Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce | |
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Also known as |
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Based on | Girlfriends' Guides series by Vicki Iovine |
Developed by | Marti Noxon |
Starring | |
Composer | Robert Duncan |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 45 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 45 minutes |
Production companies | Tiny Pyro Productions Universal Cable Productions |
Original release | |
Network | Bravo |
Release | December 2, 2014 July 19, 2018 | –
Related | |
The 45 Rules of Divorce - Arabic adaptation[1] |
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce (also known as Girlfriends' Guide to Freedom in season 3, Girlfriends' Guide to Bossing Up in season 4, and Girlfriends' Guide to Ever After in season 5) is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Marti Noxon for the American cable network Bravo. Based on the Girlfriends' Guides book series by Vicki Iovine,[2] the series revolves around Abby McCarthy, a self-help author who finds solace in new friends and adventures as she faces an impending divorce. Lisa Edelstein portrays the main character Abby. Beau Garrett and Necar Zadegan co-star. Janeane Garofalo was part of the main cast for the first seven episodes of season 1 before departing the cast. She was replaced in episode 8 with Alanna Ubach. Paul Adelstein co-starred as a main cast member for the first two seasons, before being reduced to a recurring character for the third and fifth seasons. Retta recurred during the show's second season before being promoted to the main cast at the start of season 3.
Produced by Universal Cable Productions, it is the first original scripted series for Bravo.[3] A 13-episode first season was ordered by the network, which premiered on December 2, 2014.[4] The show debuted to 1.04 million viewers. Critical reception for the series has initially been generally positive, with particular praise towards Edelstein's performance and the series' quality over the reality series on Bravo. The show was eventually renewed for a second season, which premiered on December 1, 2015.[5] On April 13, 2016, it was announced that Bravo had renewed the show for a third, fourth and fifth season.[6] On August 5, 2016, it was announced that the fifth season would be the show's last.[7]
Cast
Main
- Lisa Edelstein as Abby McCarthy, a self-help book author in her early 40s in Los Angeles. Her marriage has recently ended, throwing both her personal and professional lives into serious disarray.[2]
- Beau Garrett as Phoebe Conte, a recent divorcée and former model. Up until now she has been a typical free spirit but she is now seeking a more stable life.[2]
- Necar Zadegan as Delia Banai, a divorce attorney who represents Abby in her divorce. She struggles with career and personal life balance.[8]
- Alanna Ubach as Jo Hernandez-Frumpkis, Abby's best friend from college who comes to live with her in LA. She is recently separated from her husband after finding out he had a second family.[9] (season 1, episode 8–season 5)
- Paul Adelstein as Jake Novak, Abby's husband from whom she is recently separated. He is a director with a limited amount of success and has up until now lived in Abby's shadow.[2] (seasons 1–2; recurring seasons 3 & 5)
- Janeane Garofalo as Lyla Straley, Abby's friend, a divorcée and entertainment lawyer. A bitter custody battle with her ex causes her to flee California for Portland in the middle of season 1.[2] (season 1, episodes 1–7)
- Retta as Barbara Sawyer, Abby's co-worker at SheShe, who later becomes her business partner. (seasons 3–5; recurring season 2)[10]
Recurring
- Conner Dwelly as Lilly, Abby's daughter
- Dylan Schombing as Charlie, Abby's son
- Julianna Guill as Becca Riley, Jake's new girlfriend and a successful actress on a CW show
- Patrick Heusinger as Max McCarthy, Abby's brother
- J. August Richards as Ford, husband to Abby's brother
- Warren Christie as Will, Abby's new boyfriend
- Brian Markinson as Albert, Delia's boss and long-time fling. Delia has an affair with him while engaged to Gordon
- Matthew Glave as Gordon Beech, Delia's client with whom she starts an affair
- Brandon Jay McLaren as Marco, Phoebe's love interest
- Aaron Staton as JD, Phoebe's love interest
- Jean Smart as Katherine Miller, Abby's editor
- Mark Valley as Dr. Harris, Abby's love interest
- Maury Sterling as Rob Frumpkis, Jo's ex-husband
- Will Kemp as Scott, the vegan confectioner at Jo's bakery
- Megan Hilty as Charlene, Frumpkis' new girlfriend
- Charles Mesure as Ralf, Phoebe's ex-husband
- James Lesure as Mike Brady, Charlie's baseball coach
- Daisy Betts as Gemma
- Alison Thornton as Zooey Hernandez Frumpkis
- Steve Talley as Tony, Phoebe's brother
Guest
- Carrie Fisher as Cat
- Suke Kaiser as Kori Wingo, Phoebe's former boss
