Girlfriends


 

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Girlfriends

Girlfriends: 4th Season DVD (July 29th)
Format Sitcom, Comedy, Drama
Created by Mara Brock Akil
Starring Tracee Ellis Ross
Golden Brooks
Persia White
Reggie Hayes
Jill Marie Jones
(2000—2006)
Khalil Kain
(2001—2008)
Keesha Sharp
(2006—2008)
Opening theme Performed by:
Angie Stone
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 172 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive
producer(s)
Mara Brock Akil
Kelsey Grammer
Location(s) Los Angeles
Running time 30 minutes (approx. 22 min)
Broadcast
Original channel UPN (2000-2006)
The CW (2006-2008)
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Audio format Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
Original run September 11, 2000February 11, 2008
Chronology
Related shows The Game
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Girlfriends was an American sitcom. The show was created by Mara Brock Akil and produced by Kelsey Grammer. It premiered in 2000 on UPN and aired on UPN's successor network, The CW before being cancelled in 2008. The theme song to Girlfriends is sung by R&B musician Angie Stone. The show was produced by CBS Paramount Television.

When Girlfriends returned in fall 2007 for its 8th season in the same time slot, it became the longest-running live-action sitcom currently on network television, as well as one of the highest-rated scripted shows on television among African-American adults and women 18-34, including their spin-off The Game.[1] [2] On May 5, 2008 WE tv picked up the rights to show seasons six through eight of Girlfriends. [3]

Contents

Overview

Celebrating their 100th episode: The Mother of All Episodes.
Celebrating their 100th episode: The Mother of All Episodes.

The series debuted on UPN on September 11, 2000, becoming one of the longest running sitcoms of the new millennium. After airing several years on the network at 9/8c on Mondays, The CW moved Girlfriends to Sundays at 8/7c. On October 9, 2006, Girlfriends, along with The CW's other African-American programs, moved back to Mondays. It aired in its original time slot. The move was prompted by low ratings and a highly critical article in the Los Angeles Times by staff writer Greg Braxton, in which Mara Brock Akil suggested that the network was neglecting its African-American programs at the expense of those with primarily white audiences, like Gilmore Girls.[4]

Premise and pilot episode

The show's original premise centered around the lives of four African-American women in Los Angeles, California. When production begun, it featured Tracee Ellis Ross as Joan Clayton and Golden Brooks as Maya Wilkes, as well as actress Persia White as Lynn Searcy and Jill Marie Jones as Toni Childs. The pilot eventually became the first official episode of Girlfriends, "Toe Sucking,", which featured scenes that were re-shot to reflect that the roles of Lynn and Toni were recast.citation needed Girlfriends was picked up for a full season after the ratings success of the first 13 episodes, according to rave reviews about the show's content in 2000.citation needed

Characters

Main characters

Minor characters

Guest appearances

Cast departures and changes

Jill Marie Jones left the show at the end of Season 6. Akil stated, "I would love for her (Jones) to come back, but Jill doesn't want to return. I don't know 100% why she made this decision. She didn't tell me. All she said when we talked was that she felt it was time for her to move on. The door is not closed. We've asked her to come back and have offered different ways for her to return. But I completely wish her well. There's no drama involved." The show will now deal with Toni's loss through Joan's struggles.

In a December 2007 interview with Wilson Morales, he asks Jill if she thinks the character Toni ran its course? JMJ responded:

No, I think if Toni came back and when I say no, I say it because there are brilliant writers on ‘Girlfriends’. There is so much more that you can do. For me and my career, my contract was up after six seasons and there's a whole film world that I wanted to experience and that's what I’ve been doing. I think if Toni came back to the show, there would be so much more to write and much more to bring. That's a testament to how great Mara and the rest of the writers are. [5] I wish them all well and I still watch the show. [6]

