90sGirlsGroups5Eva

If you are a product of the 90s like me, you should turn on Peacock right now and find the show “Girls5Eva.” The Peacock series is a pitch perfect (See what I did there? I’m so sorry, I’m tired.) send-up of the all-too-often superficial girl power of so many of mass-produced female acts of that day.

The series stars Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Paula Pell as ex-members of the girl group Girls5Eva. You know the sort, groups formed from an open call at an inland Florida strip mall. This show harmonizes silly fun and pointed smarts while satirizing the co-opted feminine empowerment of the era. Plus, holy shit, their songs are amazing. I mean it, one of the great joys of the series is the new song that plays over the end credits each episode.

We inhaled this series in two nights, only because we made ourselves stop half way through to make the season last longer. Plus, it’s got The Gay. Real-life lesbian comic and longtime “Saturday Night Live” writer Pell plays Gloria, the group’s closeted/unrealized lesbian. As adult Gloria her performance is somehow both comedically over-the-top yet utterly relatable, which is no small feat. Like, instead of just laughing at her romantic mishaps, I’m genuinely rooting for Gloria to find the happiness she deserves.

My only criticism, which I hope and think might be a temporary one, is that the show somehow decided to [Spoler Alert: Key plot point ahead and all that, jump ahead to the last paragraph] kill off the one Asian members of the group, Ashley (played briefly and in hologram by Ashley Park). But I think/hope that infinity pool accident was just a long-con ruse, right?

Right, have I convinced you to watch this show yet? Because if you still love all the sugary delicious girl pop of the 90s, while abhorring the messages all the mandatory baring of midriffs and underage exploitation of the time this show was written just for you. I mentioned my Fake TV/Film Wife Tina Fey produced this too, right? Anyway, *sings at an unnecessarily high note while holding an imaginary earpiece* watch.