‘Girls5eva’ Stars Busy Philipps and Paula Pell on the Empowering Message Found Between the Netflix Show’s Big Laughs
“Girls5eva” deserves to be heard. Yes, the laugh-out-loud comedy, from the minds of Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, creator Meredith Scardino and others, is funny. The music industry (in particular, the teen pop machine) is wickedly skewered. The music, led by Jeff Richmond, is clever and catchy.
But really, the heart of the show comes from its stars — Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps and Paula Pell — and the characters they play. These are women of a certain age who are rediscovering their voices and finally taking on their dreams, after years of settling for something less.
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Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast recently spoke to Philipps and Pell about Season 3 of “Girls5eva,” what the show has meant to them and the special message that it resonates between the laughs. Listen below!
In “Girls5eva,” Bareilles is Dawn, who gave up dreams of fame to raise her family. Goldsberry’s character, Wickie, is the diva whose attempt at a solo career didn’t pan out. Philipps’ Summer is the spacey wannabe influencer who belatedly realizes her marriage is a lie. Pell plays Gloria, who gave up music to become a dentist. When one of their long-forgotten songs resurfaces as a sample on a hip-hop tune, they reunite.
It’s an ambitious series that mixes a “30 Rock”-level density of jokes with a deeper storyline about what it’s like to pursue a passion after you thought the opportunities were gone.
“I think what Meredith Scardino and all of our writers and Tina Fey are always able to do — honestly, in all the shows that Tina has made — is hard jokes that are so funny and absurd in so many ways,” Philipps says. “And yet, it’s also very grounded and has a lot to say about what it is to be a woman in this moment in time and of a certain age. And a woman trying to make their dreams come true. A woman trying to come to terms with the ending of their long term relationship and figuring out in their 40s who are they are. As as a person who is also in their early 40s, who has also found themselves divorced, I do think that there’s a thing that happens when you reach middle age where you do take stock of how other people’s opinions have influenced you. And whether or not that’s who you actually are and what you actually want to be.”
Pell quips that as she hits 60, she’s discovered a new-found freedom not to care so much about what others have to say. “Those filters are falling off now a little bit,” she says. “I used to be the most worried about what people think. And everything I said and did in my life. I was total codependent total people pleaser, and now I am really not at all. And I’m still a very kind person, but I just I just tell the truth.”
The theme of Season 3 revolves around the four “Girls5eva” characters continuing to take a similar journey of self-discovery. It’s a treat for the stars to have even gotten a third season, after “Girls5eva” ran for two seasons on Peacock. When a third season wasn’t likely there, the producers rallied and managed to get a pickup from Netflix, which now has all three seasons on the streamer.
Meanwhile, also on this episode, the filmmakers behind Investigation Discovery’s docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, discuss the reaction to its expose on the dangers of being a child actor on one of the youth-geared linear networks.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post weekly.
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