Girls
Everything you need to know about Girls
Girls follows the lives of four twenty-something friends as they each attempt to find meaning in their life in New York City.
This includes love, careers, the general feeling of growing into adulthood, and the inevitable mistakes you make along the way to finding out who you are.
Inspired by the experiences of Lena Dunham, who writes and stars on the show, Girls has been praised for depictions of the millennial experience at that key point of life.
Launching in April 2012, the series was praised for its refreshing take on body positivity, mental health, addiction, and the realities of financing a life in New York.
The series concluded in 2017, and remains a cult favorite.
Who stars in Girls?
Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath
Played By: Lena Dunham (Catherine Called Birdy, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and This Is 40)
Hannah Horvath is an aspiring writer and aims to be “the voice of a generation… or at least a voice of a generation”. However when we meet her she’s in an unpaid internship and her lifestyle is being funded by her increasingly frustrated parents.
Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson
Played By: Jemima Kirke (Conversations With Friends, Sex Education, and City On Fire)
Jessa is the true wild child of the group, and it often gets her in trouble. Despite this, she has an intellectual head on her shoulders.
Allison Williams as Marnie Michaels
Played By: Allison Williams (M3gan, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Horizon Line, and Fellow Travelers)
Allison is a college friend of Hannah’s, who moved to New York with her following her graduation. She likes to think of herself as a free spirit, arty-type but that isn’t entirely factual. During the course of the show we see her wanting to launch a music career as a singer.
Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro
Played By: Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant, Tales Of The City, Mad Men, and Parenthood)
Shoshanna is an only child who prides herself in trying to be a good person.
We’re introduced to her while she’s studying marketing at NYU.
Simple and virginal, Shoshanna has a sexual awakening while getting to know the girls.
Other key cast members of note include:
- Adam Driver (Marriage Story, Star Wars, Ferrari) as Adam Sackler
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear, The Punisher) as Desi Harperin
- Andrew Rannells (The Intern, A Simple Favor) as Elijah Krantz
- Alex Karpovsky (Angelyne, Homecoming) as Ray Ploshansky
- Peter Scolari (Newhart, Honey I Shrunk The Kids) as Tad Horvath
- Becky Ann Baker (The Resort, New Amsterdam) as Loreen Horvath
- Christopher Abbot (Poor Things, Catch-22) as Charlie Dattolo
- Jake Lacy (High Fidelity, The White Lotus) as Fran Parker
- Jon Glaser (Single Drunk Female, Parks and Recreation) as Laird Schlesinger
- Gaby Hoffmann (Transparent, Eric) as Caroline Sackler
How many episodes of Girls are there?
Girls ran for six seasons, totaling 62 episodes.
Every season ran for 10 episodes a piece, apart from season three which ran for 12.
How successful was Girls and what awards did it win?
Girls received international acclaim during its run, and has since become a cult favorite for millennial female audiences.
This was reflected by awards boards, earning 124 nominations with 19 total wins.
Wins include:
- Two Emmy Awards
- One Bafta TV Award
- Two Golden Globes
- One Peabody Award
What is the age rating of Girls?
The official rating of Girls in the UK, as certified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), is 18 for the overall series.
This means it’s been deemed suitable for adult audiences only.
Reasons for this rating include:
- Graphic depictions and discussions of sex and sex acts in nearly every episode
- Frequent exposed breasts and full frontal nudity
- Profane language, most commonly the word ‘f**k’
- Moderate drug use, including use of marijuana and cocaine
- Mild violence such as slapping and catfights
- Smoking and alcohol is commonplace in every episode
- Hard-hitting storylines that include discussions on miscarriage, abortion, and infertility that some viewers may find upsetting
How to watch Girls in the UK
All episodes of Girls are currently available to watch on Sky Comedy and streaming service NOW.
Will I still be able to watch Girls on Sky with HBO Max launching?
If you have Sky Ultimate TV or Sky Q with an eligible package, you will still be able to watch Girls from 26 March 2026 with access to HBO Max Basic with Ads included as part of your Sky subscription. So not only will you still have a full back catalogue of your favourite series – including Game of Thrones, The Sopranos and Friends – but you’ll also get brand new HBO Max Original titles like the Emmy Award-winning The Pitt. Sky+ customers will also be able to watch HBO Max Basic with Ads content through their home page.
Sky Atlantic will continue to air upcoming seasons of much-loved HBO shows that have previously aired on Sky, including House of the Dragon, The Last of Us and The White Lotus, alongside homegrown Sky Originals and exclusive Peacock Originals straight from the US.
But we’re not stopping there. From March 2026, Sky is bringing together HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+ and (from July 2026) Hayu all under a single subscription. That means millions of existing customers will get unrivalled access to unmissable entertainment as part of their Sky TV subscription!
For more information on how Sky TV is getting even better – click here!
And what about NOW subscribers?
This March, existing NOW Entertainment customers will get HBO Max Basic with Ads included in their membership at no extra cost and fully integrated into the NOW platform, bringing even more must-see series from HBO Max alongside Sky Originals and exclusive US shows. HBO Max Basic with Ads will drop into your membership automatically, so you don’t need to do a thing.