Girlfriends: The Best Show for Black Women Ever ✨👯👯💜
Okay, so I'm sitting here after two days of binge watching season 2 of the television show, Girlfriends, wondering why this show is so under appreciated. You never hear people talk about it, it's not on any big named streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, and it's never mentioned as one of the best shows of the early 2000's; and let's be real, it deserves to be; being that it was one of the highest-rated scripted shows on television among African-American adults 18-34. I understand that this show caters mainly towards women so their audience isn't that broad but it is one of the best shows I've ever seen that relates to black women; so here I am, telling you why y'all need to put some respect on Girlfriends!
Girlfriends was a show that debut September 11, 2000. It starred Tracee Ellis Ross (as Joan Clayton), Golden Brooks (as Maya Wilkes), Persia White (as Lynn Searcy), Jill Marie Jones (as Toni Childs), and Reggie Hayes (as William Dent). They live in the city of Los Angeles, and are living their lives while handling their careers, love lives, and friendships. Joan is a lawyer and has an ever-fluctuating love life, Maya is Joan's assistant-turned-writer & is married to her high school sweetheart Darnell; they have one son named Jabari and experience hardships like any other relationship but I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it. Lynn is the carefree one out of the group. She has five post graduate degrees but could never decide on what to use them. She is portrayed as a slacker but anyone who managed to get five degrees doesn't seem slack to me. Shoot, I'm killing myself with my undergrad. Just like her career, her love life is all over the place; she is also the most open about her sex life being depicted as the most sexually adventurous of the group. She often mentions her one-night stands, group sex, sex toys, and her infamous "Lynn Spin".
Toni is a house realtor and is the OG definition on "boujee". Ms. Toni Childs is about her money and refuses for anybody to make her move back to Fresno, Ca. That's where she was born and raised and she hates it. Toni also is dating throughout the series until she meets a plastic surgeon named Todd. After a short relationship, they marry and have a daughter. Toni and Joan have been life-long friends and their friendship is displayed throughout the show. They fall on hard times every now and then but you can tell that their love for one another is strong. William is also a lawyer alongside Joan. They both are junior partners at the firm in which they work. He is the closest male friend of the group and he often uses them for advice on women, whether its good advice or not lol). William has his fair share of women drama after being left at the alter by his fiancee Yvonne, then having an on-off relationship with a woman named Monica.
This show discusses so much that black women go through on a daily basis: stereotypes, breakups, prejudice, love, etc. It details how different guys and relationships can effect your life, it portrays how to forgive people who may have done you wrong in the past, different ways to handle divorce, etc. Many of the shows that talk about these topics that are out there today mainly target white women, while that's okay, there's nothing like having that insight from people that you can relate to culturally. They have a tight bond of sisterhood and show that with some true friends by your side, anything is possible.
