Girls Season 3 Trailer Teases Drama, Humor And Character Growth

Accountability. If I’m speaking as the wise, old thirty-something Girls viewer after just watching the trailer for the third season of Lena Dunham’s HBO dramedy, I’d say that’s something that’s been a little absent among the characters in this series thus far. I suppose accountability is something that develops in time, or it should, as young twenty-somethings trudge through adulthood trying to accept the parts of their lives that aren’t happening as planned, and plan for the parts that hopefully will with time and effort. While the Season 3 trailer indicates more humor and drama along the way, it looks like these “girls” are aiming to take more control in their lives, or at the very least, to begin to see the availability of control, which is an indication that these characters really are growing up.

“Everything that’s been so terrible and painful in the last few months was leading me to this point,” Dunham’s Hannah can be heard saying near the end of the trailer. “It’s amazing to realize that I hold the keys to the prison that is my mind.” Step 1 is realizing she has the keys. Step 2 is to free herself from the prison — or to stop seeing her own mind as a prison, which she should be able to do once she unlocks the door. And then there’s Shoshanna, who admits she might need to un-choose the choice of letting her life be a mess. While Marnie insists that, despite what it seems, she is “like OK”. It seems like these girls are ready to take control of their lives.

What else does the trailer tease? Hannah’s keeping busy at the office, or trying to, and at one point it looked like she was rubbing her backside on a tombstone, because that happens sometimes. Ray’s trying to follow the protocols of a gentleman and a squire. Adam’s not interested in anything Hannah’s friends have to say. Apparently, neither is Hannah, but that’s not the point of friendship. And then there are lots of shots of girls looking sad, including Hannah crying in a cubical. As much of a downer as some of those snippets were, there’s optimism in Hannah’s words, and in the glimpses the trailer offers of kissing, hand-holding, dancing and lake-jumping.

Girls returns with two back-to-back episodes January 12 at 10:00 p.m., which puts the HBO comedy up against the return of Showtime’s comedies, House of Lies, Episodes and Shameless.

Here’s a look at the previously released Girls production video: