''Girlfriends'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

television series that premiered on September 11, 2000, on

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

and aired on UPN's successor network,

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

, before being cancelled in 2008. The final episode aired on February 11, 2008.

Episodes

Broadcast history

The series debuted on UPN on Monday September 11, 2000. After airing for several years on the network at 9/8C on Mondays,

moved ''Girlfriends'' to Sundays at 8/7C. After this, the ratings plummeted. On October 9, 2006, ''Girlfriends'', along with The CW's other African-American programs, moved back to Mondays. At this point, ''Girlfriends'' returned to its original time slot. While UPN was still airing new episodes of ''Girlfriends'', the network also began airing reruns five days per week. When the show moved to

network after UPN merged with

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...

network,

MyNetwork TV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

(which was created to take over UPN's former affiliate stations) picked up the rights to air reruns of ''Girlfriends'', although they eventually discontinued running them.

WE tv We TV (stylized as WE tv) is an American pay television channel. Owned by AMC Networks since its September 1997 launch, it is oriented mainly towards lifestyle and entertainment programming. As of February 2015, approximately 85.2 million Amer ...

, a network primarily focused on women's programming, later acquired exclusive rights to air the limited-release episodes on Sundays and exercised an option to not allow broadcast television networks re-broadcast rights to these reruns. Due to the

2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike From November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008, all 12,000 film and television screenwriters of the American labor unions Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) went on strike. The Writers Guild of America ...

, the last episodes produced aired on February 11, 2008. The CW had announced plans to move the series to Sunday nights. However, it was later announced on February 13, 2008 that the series was cancelled after 8 seasons and a proper series finale would not be produced. A representative from The CW stated that the network was going to cancel the series due to low ratings and that it would have been too expensive to re-enter production. A retrospective episode was in development to conclude the series but was later scrapped. The network had offered the actors only half of their usual episodic salary to take part, and the actors collectively turned the offer down.

Characters

Main

* Joan Carol Clayton, Esq: (played by

Tracee Ellis Ross Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and '' Black-ish'' (2014–2022). She is ...

) is considered the unofficial "den mother" of the group, as she frequently looks out for her friends even at the expense of dealing with her own problems, which are plentiful throughout the series. Originally from

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, Joan owns a home in the

Wilton Historic District The Wilton Historic District is a historic district of single family residences in Los Angeles, California from the early 20th century. Geography The neighborhood is bounded by Ridgewood Place and South Wilton Drive on the west, South Wilton Pl ...

Joan met Toni when they were children and then met Lynn in college, and Maya is her assistant at the law firm. She has always had relationship problems and gave up her law career to pursue her dreams. She and Toni clash several times throughout the series, resulting in ending and reconciling their friendship. Major incidents involved Joan inadvertently revealing Toni's cheating to Greg, and Joan's jealousy of Toni's marriage to Todd, but their friendship officially ends by the end of Season 6 when Joan fails to appear for Toni's custody hearing. For much of Season 7, Joan mourned the loss of her friendship with Toni, eventually opting to resent and belittle her in front of the group. At the end of Season 7, she became engaged to Aaron Waters, whom she met while rehabilitating homes in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

damaged by Hurricane Katrina; she moved into his home, in

West Adams, Los Angeles West Adams is a historic neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. The area is known for its large number of historic buildings, structures and notable houses and mansions throughout Los Angeles. It is a youthf ...

, while Aaron was deployed to Iraq and rented her house to Lynn. * Maya Denise Wilkes (née Woods): (played by

Golden Brooks Golden Brooks is an American actress. She began her career with starring role in the Showtime comedy series, '' Linc's'' (1998–2000), and later has appeared in films ''Timecode'' (2000) and '' Impostor'' (2001). From 2000 to 2008, Brooks ...

) is a former assistant to Joan and a housewife/author. Maya grew up in Compton, California and is married to her high school sweetheart, Darnell (played by

Flex Alexander Mark Alexander Knox (born April 15, 1970), better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer. He has had a lot of guest-starring roles on many television sitcoms before portraying single father Flex Washington on ...

