If one goes back to the early 2010s, pop culture commentary operated under a very specific, highly cynical lens, where certain TV shows were not just watched for fun, but treated like weekly target practice. Back then, putting messy, deeply flawed twenty-somethings on screen and letting them fail in real-time was enough to spark an endless parade of internet outrage and brutal critiques. But time has a strange way of healing old cultural wounds. Fast-forward to today, and society has collectively decided to view those exact same chaotic stories with a wave of nostalgic fondness. 

Yet, while the rest of the world has effortlessly pivoted to cheering for them, Lena Dunham and Allison Williams have admitted they still do not quite know how to handle people actually liking Girls out in the open.

The masterminds behind Girls certainly have not forgotten the response they got when the series was still airing. During a recent New York event previewing their upcoming HBO revival, Lena Dunham and Allison Williams admitted they still feel completely whiplashed by the internet's sudden affection for the series. Back when it originally aired, the sheer outrage over the characters' everyday flaws was hilarious in hindsight, as reported by Variety.

“When the show came out, the way that people talked about our behavior — I was like, ‘People are angrier at us for just being girls who sometimes give hand j*** on TV than they are Walter White or Tony Soprano.'” Dunham said during a conversation with Allison Williams at New York City’s Swarovski store on Thursday evening. 

The digital media landscape of the early 2010s did not pull any punches either, with outlets like Gawker frequently reducing the cast to “their dads' daughters” rather than using their actual names. But fast-forward to today, and public perception has done a complete 180. Modern viewers finally seem to realize that young women on screen do not need to be perfectly behaved saints. 

Dunham noted that people now realize that girls are allowed to be weird, self-aware, and hilariously complicated. Now that the characters are pushing 40 for their big return, it looks like fans are more than ready to embrace whatever glorious chaos they are about to serve up next in the series revival (via Variety).

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If you spent the early 2010s tracking every single messy, cringeworthy life choice made by HBO's favorite group of Brooklyn twenty-somethings, get ready for a major nostalgia trip.

HBO is officially bringing Girls back to life for a five-episode special event series, with cameras slated to start rolling in 2027. The entire main crew is stepping back into character - meaning Lena Dunham (Hannah), Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke (Jessa), Zosia Mamet (Shoshanna), and Andrew Rannells (Elijah) are all officially reuniting, with veteran executive producer Judd Apatow also returning to oversee the chaos. 

Trading in their chaotic early-adulthood disasters for the brand-new, equally baffling realities of pushing 40, this unexpected revival is shaping up to be a fascinating check-in on television's most polarizing millennial crew. Interestingly, Lena Dunham is also involved in a 10 Things I Hate About You Broadway musical currently in development.

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Do you recall any public reaction resembling what Lena Dunham and Allison Williams shared regarding the show? Do let us know.