- Bernadette Peters as Annie
- Laverne Cox as Adele Northrop
- Victor Webster as Carl, a male escort who Abby spends the night talking to
- Barry Bostwick as George, Abby's dad
- Lesley Ann Warren as Dina, Abby's mom
- Malcolm Jamal Warner as Darrell
- Kathie Lee Gifford as herself
- Hoda Kotb as herself
- Kyle Richards as herself
- Jessica Clark as Merete
- Denise Richards as Temple Hampton, Will's new girlfriend
- Talia Shire as Meryl Frumpkis, Jo's mother-in-law
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 13 | December 2, 2014 | February 24, 2015 | |
2 | 13 | December 1, 2015 | February 23, 2016 | |
3 | 7 | January 11, 2017 | February 22, 2017 | |
4 | 6 | August 17, 2017 | September 21, 2017 | |
5 | 6 | June 14, 2018 | July 19, 2018 |
Reception
Critical response
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce was met with generally positive reviews from television critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the series received an average score of 69, based on 21 reviews. Lori Rackl of Chicago Sun-Times gave the episode a 4 star rating (out of 4 stars), calling it "a sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking story about an L.A.-based self-help author" and added that the first two episodes "reveal a much more nuanced, poignant tale, punctuated by some genuinely funny scenes."[11] LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the series a grade of "A-", calling it "a very solid drama" that should be on HBO or Showtime. Ferguson also praised the characters and the series's messiness, writing "Visually, it's almost flawless (there's one obvious green-screen moment in the pilot, but it's not Ringer level), but every character here is deeply flawed."[12] Los Angeles Times's Mary McNamara lauded the series' cast's portrayal of the characters and deemed the series "smartly acted, crisply written and willing to address all manner of issues — marriage, betrayal, family economics, friendship, even the pitfalls of public domesticity — in gratifyingly complex ways."[13] Brian Lowry, writing for Variety, applauded the series' cast and material, noting how it sticks to the network's demographic while maintaining a level of quality.[14]
Gail Pennington of St. Louis Post-Dispatch called the series "a smart, solid examination of just how messy relationships are and how hard it is to make them work."[15] Slate's Willa Paskin highlighted Edelstein's portrayal of the lead character, describing her as "very well cast, both commanding and nurturing enough to seem like the ideal advice-giver" and noted that the series has "a satisfying and complex take on social dynamics in friendship and romance."[16] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times praised Edelstein and Garofalo as "one reason" the show is entertaining and found the comic side of the series "a lot more fun."[17] Time's writer James Poniewozik praised the writing and Edelstein's "sympathetic" performance, noting that the latter "grounds a show that often otherwise plays like young-adult fiction for actual adults." However, Poniewozik opined that "there's one lesson Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce has (over)learned from its Bravo peers: that there's no reality so compelling that it can’t be sweetened with a little Photoshop."[18] David Hinckley, writing for the New York Daily News, highlighted the series' best moments as those showing the messy side of marital discourse while heralding Edelstein's performance as "memorably moving."[19] Margaret Lyons of Vulture was critical of the several aspects of the series, including the characters Abby and Lyla's attitude on giving their spouses child support, but found the series to be its best "at its nastiest."[20]
Ratings
No. in | Episode title | Air date | Time slot (EST) | 18–49 demo rating |
Viewership (millions) |
Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
series | season | ||||||
1 | 1 | Rule No. 23: Never Lie to the Kids | December 2, 2014 | Tuesdays 10:00 P.M. |
0.5 | 1.04 | [21] |
2 | 2 | Rule No. 174: Never Trust Anyone Who Charges By the Hour | December 9, 2014 | 0.4 | 0.85 | [22] | |
3 | 3 | Rule No. 47: Always Take Advantage of "Me" Time | December 16, 2014 | 0.3 | 0.70 | [23] | |
4 | 4 | Rule No. 426: Fantasyland: A Great Place to Visit | December 23, 2014 | 0.3 | 0.77 | [24] | |
5 | 5 | Rule No. 21: Leave Childishness to Children | December 30, 2014 | 0.4 | 0.87 | [25] | |
6 | 6 | Rule No 33: When in Doubt, Run Away | January 6, 2015 | 0.4 | 0.87 | [26] | |
7 | 7 | Rule No. 67: Don't Kill the Princess | January 13, 2015 | 0.4 | 0.77 | [27] | |
8 | 8 | Rule No. 17: Ask the Answer Lady | January 20, 2015 | 0.3 | 0.69 | [28] | |
9 | 9 | Rule No. 32: F-You, Rob Frumpkis | January 27, 2015 | 0.4 | 0.91 | [29] | |
10 | 10 | Rule No. 3: Don't Stand in the Doorway | February 3, 2015 | 0.3 | 0.74 | [30] | |