). They have one child, Jabari. Maya is the youngest and sassiest of the group, and is often at odds with Toni over her ego-driven lifestyle. She is a devoted wife and mother, and is frequently depicted with stronger religious and moral convictions. Maya is the most "working-class" member of the group, especially in earlier seasons. In the first few seasons Maya was more obviously "from the hood", with the associated stereotyped speech and mannerisms. However, as she becomes more successful in her career and interacts more extensively with the legal and publishing industries, she exhibits fewer stereotypes; while still obviously from a different social background as the rest of the group, she is no longer as caricatured. In the early seasons, Maya's marriage to Darnell imploded after she had an emotional affair with an acquaintance. Later, after she launches a career as a self-help author, they reunite. In Season 8, the couple endured a miscarriage and later explored the possibility of adopting a baby girl. Over the course of the series, Maya lived in

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

Leimert Park Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...

, and finally bought her dream home with Darnell in Lancaster. At the end of Season 7, Maya and Darnell sell their home in Lancaster and move to West Adams, Los Angeles. * Lynn Ann Searcy: (played by

Persia White Persia Jessica White (born October 25, 1972) is a Bahamas-born American actress, singer and musician. White is known for her role as Denise Williams on the short-lived television series ''Breaker High'' and as Lynn Searcy on the UPN/ CW sitcom '' ...

) was Joan and Toni's roommate at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and lived with Joan for eight years before the series begins. Lynn holds five post-graduate degrees. Born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to a black father and a bipolar white mother from a wealthy family, Lynn was adopted by a white family in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

(her dad affectionately calls her "Noodle"). She did not embrace her black heritage until college. When Joan decides it is time for Lynn to move out of her home, Lynn reluctantly becomes more independent by taking on various, mostly menial jobs. She previously lived with Toni, William, Maya, and Sivad (temporarily); and shared a garage with then-boyfriend Vosco before moving into her own apartment (after becoming a property manager at the complex where Maya lived). She produces a documentary on the

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

/ AIDS pandemic, focusing on

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

women. While Lynn is depicted as the most sexually adventurous one of the group (with frequent mentions of one-night stands, group sex, sex toys, and her infamous "Lynn Spin"), she also dates frequently. She is most attracted to artistic and spiritual men, and over the course of the series has relationships with a Jamaican immigrant, a poet, a pastor, and a musician named Finn (the recording artist Tricky). She was also briefly married to William. Her romantic involvement with Lenny (who was so similar to Lynn that the others labeled him as her "brother") was the catalyst for her to search for her biological father. After dating Finn, she discovers that music is her passion, and starts a band called ''Indigo Skye''. Lynn is often considered the

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

of the group, with her carefree nature and down-to-earth personality, and is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

. By Season 8, she had signed with "Dirty Girl" Records. * Antoinette "Toni" Marie Childs-Garrett: (played by

Jill Marie Jones Jill Marie Jones (born January 4, 1975) is an American actress and former professional dancer and cheerleader. Jones is best known for her role as Antoinette "Toni" Childs-Garrett on the UPN comedy series, '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2006). Jon ...

, Seasons 1–6) has been Joan's friend since they were eight-years-old, they attended elementary, high school, and college together. Toni grew up on poor on a farm with an alcoholic mother in

, California. Toni is considered the shallow and popular one of the girlfriends and is the self-proclaimed "cute one" of the group. During the first season Toni and Maya don't get along (she considered Maya to be a lower-class intruder), but ultimately embraced her friendship. Toni is a real-estate agent who eventually opens her own brokerage. She rekindles her romance with Greg Sparks (the "love of her life"), but he dumps her when he learns she cheated on him with Dr. Clay Spencer. Toni unexpectedly finds love with Todd Garrett, a white, Jewish plastic surgeon, whom she marries after a short courtship. After a rocky year-long marriage, the two separate after Todd moves to New York. Toni and Todd have a baby named Morgan. They fight over custody, but at the end of the 6th season work out their issues. Joan misses the custody hearing leading to the fight that ultimately ends Toni and Joan's friendship. Toni moves to New York City so Morgan can be closer to Todd, but has maintained her friendships with Maya and Lynn. Toni's condo was located in Hollywood Hancock Park. * William Jerrowme Dent, Esq: (played by