Richard T. Jones, who played Aaron, Joan's love interest and eventual fiancé, has been cast in The Sarah Connor Chronicles series for Fox. Jones was featured in an early episode, which set up the premise that Aaron, a National Guard member, was called to Iraq. When AOL Black Voices columnist Jawn Murray asked Akil if "Ross' character Joan will be dumped again?" Akil responded: "Who's to say I'm getting rid of [the] Richard T. Jones [character]? Don't underestimate me!" [7]

Main crew

Executive Producers: Kelsey Grammer, Mara Brock Akil. Co-Executive Producers: Michael Kaplan and Regina Hicks (occasional writer). Supervising Producer: Norman Vance Jr. Producer: Dan Dugan. Co-Producers: Mary Fuento, Tim Edwards. Consulting Producers: Mark Brown, Dee LaDuke. Head Writers: Karin Gist, Veronica Chambers, Michelle & Kevin Marburger

Episode list

Special episodes

# Airdate Title Overview
0 Unaired Pilot Joan Clayton is at the great peak of her life. She is almost 30, is almost junior partner at her law firm, and has a great friend circle. She hires a sassy urban woman named Maya Wilkes as her assistant, and has had a friendship with one of her colleagues, William, for over three months. But Joan is going crazy that she hasn't had a man for a year and her plan was to be married by now. Her friends, egotistical Toni Childs and lazy 27-year-old college student Lynn have to cheer her up and get her a man with the help of Maya, whom Toni calls "ghetto."
57 Jan 7, 2003 Howdy Partner* Joan and William vie for a senior partner position, and are shocked when the firm instead brings in an outsider, Sharon Upton Farley (Anne-Marie Johnson). They plan to demonstrate their outrage by walking out, but only one of them follows through with it. Meanwhile, Lynn and Maya help Toni deal with her fears after Todd asks her to take an HIV test.

* This episode aired on a Tuesday night in an attempt to boost ratings for the new sitcom Abby, which was making its first airing on its regular night.

Opening Sequences

The order they appear starts with Tracee Ellis Ross, then Golden Brooks, then Persia White, followed by Jill Marie Jones and Reggie Hayes lastly. The sequence concludes with the four girls together. The order is the same for season 7 but without Jill Marie Jones. Since the series begun, the ladies have always cat walked in the opening.


My Girlfriends, there through thick and thin. My Girlfriends, there for anything. My Girlfriends.

Angie Stone

Other details

Spinoff

A 2006 episode of Girlfriends entitled The Game featured guest star Tia Mowry 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.

That episode was the launching pad for spinoff The Game, a spinoff series which currently airs on The CW, preceding Girlfriends.

Cancellation

The final two episodes recorded before the 2007-2008 Writers Guild strike aired back-to-back on Monday, February 11 at 9/8c. However, this was not a 2-part episode. The timeslot was planned to be moved to Sundays due to the writer's strike and the returning of The CW's reality series. [8] On February 13, 2008, it was announced by a The CW representative that a proper series finale would not be done because it would be too expensive. The announcement confirms that the show has now been cancelled.[9] A retrospective episode was to air on The CW Network to conclude the 8-year series. However, the characters' storylines wouldn’t get any kind of resolution but at least the sitcom would have a series finale. This is no longer going to happen. The network offered the actors half of their usual episodic salary to take part, but the actors collectively turned them down. [10]

Awards and nominations

Nominated for Emmy. Another 7 wins & 27 nominations.

NAACP Image Awards

BET Comedy Awards

GLAAD Media Awards

Emmy Awards

DVD releases

Season Releases

The First Season
Set details Special features
  • 22 Episodes*
  • 4-Disc Set
  • 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
  • 7 Hrs., 51 Min.


  • Languages:
    • English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
  • Rating:
    • Mature Theme
    • Language May Offend
  • No Features

* NOTE: Some music has been changed for this home entertainment version.

Release date
Flag of the United States United States (Region 1)
February 27, 2007
The Second Season
Set details Special features
  • 22 Episodes*
  • 3-Disc Set
  • 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
  • 7 Hrs., 50 Min.