11 | 11 | Rule No. 46: Keep the Holidays Low Key | February 10, 2015 | 0.4 | 0.83 | [31] | |
12 | 12 | Rule No. 92: Don't Do the Crime If You Can't Do the Time | February 17, 2015 | 0.4 | 0.74 | [32] | |
13 | 13 | Rule No. 101: Know When It's Time to Move On | February 24, 2015 | 0.3 | 0.79 | [33] |
Arabic adaptation
In October 2021, it was announced that MBC Group was developing their own version of the American series, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce with Sally Wally along with their production company, S Productions in partnership with NBCUniversal Formats. The series was greenlit for a 45-episodes of fifth and final season which premiered on 21 November 2021 on MBC 4, Shahid VIP & S Productions collaborate on their first comedy-drama series: The 45 Rules of Divorce.[1][34]
Broadcast
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce premiered in the United States on Bravo on December 2, 2014, in Canada on Slice on January 9, 2015,[35] and in the United Kingdom on Lifetime UK on September 15, 2015.[36]
Home media and streaming
The first season was released on DVD in region 1 on October 13, 2015.[37] On November 1, 2015 [38] season 1 of Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce became available to stream in the US for Netflix subscribers.[39] The show is also available from electronic sell-through platforms such as iTunes,[40] Amazon Instant Video,[41] and Vudu.[42]
References
- ^ a b "'Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce' Set for Groundbreaking Arabic-Language Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Bibel, Sara (February 19, 2014). "Bravo Orders 13 Episodes of Scripted Drama 'Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce' Starring Lisa Edelstein". Zap2it. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 19, 2014). "Bravo Picks Up Marti Noxon's 'Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce' As First Scripted Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (July 14, 2014). "'Million Dollar Listing New York' Renewed for Season Four + Bravo Greenlights Three New Series". TV by the Numbers (Press release). Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ Dixon, Dani (September 30, 2015). "Season 2 of Bravo's Scripted Series 'Girlfriend's Guide To Divorce' To Premiere December 1". TV by the Numbers (Press release). Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ "'Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce' gets 3-season renewal at Bravo". TV By The Numbers by zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
- ^ "Bravo's 'Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce' to End After Season 5 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 14, 2014). "Bravo's 'Girlfriend's Guide To Divorce' Adds 'Rake's Necar Zadegan As New Regular". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
- ^ "Alanna Ubach Joins Bravo's 'Girlfriends Guide To Divorce', Matthew Glave & Virginia Williams To Recur". Deadline Hollywood. August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (30 June 2016). "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce Promotes Retta to Series Regular in Season 3". TV Line. TVLine Media, LLC. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
- ^ Rackl, Lori (November 30, 2014). "Bravo found a keeper with great new series 'Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce'". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago: Tim Knight. Sun-Times Media Group. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ Ferguson, LaToya (December 2, 2014). "Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce is Bravo's beautifully messy introduction to scripted drama". The A.V. Club. Chicago: The Onion, Inc. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ McNamara, Mary (December 2, 2014). "Review 'Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce' marries Bravo to good TV". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ Lowry, Brian (November 30, 2014). "TV Review: Bravo's 'Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce'". Variety. Los Angeles. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ Pennington, Gail (December 2, 2014). "TV review: Bravo's 'Girlfriends' Guide' is surprisingly good". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis: Ray Farris. Lee Enterprises. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ Paskin, Willa (December 2, 2014). "Lowbrow and Delectable". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Stanley, Alessandra (December 1, 2014). "Divvying Up Perks, Pity, Scorn and Snark". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Poniewozik, James (December 1, 2014). "Review: The Image-Conscious Uncoupling of Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce". Time. New York City: Time Inc. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Roush, Matt (December 2, 2014). "Tuesday TV: One for the Family (Toy Story) and One for Adults (Girlfriends' Guide)". TV Guide. Radnor: CBS Interactive. