Lena Dunham may not be as big a name as her HBO cohorts like Nucky Thompson and Ned Stark, but that will probably change next spring, when the show she co-created with Judd Apatow, Girls, premieres on the premium network. Earlier this year Dunham got a lot of attention with her feature Tiny Furniture, an autobiographical work based on her own experiences graduating from a tony liberal arts school (Oberlin), moving back in with her parents in Manhattan, and getting entangled with a lot of no-good guys while figuring out her next move. Girls may not turn out to be quite so autobiographical, but Dunham is once again writing and starring as a young woman figuring her way through New York, and from the looks of this first preview for Girls, the same sharp and self-deprecating tone of Tiny Furniture is very much in place. Take a look below.
Even in brief glimpses this trailer shows off so many things you're not used to seeing on TV-- HBO loves nudity from its women, but tell me the last time you saw a woman laying in bed with a man post-coitally, revealing a stomach that doesn't have an ounce of ab muscle showing. And simply the way Dunham talks through her characters about being broke in the city-- not 2 Broke Girls broke, but actually broke-- rings true, not just for people living in New York but for anybody who ever graduated college not knowing what to do next. Dunham's voice is very, very distinct, and I admit I'm squarely within the target audience to get what she's going for, but I still think anyone who gives Girls a shot is likely to find a lot to enjoy in it.
If you're curious to know more, check out Dunham's film Tiny Furniture if you can-- it's not available on DVD right now via Netflix, but is scheduled for a Criterion Collection release soon.