Reggie Hayes Reginald C. Hayes (born July 15, 1969) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for his role as William Dent on the UPN/ CW show '' Girlfriends''. Early life Hayes was born on July 15, 1969 in Chicago, Illinoisyoungest ...

) is the girls' closest male friend. He is senior partner at Goldberg, Swedelson, McDonald and Lee. Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri he is portrayed as somewhat of a "mama's boy", but possesses self-confidence and a dry sense of humor. (One episode focused on his distant and complicated relationship with his father, who is a perfectionist.) After being left at the wedding altar by the woman he loved and police officer, Yvonne Blackwell, he reluctantly gets back into the groove of dating, including Donna, Kara, senior partner Sharon Upton Farley (played by

Anne-Marie Johnson Anne-Marie Johnson (born July 18, 1960) is an American actress and impressionist. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Nadine Hudson–Thomas in '' What's Happening Now!!'' (1985–1988), and Althea Tibbs in '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1 ...

), and the at-times the vicious Monica Charles Brooks (whom he ultimately marries). Fearing that Joan would beat him to the altar, he eloped with Lynn on a whim; though he quickly realized that he wanted to find true love and they ultimately divorce. He later realizes that Joan is the right woman for him, but after three months of courting, the two end their relationship. He became a sperm donor for his sister Linda and her same-sex partner, and regards the baby as his "nephew-son." He is also co-owner of the J-Spot restaurant with Joan. In later seasons, William forges a tight bond with Darnell, Maya's husband. During Season 7, he was working on his marriage with Monica. According to William's mother, his middle name is spelled with two "R"s, and a silent "W". Beginning in season 2, William owns a home in the Valley. * Darnell Leroy Wilkes: (played by

Season 1, and then played by

Khalil Kain Khalil Kain is an American actor, film producer and rapper best known for his role as Raheem Porter in the 1992 crime thriller film ''Juice'' and as the second Darnell Wilkes on the UPN/CW sitcom '' Girlfriends'' (2001–2008). He is also known f ...

, Seasons 6–8, main; 2–5, recurring) is Maya's husband. He and Maya married at a young age and had their son, Jabari. Darnell was an airport

baggage handler In the airline industry, a baggage handler is a person who loads and unloads baggage (suitcases or luggage), and other cargo (airfreight, mail, counter-to-counter packages) for transport via aircraft. With most airlines, the formal job title i ...

, before becoming a mechanic at a local car repair shop. For a while, he was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

pit crew mechanic. After Maya's affair with Stan Wright the two divorce. In earlier seasons, he felt threatened by Maya's friendship with Joan, Toni and Lynn; though he ultimately put his issues aside and became friends with them. After the divorce, he dated a woman named Lena ( Chenoa Maxwell) whom Maya disliked because she still had feelings for Darnell. At Lena and Darnell's wedding Maya professed her love for Darnell. The two reconcile and begin living together again in Season 6. In the end of Season 7, Darnell accepts an offer to buy back his garage and get Maya and Jabari a new house in Los Angeles. After suffering a miscarriage, the couple considers adopting a baby girl. * Monica Charles Brooks-Dent: (played by

Keesha Sharp Keesha Ulricka Sharp ( née Fletch; born June 9, 1973) is an American actress and film / television director. She began her career appearing on television dramas, before her regular role as Monica Charles Brooks in the UPN/The CW comedy series, ...

