In this show on Peacock, the four remaining members of the nineties one-hit wonders girl band Girls5eva decide to put the band back together after one of their songs is sampled in a popular rap.
Girls5eva is executive produced by Tina Fey and and created by Meredith Scardino, who was a writer on Fey's The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. This has a very Fey style of writing, which might leave you feeling a little fatigued if you've seen the other shows she has made or produced. (You can only write so many jokes about New York.) That having been said, this style is still pretty funny with a lot of good, unexpected jokes. Girls5eva is definitely stronger than Mr. Mayor, Fey's own show that she recently created television season. What differentiates this program from others is a satirical look at the music industry.
What also helps this show is that there is more of a dramatic backbone hidden beneath all the silliness. All the characters have their personal struggles. The band's manager and the industry haven't treated them poorly and you root for them as they try to regain success on their own terms. The last episode is surprisingly emotional.
The characters are good. The band includes Dawn (played by singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles, best known for "Love Song"), the straight man leader, Wickie (Hamilton's Renee Elise Goldsberry). the diva, and Summer (Cougar Town's Busy Phillips), the immature one. Yeah, they're tropes, but they're all done well. Phillips is probably the best cast member as she has a wide array of exagerrated facial expressions and manages to make the character feel ditzy while still able to make her three-dimensional. The fourth member Gloria (Paula Pell), a lesbian dentist who's learned from the school of hard knocks, is a more unique character. I'm glad Pell got a leading role. She started off as a comedy writer and has occasionally appeared in small roles in comedies, such as Ron's mother on Parks and Rec and the wife of one of the writers on 30 Rock. She's got a good aura of comedic energy and it's nice to see her get more attention.
Being a show about a band, there are a lot of songs in this. Now there are a few weak ones; the very first song gives off a bad first impression. Luckily, there are several pretty funny ones afterward. The show looks at how a lot of older songs are problematic, resulting some delightfully over-the-top cringeworthy lyrics here. The best song is definitely "I'm Afraid," which is just insane and delightfully dark.
This is definitely one of the better comedies I've seen this year. Recommended.
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