New Judd Apatow-Produced, Lena Dunham HBO Show Girls Slated for April

By Nikki Metzgar Wed., Jan. 18 2012 at 9:00 AM

Categories: Television

Tease - Struggle

When you hear that there will be a new HBO show about a twentysomething woman trying to make it as a writer in New York City with her best girlfriends, do you a) roll your eyes, think "I'm a male" and get back to reading Matt Taibbi or b) roll your eyes, think "I am not a type! I am a unique individual!" and get back to reading Mindy Kaling's Twitter feed?

Despite initially sounding like potentially condescending, millennial female navel-gazing or, worse, a Sex and the City retread, the Girls trailer is laugh-out-loud funny. That's less of a surprise when the names behind the show are revealed. Lena Dunham, who writes, directs and stars in Girls, also wrote, directed and starred in last year's festival favorite Tiny Furniture.

Although Girls takes up a premise similar to Tiny Furniture's -- underemployed college graduate with dating problems and muddled life goals-- the TV show seems to improve upon its predecessor by replacing some of the unhappy mumbling with lighthearted witticisms.

Judd Apatow, billed as an executive producer, is lending his big name and expertise with self-defeating characters to the show. The pilot is set to debut on April 15.