January 13, 2012

TCA Report—Judd Apatow Returns to TV With HBO Series 'Girls'

By Chad Heiges

Judd Apatow didn’t stride to the stage wearing a gilded suit or showcasing physical humor, although such attire or actions would’ve been appropriate given the major Hollywood player’s recent success with a string of comedic movies including “Bridesmaids” and “Superbad.” In tasteful black, Apatow was on hand to discuss his return to TV after nearly a decade (“Undeclared”), as an exec prod for HBO’s “Girls.”

The series looks at a group of early-20s females making their way in NYC, a sort of “Sex and the City” without the Jimmy Choos and ticking biological clocks. “It’s OK to be annoyed by them,” said Apatow of the 4 lead characters that are immature and harbor a sense of entitlement. “I love underdogs and people making awful mistakes…there’s a female geekdom aspect to the show.”

Created by and starring Lena Dunham, the writer/dir of indie film “Tiny Furniture,” the series mirrors a lot of the struggles Dunham endured along the route to success, including working in a children’s clothing store after college. It offers insight, said Dunham, into realistic female characters immersed in a “confusing, frustrating time” and marked by a “weird breed and age of women.”

The early 20s are indeed a wild, life-altering phase for many. Think “flawed female characters duking it out,” said Dunham, who’s character evinces both sympathy and groans. Apatow helps “Girls” by being “completely gender blind,” said exec prod Jenni Konner, who said Apatow just knows funny people. And success.