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Lyons, Margaret (December 2, 2014). "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Bravo's First Scripted Series, Is At Its Best When It's At Its Nastiest". New York. New York City: New York Media, LLC. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 3, 2014). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Tuesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 12.2.2014". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (December 10, 2014). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Wins Night, 'Anarchy Afterword', 'Pretty Little Liars', 'Benched', 'Ground Floor' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (December 17, 2014). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Ink Master' Tops Night + 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills', 'The Curse of Oak Island', NBA Basketball & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 24, 2014). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Tuesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 12.23.2014". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (January 2, 2015). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: College Football Tops Night + 'Moonshiners' The Little Couple', 'Ground Floor' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (January 8, 2015). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'The Haves and the Have Nots' Wins Night' 'Pretty Little Liars', 'Switched at Birth', 'Dance Moms', 'The Real World' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ The Futon Critic Staff (July 13, 2011). "Monday's Cable Ratings: "Pawn Stars" Tops Heated Race". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ The Futon Critic Staff (July 20, 2011). "Monday's Cable Ratings: History's "Pawn Stars" Holds Onto Crown". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (January 28, 2015). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Tops Night + 'Pretty Little Liars', 'The Haves and the Have Nots', 'Sons of Liberty' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (February 4, 2015). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Being Mary Jane' Wins Night, 'Moonshiners', 'The Haves and the Have Nots', 'Pretty Little Liars', 'Justified' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (February 11, 2015). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'The Haves and the Have Nots' Tops Night + 'Being Mary Jane', 'Pretty Little Liars', 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (February 19, 2015). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: '19 Kids and Counting' Wins Night, 'Being Mary Jane', 'Pretty Little Liars', 'Rizzoli & Isles', 'Cougar Town' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (February 25, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Tuesday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 2.24.2015". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ "Arab remake of 'Girlfriends Guide to Divorce' set to stream". Moving Image Middle East: MIME. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce to premiere on Slice in Canada". The TV Watercooler. http://google.com/+JeevanBrar. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|publisher=
- ^ "Lifetime UK Acquires 'Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce', Sets September Premiere - TVWise". TVWise. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- ^ Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce: Season 1, 2015-10-13, retrieved 2015-11-10
- ^ Armstrong, Olivia (2015-10-30). "What's New On Netflix This Weekend: 'Manson Family Vacation', November Titles, And More". Decider | Where To Stream Movies & Shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, HBO Go. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- ^ "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce | Netflix". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- ^ "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Season 1 on iTunes". iTunes. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- ^ "Watch Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce Season 1 Episode - Amazon Video". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
- ^ "VUDU - Watch Movies". www.vudu.com. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
External links
- 2010s American comedy-drama television series
- 2014 American television series debuts
- 2018 American television series endings
- Bravo (American TV network) original programming
- English-language television shows
- Television shows based on books
- Television series by Universal Content Productions
- Television shows filmed in Vancouver
- Television shows set in Los Angeles
- Television series about divorce
- Television series created by Marti Noxon