, Seasons 7–8, main; 3–6, recurring) is William's wife. All four of the girlfriends (especially Lynn and Toni) hated her (Joan comes to see her vulnerable side and becomes her friend, and Toni moves to New York City at the end of the sixth season). In the seventh season, the girls slowly and later fully accept Monica as their friend as Monica does the same. Although engaged to William, the two date twice before; they meet at a bar the first time. Since the last time William proposes to her in Monaco, he has occasionally had doubts about ever doing so. Eventually William and Monica get married, but on their wedding day he has too much to drink and confesses that he has had and still has doubts about marrying her. Monica leaves William in Season 7, but returns shortly after the girlfriends go to Chicago to persuade her to get back together with William. On their visit, the girls discover that Monica, due to her father's dementia and her mother's power of attorney, has been cut off from her family fortune, so Joan offers Monica a job at the J-Spot. William is thrilled about Monica's return until she demands half of what he earned while they were married. They manage to slowly rebuild their relationship but constantly clash at the J-Spot. In the Season 7 finale, Monica and William get back together. By Season 8, Monica was pregnant and is seen spending more time with the other three girlfriends, particularly Joan.

Recurring

* Jabari Darnell Wilkes: (Seasons 1–6 played by: Tanner Scott Richards, Season 7–8 played by: Kendré Berry) is Maya and Darnell's son. He was born when Maya was 16 years old. He was depicted to be a sweet innocent child but once he entered his teen years he seemed to be a little more dimwitted and rebellious. * Jeanette Woods: (played by

Charmin Lee Charmin Lee is an American actress. She had a recurring role as Jeanette Wood, Maya's Mother, on the series '' Girlfriends''. Filmography Film Television External links * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Charmin Living people American tel ...

) is Maya's no-nonsense mother who won't hesitate to put a

switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

to her adult daughter. She babysat Jabari while he was younger, and also rented out her garage for Lynn and her then-boyfriend Vosco, from Jamaica, to live after Joan kicked her out of her house. She initially took an instant dislike to Joan's "sadiddy" behavior towards Maya's style (also labeling Joan as "classist" and "egregious" as Maya does), but eventually grew to accept her. She and Maya also butt heads when she decides to sell her home to move in with her boyfriend Earl (whom Maya doesn't like). Jeanette was seen throughout Seasons 1–7. * Veretta Childs: (played by

Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and '' Sister Act'' (1992). Le ...

) is Toni's loud and outspoken mother from Fresno whose high-spirited behavior and garish outfits often embarrass Toni. She suffered from alcoholism during Toni's formative years, which put a strain on their relationship. Veretta eventually sobered up. However, she briefly relapsed during Toni and Todd's engagement party - this was partially due to her guilt over her daughters Toni and Sherri not getting along. While she and Toni often clash, she supports her daughter. Veretta appears throughout Seasons 2-6. * Ronnie: (played by Lamont Johnson) is Maya's cousin and hair stylist. In the series he helped sell her semi-biographical book. He owns two beauty salons called Situations and Situations Deux. He is last seen at the ending of season 7 as Aaron proposed to Joan. * Peaches: (played by Shawn Harrison) Ronnie's boyfriend who is a hair stylist at Situations and had a short stint as Joan's assistant and temporary confidante after Maya goes to work as William's secretary after William becomes Senior Partner. Peaches is last seen at the ending of season 7 as Aaron proposes to Joan. Peaches also made a cameo in a season 2 episode of ''

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

''. *Sherri Childs: (played by

Yvette Nicole Brown Yvette Nicole Brown (born August 12, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer and host. She starred as Shirley Bennett on the NBC sitcom ''Community'', as Dani in the 2015 version of '' The Odd Couple'' on CBS and as Dina Rose on the AB ...