  • Languages:
    • English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
  • Rating:
    • Mature Theme
  • We All Fall Down:
    • A Closer Look at Trick Or Truth?
  • Creating the Show
  • Getting the Girls Together
  • Episode guide

* NOTE: Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions. Some music has been changed for this home entertainment version.

Release date
Flag of the United States United States (Region 1)
October 9, 2007
The Third Season
Set details Special features
  • 25 Episodes*
  • 4-Disc Set
  • 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
  • 8 Hrs., 43 Min.


  • Languages:
    • English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
  • It's What You Wear That Counts
  • Here Comes the Bride:
    • An Invitation Inside the Wedding

* NOTE: Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions. Some music has been changed for this home entertainment version.

Release date
Flag of the United States United States (Region 1)
February 12, 2008
The Fourth Season
Set details Special features
  • 24 Episodes*
  • 3-Disc Set
  • 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
  • N/A Mins.


  • Languages:
    • English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
  • Not yet available

* NOTE: Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions. Some music has been changed for this home entertainment version.

Release date
Flag of the United States United States (Region 1)
July 29, 2008 [11]

Trivia

Running jokes, gags and catchphrases

U.S. broadcast history

U.S. television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Girlfriends on UPN and The CW.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season Season premiere Season finale TV season Ranking Viewers (in millions)
1st September 11, 2000 May 14, 2001 2000-2001 #135 4.0
2nd September 10, 2001 May 20, 2002 2001-2002 #129 4.2[13]
3rd September 23, 2002 May 19, 2003 2002-2003 #133 4.0[14]
4th September 15, 2003 May 24, 2004 2003-2004 #128 3.6[15]
5th September 20, 2004 May 23, 2005 2004-2005 #129 3.4[16]
6th September 19, 2005 May 8, 2006 2005-2006 #135 3.4[17]
7th + October 1, 2006 May 7, 2007 2006-2007 #138 2.5[18]
8th + October 1, 2007 February 11, 2008 2007-2008 #150 2.1[19]

+ The 7th and 8th season aired on The CW.

Worldwide broadcast information/Syndication

References

  1. ^ http://entertainmentnow.wordpress.com/television/ Your Entertainment Now
  2. ^ http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/689878,girlfriends121007.article Chicago Sun-Times
  3. ^ WE tv Fills Out Lineup - 5/5/2008 12:02:00 AM - Broadcasting & Cable
  4. ^ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-girlfriends30sep30,1,6625219.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews
  5. ^ http://www.blackfilm.com/20071214/features/jillmariejones_p2.shtml Black Film
  6. ^ http://www.essence.com/essence/themix/entertainment/0,16109,1704989-2,00.html 'JMJ: Our Favorite Girlfriend. ESSENCE Magazine'
  7. ^ http://blackvoices.aol.com/black_entertainment/bvbuzzcanvas/_a/aug-20-2007/20070821104809990001 AOL Black Voices
  8. ^ http://blog.cwtv.com/?p=217 'CW Blog'
  9. ^ Girlfriends: Cancelled, Proper Series Finale Too Expensive » TV Series Finale
  10. ^ Girlfriends: Will the CW Series Finale Retrospective Happen? | TV Series Finale
  11. ^ Girlfriends DVD news: Announcement for Girlfriends - The 4th Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  12. ^ http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2007/05/07/golden-brooks-the-future-of-girlfriends/ Black Voices: Golden Brooks Interview
  13. ^ "How did your favorite show rate?", May 28, 2002. 
  14. ^ "Nielsen's TOP 156 Shows for 2002-03", May 20, 2003. 
  15. ^ "I.T.R.S. Ranking Report", June 2, 2004. 
  16. ^ "2004-05 primetime series wrap", May 27, 2005. 
  17. ^ "2005-06 primetime series wrap", May 26, 2006. 
  18. ^ "2006-07 primetime wrap", May 25, 2007. 
  19. ^ "2007-2008 tv season", February 10, 2008. 
  20. ^ WE tv Fills Out Lineup - 5/5/2008 12:02:00 AM - Broadcasting & Cable
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Girlfriends

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