''Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys'' is an American
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...
series that premiered on December 7, 2010, on the
Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to:
* Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States).
* Sundance Channel (Canada)
* Sundance Channel (Netherlands)
* Sundance Channel (Europe) Sundance Channel can refer to:
* Sundance TV, formerly kno ...
.
The series chronicles the lives of four gay men and their female best friends.
Season 2, which saw the show relocating to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, premiered November 18, 2011.
Cast
Season 1
* Elisa and David - Elisa Casas owns a vintage clothing store, Chelsea Girl, in
SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
and David Munk manages it. They met while living across the hall from each other in the Weinstein dormitory at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
.
* Sarah and Joel -
Sarah Rose is a travel writer and the author of ''For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History''.
Joel Derfner
Joel Derfner (born January 12, 1973) is an American writer and composer. He is the author of three gay-themed books: ''Gay Haiku'' (2005), ''Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead'' (2008), and ''Lawf ...
is the author of two books, ''Gay Haiku'' and ''Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead''. He also composes musicals.
* Rosebud and Sahil -
Rosebud Baker
Rosemary Baker, known professionally as Rosebud Baker, (born March 16, 1985) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Based in New York City, she is known for her Black humor, dark humor based on personal, often Satire, satirical stories.
I ...
is an actress. She and Sahil Farooqi met in college in Virginia. As of the series premiere, Sahil had not
come out to his family.
* Crystal and Nathan -
Crystal McCrary and
Nathan Hale Williams
Nathan Hale Williams (born 1976) is an American film producer, television producer, entertainment attorney, actor and former model.
Early life and education
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Williams began appearing in regional theatrical p ...
operate a film and television production company. Crystal is the mother of
NBA point guard Cole Anthony
Cole Hinton Anthony (born May 15, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Listed at and , he plays t ...
and, with Rita Ewing, is the co-author of the novel ''Homecourt Advantage''.
Season 2
* Tenisha and Jared - Tenisha Jackson is a children's book author and
Jared Allman
Jared Allman is an American actor. He attended the University of Tennessee, earning his bachelor's degree in business from Tusculum College.
Early and personal life
Allman’s father was in the Air Force during his early childhood, and as a resu ...
is an aspiring actor.
* Kristin and Peter - Kristin Sabata is a school psychologist whose husband is deployed in Afghanistan.
Peter Depp is a stand-up comedian with three children from a previous marriage to a woman.
* Sherrié and Shane -
Sherrié Austin
Sherrie Veronica Krenn (born 28 August 1970), known professionally as Sherrié Austin, is an Australian actress and country music singer. Active as a singer since her teenage years, Austin initially recorded as one half of the duo Colourhaus, w ...
, a former child actress, is a singer/songwriter determined to make a return to performing after years of songwriting for other artists.
Shane Stevens is also a songwriter and aspiring singer.
* Olivia and Brent - Olivia McCarthy is a restaurateur and publishes a regional magazine. Brent Oscar Young is an event planner and publicist.
Episodes
Season 1 (2010)
Season 2 (2011-12)
Reception
Ellen Gray of ''
The Philadelphia Daily News
''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.
The ''Dail ...
'' found ''Girls'' to be similar in tone to the series ''
Will & Grace
''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman ( Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler ( Debra Messi ...
'' and pondered whether a reality version of that show was necessary. Despite that, the ''News'' found the lack of "manufactured" drama a positive change from other similar reality programs. ''
The New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in t ...
s Richard Huff, also comparing ''Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys'' to the "groundbreaking" ''Will & Grace'', labels ''Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys'' "mind-breaking". It has moments, sure, but never enough to make it memorable or a winner." The lack of "reality-show trappings" like "table flipping" and "hair-extension pulling", he writes, means that the series needs "some humor, drama and good storytelling" and ''Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys'' lacks these qualities. Hank Stuever of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' cites a "curiously sad tone" that pervades ''Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys''. "The show often seems at cross-purposes," he continues, "as if the producers had a clear idea of what sort of peppy project they wanted to film and then picked the wrong people to follow around."
[
Troy Patterson of ]Slate.com
''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former '' New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 2 ...
calls the series "intriguingly ridiculous". ''Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys'', he writes, seeks to be a serious show but in trying to be serious it "betrays its core triviality". Brent Hartinger
Brent Hartinger (born 1971) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his novels about gay teenagers.
Early life
Hartinger was born in 1971 in Washington state and grew up in Tacoma, Washington. He earned a bachelor's ...
of the gay-interest website TheBacklot.com
TheBacklot.com (TheBacklot), founded in January 2005 as AfterElton.com (AfterElton), was a culture website that focused on the portrayal of gay and bisexuality, bisexual men in the Mass media, media and was the companion site of AfterEllen.com (Af ...
writes that it is "a smart, watchable show". Acknowledging the ''Will & Grace''-like premise, Hartinger notes that the series quickly deals with the similarities and "becomes about four very specific pairings, each of which is interesting and unique in its own way. Better still, none of the relationships is perfect, and only one is what might you think of when you think of this type of relationship". Joel Derfner
Joel Derfner (born January 12, 1973) is an American writer and composer. He is the author of three gay-themed books: ''Gay Haiku'' (2005), ''Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead'' (2008), and ''Lawf ...
, a co-star of season one of the show, has publicly criticized the show's producers for their editing and manipulation of statements and sentiments, which sometimes ended up on air as the opposite of fact.[Derfner, Joel]
''Lawfully Wedded Husband: How My Gay Marriage Will Save the American Family''
University of Wisconsin Press, 2013. p. 117.
References
External links
*
*
{{Sundance Shows
2010 American television series debuts
2012 American television series endings
English-language television shows
2010s American LGBT-related television series
2010s American reality television series
Gay-related television shows
Television shows set in New York City
Sundance TV original programming
American LGBT-related reality television series
2010s LGBT-related reality television series