) Toni's oldest sister who she does not get along with due to Toni leaving the family due to their mother's alcoholism to go to school. They reconcile their relationship in the episode where Toni gets married to Todd. She, alongside Lynn, Maya and Melanie (Toni's other sister) were a part of her ceremony as her bridesmaids. She appears in two episodes in season 3. * Davis Hamilton: (played by Randy J. Goodwin) owner and operator of the girls' favorite restaurant/hangout spot, 847 (Season 1). He and Joan flirted with one another, and almost went away for a romantic weekend while both were involved with other people. However, during Season 4, in the aftermath of Joan's breakup with Brock, she runs into Davis at a movie theater. She learns that Davis had lost the restaurant and also ended his relationship with his fiancée'. They talk about how they missed the opportunity to start a relationship, and ultimately decide to just remain friends. * Charles Swedelson: (played by

Phil Reeves Phil Reeves is an American film and television actor and screenwriter. He is known for the roles of Charles Swedelson on the sitcom '' Girlfriends'', new Vice President Andrew Doyle in HBO's ''Veep'', as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff G ...

) the managing partner at Goldberg, Swedelson, McDonald and Lee who is also Joan's and William's supervisor. Though highly professional, he is known to have a roving eye for the ladies, and tends to use "hip-hop" and "urban" euphemisms towards Joan and William to appear more laid back and sociable. Mr. Swedelson was seen throughout the entire series run. * Yvonne Blackwell(pronounced Yuh Von): (played by Cee Cee Michaela) William's girlfriend, later fiancée in the first two seasons. Yvonne originally was a crazy police officer that William met on the internet and went on a date in the Season 1 episode, "Hip-Ocracy" but Yvonne and William start dating midway through the first season and later get engaged at the beginning of Season 2. Yvonne quits the police force after her life was put on the line and after William issued her an ultimatum. During Season 2, Yvonne and William have some issues in their relationship mainly because William bought a house unbeknownst to Yvonne. Later in the episode, "Willie or Won't He II: The Last Chapter?", Yvonne and William get married but she leaves William at the altar after confessing the many issues happening in their relationship.

Guest appearances

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the ...

; Ellis Carter *

Aldis Hodge Aldis Alexander Basil Hodge (born September 20, 1986) is an American actor. Among his significant roles, he played Alec Hardison in the TNT series '' Leverage'', MC Ren in the 2015 biopic '' Straight Outta Compton'', Levi Jackson in the 2016 f ...

; Matthew Miles & Derwin Davis *

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Brown (born December 18, 1961) known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s ...

; Darla Mason *

; Sharon Upton Farley *

Bebe Moore Campbell Bebe Moore Campbell (February 18, 1950 – November 27, 2006) was an American author, journalist and teacher. Campbell was the author of three ''New York Times'' bestsellers: ''Brothers and Sisters'', ''Singing in the Comeback Choir'', and ''What ...

; Herself *

Bernard Parks Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

; Himself *

Bernie Casey Bernard Terry Casey (June 8, 1939 – September 19, 2017) was an American actor, poet and professional American football player. Early life Casey was born in Wyco, West Virginia, the son of Flossie (Coleman) and Frank Leslie Casey. He graduated ...

; Edward Dent *

Bern Nadette Stanis Bernnadette Stanis, also billed as Bern Nadette Stanis (born Bernadette Stanislaus, December 22, 1953), is an American actress and author. Stanis is best known for her role as Thelma Evans, the only daughter of Florida and James Evans Sr. on the ...

; Herself *

Beverly Johnson Beverly Ann Johnson (born October 13, 1952) is an American model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. Johnson rose to fame when she became the first African-American model to appear on the cover of American ''Vogue'' in August 1974. In 1975, Jo ...

; Herself *

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 300 ...

; Himself *

CCH Pounder Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952) is a Guyanese-American actress. She has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in ''The X-Files'', '' ER'', '' The Shield'', and ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agenc ...

; Dr. Myers * Cee Cee Michaela Harshaw; Yvonne Blackwell * Car'ynn Sims; Chevonne Brown * Chante Moore; Herself *

Charnele Brown Karen Charnele Brown (née Dozier; born October 30, 1960) is an American actress, producer, writer, fashion designer and singer. Brown is perhaps best known for her role as Kimberly Reese on NBC comedy sitcom ''A Different World'' from 1988 until ...

