith Scardino" . . . although maybe it should have been cre9ted?

I don't mind it as well.  It reminds me a lot of the early 2000s made for tv boy band 2gether.  And the intro reminds me a lot of 2gether's signature song "U + Me = Us (Calculus)."  Not sure if they were intentionally referencing 2gether with all of the numbers but both groups were definitely spoofing the same genre.

 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

8 hours ago, zenithwit said:

It reminds me a lot of the early 2000s made for tv boy band 2gether.  And the intro reminds me a lot of 2gether's signature song "U + Me = Us (Calculus)."

I was really hoping that 2gether or the calculus song would get an explicit shout out at some point in the season!

[AnimeMania]

‘Girls5Eva’ Renewed For Season 2 By NBCUniversal’s Peacock

[AnimeMania]

As a companion to the first season, Peacock and Epic Records released a soundtrack album, Girls5eva: Music From The Peacock Original Series. The nine-track collection is available HERE.

[MMLEsq]

I saw that E! was running episodes this weekend.

 

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, MMLEsq said:

I saw that E! was running episodes this weekend.

 

Yes, the showed the first 4 episodes, which is 1 more episode than you can see if you subscribed to the free version of Peacock.

[AnimeMania]

All 31 songs from Season 1 of ‘Girls5eva,’ ranked

A list of all the songs mentioned in Season 1 of Girls5Eva.

[Marisagf]

On 6/13/2021 at 10:57 PM, zenithwit said:

I don't mind it as well.  It reminds me a lot of the early 2000s made for tv boy band 2gether.  And the intro reminds me a lot of 2gether's signature song "U + Me = Us (Calculus)."  Not sure if they were intentionally referencing 2gether with all of the numbers but both groups were definitely spoofing the same genre.

 

 

I loved that show! I immediately thought of it when I hear the Girls 5eva theme song!

 

[mtlchick]

On 5/9/2021 at 9:25 PM, DB in CMH said:

It was a bit too Tina Fey-y for my tastes, but I adored the actresses. 

My sister who never watched 30 Rock and maybe saw a few episodes of Kimmy Schmidt watched the first episode of this and said "This is a Tina Fey show, isn't it?"  

I am enjoying the show (watching it on W in Canada) but at this point Sara Barellis (who I do like) is essentially a 2021 version of Liz Lemon and Renee is Jenna. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, and I loved 30 Rock. 

 

On 6/13/2021 at 10:57 PM, zenithwit said:

I don't mind it as well.  It reminds me a lot of the early 2000s made for tv boy band 2gether.  And the intro reminds me a lot of 2gether's signature song "U + Me = Us (Calculus)."  Not sure if they were intentionally referencing 2gether with all of the numbers but both groups were definitely spoofing the same genre.

 

 

 

Well, a boy bander DID talk about "their run in with Girls5Eva" except they are about a decade off.  (Seriously Peacock marketing, you couldn't think of BSB or N Sync instead?) 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPGq56zBkEX/

Edited June 20, 2021 by mtlchick

[Blackie]

They had me at the first scene of the first episode (the mammogram), I kept screaming at my husband " see! see! see what it is like!!"

Overall I like this show, it is funny and all the characters are likable. my husband won't finsh it though, I guess it is too girly for him, or he doesn't get all the references or something. He prefers We Are Lady Parts, another music group comedy we started watching, quite different then this show.

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 5/11/2021 at 5:57 PM, Dots And Stripes said:

The husband featured heavily in episode 6 of 8. His absence was a little odd in the last two episodes, but it wasn't all that long.

I was surprised that there was not even a mention of Summer and Kev's daughter Stevia in the last couple of episodes as well. But I was happy to see Li'l Stinker again. 

[Harvey]

I feel like the show was trying to tell us something when Summer confronted her husband about taking care of crabs:

Quote

Summer: If you have, like, unprocessed feelings, let's talk about those.
Kev: No, no, no, I am all good. I am eatin' good in the neighborhood. That's an Applebee's reference.

Summer:  I just think it means something that you want to spend all your time saving creatures that hide.

Kev: I don't want to talk, Summer. I just want to watch this crab graduate from one doll head to a slightly larger doll head. And I don't know or care to explore why.

 

Does anyone know what they were implying / referring to here?

[tessaray]

It's been awhile but wasn't that all about him being in the closet? Gloria spent all that time getting Summer to acknowledge how messed up (fake) her marriage was. I remember thinking what a weird but strangely sympathetic confrontation that was.

I hope we see Kev in the next season.

[AnimeMania]

Peacock, NBC’s streaming service will stream the 95th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year at 9 AM across all time zones on Thursday, November 25. Peacock’s first parade float will contain the stars of Peacock’s original comedy series Girls5eva, Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, and Busy Philipps, who will perform the song "Famous 5eva."

Fans can get a sneak peek at the list of performers and floats featured in the parade at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade website.

[zenithwit]

11 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Peacock, NBC’s streaming service will stream the 95th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year at 9 AM across all time zones on Thursday, November 25. Peacock’s first parade float will contain the stars of Peacock’s original comedy series Girls5eva, Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, and Busy Philipps, who will perform the song "Famous 5eva."

Fans can get a sneak peek at the list of performers and floats featured in the parade at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade website.

While the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade always has musical acts I've never heard of before, this one is definitely going to confuse people lol. At least this is a good sign regarding potential future seasons/NBC's investment in the show.