For starters, GG2D stars Lisa Edelstein. I was a YOOGE fan of House, and I loved Edelstein’s Dr. Cuddy. She was the perfect foil for Greg House’s inane ideas (It’s never lupus!) and the chemistry between the two was fantastic. I was happy to see the talented Edelstein back on my TV.
Then there was the fact that GG2D would air on Bravo, the network that gives me my favorite show to watch when I fold the laundry, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
*This is not an insult. I fold a crapload of laundry and I must be entertained while doing it.
Remembering that Bravo is also responsible for the gem Top Chef—and forgetting that it foists the insipid Millionaire Matchmaker on us—I thought, “Girlfriends’ Guide might be a decent show.” I was willing to give it a whirl, especially since room had opened up on my TV time portfolio after I decided to stop enduring that hot mess Sleepy Hollow.
GG2D airs at 10 PM on Tuesday, so there was no way I was going to watch it live. I’m lazy and I’m usually in bed by 9 PM with some MMF romance on my Nook. No big deal, I would DVR it. Then it hit me.
Let me back up one quick second. Others things happened this fall, not just the premiere of GG2D. The Mister and I decided to end our marriage.
I’m fine. It’s fine. Everything is fine.
Since we are trying to consciously uncouple in the least disruptive fashion possible, we are still under the same roof. Which means we share the DVR. And I really didn’t want the Mister to see Girlfriends Guide to DIVORCE in the queue when he was scrolling for some NCIS.
What if he thought it meant something? What if he thought I was being passive aggressive in a “neener neener” kind of way? What if he thought my recording the show meant I was somehow celebrating this horrible thing we were going through? What if he thought I had emptied my 401k to get a shark divorce attorney in a shiny suit? What if he thought….
Then I came to my senses. And I started to DVR the show. On the DVR in the upstairs bedroom that he never uses.
And you know what? I really like this show! I don’t fold laundry to it. I actually sit down with a glass of pinot grigio and enjoy the crap out of GG2D. I enjoy it the most if my husband is out of the house and won’t walk in on me.
GG2D centers on Abby McCarthy and her divorce from her husband Jake (Paul Adelstein). Divorce sucks on its own, but Abby’s is made more complicated since she has built her personal brand on being a relationship expert. Who wants to read a self-help book about having the perfect relationship when the author herself can’t even figure it out?
And notice that possessive apostrophe in the title. It’s girlfriends plural as Abby isn’t the only lady getting her divorce on. Helping her to cope with the collapse of her marriage are her two besties, Lyla (Janeane Garofalo) and Phoebe (Beau Garrett), both of whom have splitsville experience.
Note: The name of episodes all have random numbers in the title, such as Rule #23: Never Lie to the Kids or Rule #174: Never Trust Anyone. The numerical order makes no sense, and I’m going to replicate it here as I give you five different reasons you should be watching this show.
Reason #78: Janeane Garofalo
Garofalo is smart, well-informed, and gorgeous. She was the best part of Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. I can’t stand weed, and yet, Garofalo is responsible for one of my favorite movie quotes ever:
Garofalo plays Lyla, a grumpy and hard-edged attorney who suffers no fools. Lyla is in the middle of her own nasty divorce from her unemployed chef husband. She has a hard, biting exterior, but as the series moves along, we start to see Lyla’s vulnerable cracks, and Garofalo plays that complexity to perfection.
Reason # 326: Set Design Porn
I love good set design. Remember Sex and the City 2? The movie itself? Terrible. Big and Carrie’s dining room and kitchen in the movie? Glorious.
I couldn’t help but wonder, could this backsplash get any more amazing?
The set designs on GG2D are very House Beautiful. They will induce drool.
Abby, Lyla, and Phoebe hang at a coffee shop that is a mint green caffeinated oasis.
You know what Starbucks needs? More pastels.
Abby’s house has this rug. I need it so I can lay on it and pretend to do yoga.
I could do some amazing down dog on this shaggy throw.
Abby’s house also has these floating stairs. HOVER STAIRS!
Can you imagine baby proofing this place?
Lyla’s house is a bit more my style. What style is it exactly? Contemporary sparkly OHMYGODIWANTTHAT!
I’ve never wanted a set of lamps so bad before. So “I Dream of Genie.”
If I had the oasis of Lyla’s colleague’s office, I would never work. I would just take selfies all day and post them to Instagram with the tag #blessed.
Your office doesn’t have a credenza? Peasant.
Reason #112: Let’s Get Real
There is a lot on this show that is fantastical. Everyone is gorgeous—and white! Everyone is rich! Abby’s friends buy her a Rabbit vibrator! Unless you are time traveling back to 1998 to masturbate, invest in a LELO. Trust.
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But for all the side eye I give the show, there seems to be at least one moment per episode that makes me think, “Truth.” Every episode seems to have something I can relate to, nailing either an experience from my past or a fear for my future.
For reals:
Don’t accept pills (or weed) from friends in a situation that involves stress or anxiety. It always ends up badly.
When it comes to relationships, you can be a nice, mature adult, but sometimes, you are over it and the nasty emerges.
With a split comes more alone time. Gulp.
Abby: I would have killed for a night alone when I was married, and now that I get it? I fall apart.
Lyla: Of course. Because it’s a different kind of alone. Now you’re aloooooone. Alone.
We might do different things to avoid being alone. Like take up bowling. Or boinking.
Phoebe: I think it was eight months into my divorce that I realized maybe I’m not incredibly horny. Manbe I just sleep with these people on my free nights because I want the company.
Who is gonna fix my stuff when it breaks? I can’t re-wire anything!
Abby: What about the window?
Jake: Yeah, you should fix that before you lose a finger.
Abby: Oh my god. I just found a finger! (flips the bird)
Reason #118: Role Reversals
I love when a TV show flips stereotypes around and it doesn’t feel forced. It’s why LOST was so good. Smoke Monsters are usually all cuddles and giggles, but Damon Lindelof turned that idea upside down!
The people on GG2D with the most conservative ideas about marriage? Abby’s gay brother and his husband.
On this show, it’s the ladies who are successful and who make the dough. It’s their men that are struggling and looking for alimony. Abby’s husband is an aspiring director, who only seems to be aspiring his way into some beige Blake Lively-wannabe actress’ pants. And Lyla’s husband is a failed chef. He can make the gnocchi but he cannot make it rain.
No disrespect meant to David Chang, genius.
Reason # 43: GG2D Celebrates Female Friendships
Long before I put on a wedding band, I was rocking one half of a “Be Fri” heart on my charm bracelet. I had besties long before I had a Mister, and I’m leaning on my lady friends heavily at the moment. I say “heavily” because it’s been the holiday season and I. Cannot. Stop. Eating. Spiral. Ham.
“Amy, Please, stop texting us pictures of Honey Baked Ham. Love, Stephanie.”
GG2D might be a show about ending a marriage, but at its core, this is a show about the power of female friendship. Abby, Lyla, and Phoebe need one another. Your girlfriends are there to let you cry, to let you scream, to watch you guzzle pear martinis. Your girlfriends are there to drag you to Bikram and then to the sale rack at Nordstrom. And eventually they will be there for you when it’s time to get off the couch and make new acquaintances. Ones with beards, maybe. That’s normal, right?
Reason #Addendum: Princess Leia!
One more! Abby’s editor is played by Carrie Fisher. She might only be in one episode, but this woman always resonates. Luv huh.
So have any of y’all started watching GG2D? If so, what do you think? Also, do you have any ham you are willing to share? Fine.