; Beverly *

Christina Vidal Christina Vidal is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in films such as '' Life with Mikey'', ''Brink!'', '' Freaky Friday'', '' See No Evil'' and for her role in Nickelodeon sitcom '' Taina'', in which she played the ...

; Samantha Stephens *

Chrisette Michele Chrisette Michele Payne (born December 8, 1982) is an American R&B and soul singer. She won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song " Be OK" (featuring will.i.am). She was previously signed to Motown Record ...

; Herself *

Christopher Darden Christopher Allen Darden (born April 7, 1956) is an American lawyer, author, actor, and lecturer. He worked for 15 years in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, where he gained national attention as a co-prosecutor in the O. J. S ...

; Himself * Chuma Hunter-Gault; Greg Sparks *

Cindy Williams Cynthia Jane Williams (born August 22, 1947) is an American actress and producer, known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1975–1979), and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (1976–1982). Early life Williams was bo ...

; Lisa * Common; Omar * Coby Bell; Jason Pitts *

Danny Bonaduce Dante Daniel Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American radio personality, actor, television personality, and professional wrestler. Bonaduce is the son of veteran TV writer and producer Joseph Bonaduce (''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' One Da ...

; Himself *

Darius McCrary Darius Creston McCrary (born May 1, 1976) is an American actor, rapper, singer and producer. McCrary is known for his role as Edward "Eddie" Winslow, the oldest child of Carl and Harriette Winslow on the ABC/CBS television sitcom '' Family Mat ...

; Antoine Childs *

David Groh David Lawrence Groh (May 21, 1939 – February 12, 2008)Noland, Clair"David Groh, 68; Husband on 'Rhoda'" ''Los Angeles Times''. 14 February 2008. was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Joe Gerard in the 1970s television series ''R ...

; Michael Goldberg * David Ramsey; Randall Potter * Dawn Wells; Herself *

Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...

; Linda Dent *

Demond Wilson Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor and author. He portrayed Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred Sanford (played by Redd Foxx) in the NBC sitcom ''Sanford and Son'' (1972–77), and Oscar Madison in '' The New Odd Coup ...

; Kenneth Miles * Dondre T. Whitfield; Sean Ellis *

Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew "Donnie" McClurkin, Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel singer and minister. He has won three Grammy Awards, ten Stellar Awards, two BET Awards, two Soul Train Awards, one Dove Award and one NAACP Image Awards. ...

; Himself *

Don Franklin Don Franklin (born December 14, 1960) is an American actor, best known for his roles in ''seaQuest DSV'' as Commander Jonathan Ford, '' Seven Days'' as Captain Craig Donovan, and as one of ''The Young Riders'' (Noah Dixon). Biography Franklin ...

; Stan * Doug Spearman; Man *

Drew Sidora Drew Sidora Pittman (née Jordan; born May 1, 1985) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her recurring role as Chantel in the Disney Channel Original Series ''That's So Raven'', as Lucy Avila in the 2006 film '' Step Up'', as Tion ...

; Sage *

Duane Martin Duane Martin (born August 11, 1965) is an American actor. Early life and education Martin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and he graduated from New York University. He played NCAA Division III basketball at NYU and was signed as an undrafted ...

; Preston C. Hall *

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

; Herself *

Evan Ross Evan Olav Ross-Naess (born August 26, 1988), is an American actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the comedy-drama film '' ATL'' (2006), and has since starred in the films ''Pride'' (2007), ''According to Greta'' (2009), ''Mooz-lum'' ( ...

; Himself *

Harry Lennix Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the Robert Townsend film ''The Five Heartbeats'' (1991) and as Boyd Langton in the science-fiction series '' Doll ...

; Earl * Hosea Chanchez; Malik Wright * Isaac Hayes; Eugene Childs *

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

; Paul *

Jackie Collins Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times B ...

; Herself * James L. Avery Sr.; Dr. Couch * Jason Pace; Dr. Todd Garrett *

; Veretta Childs *

Jennifer Baxter Jennifer Baxter (born 1976) is a Canadian actress and comedian formerly based out of Toronto and currently living in Los Angeles with her husband Mike Beaver. Her best-known roles include Number 9 in George A. Romero's '' Land of the Dead'', ...

; Kelly Pitts * Jill Scott; Donna Williams *

Joan Pringle Joan Pringle (born June 2, 1945) is an American actress known for her roles on ''General Hospital'' (1963), '' The White Shadow'' (1978), and ''Original Sin'' (2001). One of her best-known roles was that of vice principal (and subsequently princi ...

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Awards and nominations

Spin-off

A 2006 episode of ''Girlfriends'' titled "The Game" featured guest star

as Joan's cousin Melanie Barnett, an aspiring medical student, who wants to give up her future to follow her professional athlete boyfriend to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

. That episode was the launching pad for '' The Game'', a spin-off series, which was canceled by The CW television network. In April 2010,

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

announced that it would pick up the series, which aired new episodes until the August 5, 2015 series finale. When the fourth season of ''The Game'' premiered in 2011 it received 7.7 million viewers, which at the time of its airing, made the show the most watched sitcom premiere in cable television history. In November 2021, a revival spin-off of the series was picked up and released to

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

, serving as a direct sequel from the original series and was promoted as a refreshed series ''(rebooted and marketed as season 1)'' while also subsequently continuing the overall total seasons ''(chronicled as season 10)''. The new inception continues where it left off from the 2015 finale a few years later switching gears set in the new location of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

with the new protagonists of reprised characters, chronicling

Tasha Mack This is a list of the characters and plot points from the American comedy-drama television series '' The Game''. Characters Main Recurring Series cast main character format Legacy Characters of the series appeared throughout the various s ...

and her struggles of being a woman of color sports agent; while her son Malik Wright learns to make important decisions in his sports career while quietly battling mental health issues and Brittany Pitts who is navigating her adult life taking on serious financial hardships and responsibilities becoming independent away from her Pro-Football dads' ( Jason Pitts) image and inheritance. The revived series also introduces new characters to the storyline. The reboot has also garnered favorable and positive reviews from media outlets.

Home media

Soundtrack

Track listing

- "Vibrate On" (4:14) # Jill Scott - "

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

" (3:52) #

- " Wish I Didn't Miss You" (4:32) #

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

- " Put Your Records On" (3:35) #

Algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary ...

- "I Know" (3:57) #

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

- "

Stronger Than Me "Stronger Than Me" is a song by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse from her debut studio album '' Frank'' (2003). Written by Winehouse and Salaam Remi, "Stronger Than Me" was released in the United Kingdom as the lead single on 6 October ...

" (3:42) # Estelle - "All Comes Back to You" (3:22) #

- "Girl Respect Yourself" (3:44) # Chaka Khan feat.

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

- " Disrespectful" (4:46) #

India.Arie India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards ...

- " I Am Not My Hair" (3:48) # Dre - "Soulmate" (4:22) #

- " Choices" (2:47) # Lira - "Feel Good" (5:15)

Streaming

The series is available to stream on

's free digital-only network,

CW Seed CW may stand for: Science and technology * centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt * Cω, a programming language * CW complex, a type of topological space * Carrier wave, in radio communications * CodeWarrior, an integrated development environ ...

. The entire series began streaming on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

on September 11, 2020 to commemorate the show's 20th anniversary.

Citations

General sources

* *

External links

''Girlfriends'' site on HHE Paramount

Syndication info. on CBS TV Distribution site
* * {{Authority control 2000 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings 2000s American black sitcoms 2000s American sex comedy television series 2000s American romantic comedy television series English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television series created by Mara Brock Akil Television shows set in Los Angeles The CW original programming UPN original programming