Girls vs. 2 Broke Girls

      

Original Channel

2 Broke Girls: CBS

Girls: HBO

Creators

2 Broke Girls: Michael Patrick King, Whitney Cummings

Girls: Lena Dunham

Stars

2 Broke Girls: Kat Dennings, Beth Behrs

Girls: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet

Air dates

2 Broke Girls: September 19, 2011 - present

Girls: April 15, 2012 - present

Season structure (Season One)

2 Broke Girls: 22 episodes of 22 minutes

Girls: 10 episodes of 30 minutes

Why?

Young 20something women making a go of it in NYC

Similarities

“Girls”: Yes, the word is in both shows’ titles. These characters are young 20somethings, so technically they should be called women. Yet, none of them have it figured out yet: not careers, boyfriends, finances, apartments. While 2 Broke Girls shares the creator of Sex and the City, these characters are most definitely not the women of that show.

Deadbeat boyfriends: Hannah has a hookup that she refers to as her boyfriend, but most definitely is not. He never calls or even texts her, and is obviously just using her. Max’s boyfriend is hits on other women, is in a band that’s going nowhere, and even cheats on her. Marnie’s boyfriend is perfect on paper, but is bland and a little too eager-puppyish for her. These girls are still looking for a good fit, and their dissatisfaction in their love lives represents the general searching they’re still going through at this time in their lives.

NYC References: The characters in both shows work in Brooklyn, and there are references to the city littered throughout, from immigrant neighborhoods like Greenpoint to high cupcake prices, to the names of actual bars. See below for how well these references actually work.

Differences

Topicality: All of the jokes in 2 Broke Girls feel about 3+ years too late. For example, regarding everyone’s favorite butt of a joke: hipsters. 2Broke Girls Max talking to hipster customers: “I wear a knit cap when it’s cold out, you wear a knit cap because of Coldplay.” No self-respecting hipster likes the way-too-mainstream Coldplay. The pseudo-boyfriend on Girls: “I do woodworking because working with my hands is just more honest.” SPOT ON. Example 2: Max says that’s it’s dangerous to wear a nice leather jacket in Williamsburg. Yeah right. That neighborhood is gentrified and has a very low crime rate. Stale jokes.

Minority inclusion: Girls has been criticized for only representing upper middle class white girls and not including minorities. They haven’t been present at all on the show. For my two cents, it’s not accurate to not have a minority presence on the show when we’re a multi-cultural society and NYC is so diverse. However, 3 episodes in, it’s completely believable that 4 white girls are friends, and dating white guys. On the other hand, 2 Broke Girls very much represents minorities, but for what it’s worth, in just as offensive a way as not including them at all. A lot of the humor relies on politically incorrect jokes and racial stereotyping.

Approach to financial problems: The main character on Girls, Hannah, is broke and cut off from her parents’ financial support. On 2 Broke Girls, Max comes from a working class background, and Caroline’s father just lost all their assets. The way they approach these money issues is completely different. Girls explores the entitlement that our generation, the Millenials if you will, has in spades. Hannah wants to publish a book of her own essays, and has an unpaid internship two years out of college with a publisher. She wants the career she wants, now, even if it’s not the most practical. Marnie is a gallery assistant, which can’t be paying much. Jessa flits around the globe, picking up jobs as she goes to sustain herself. As frustrating as it can be for older generations, young adults can totally relate. We work hard, but not always in financially viable ways. We expect to get what we want. On 2 Broke Girls, it’s a different story. They work two jobs in order to save enough money to open up a cupcake shop. Those jobs are babysitting and waitressing, both of which aren’t too pleasant. While this may be more appealing, it’s not exactly the first option for a lot of 20somethings.

Conclusion

Besides their basic premises, these shows couldn’t be more different. And no, it’s not because of the laugh track (although it makes a big difference). I attribute these differences to the channels they’re on. HBO allows Lena Dunham more creative freedom, not caring as much about appealing to the wide audience that CBS comedies cater to. Girls represents an accurate, although sometimes painfully so, depiction of a 20something female experience in NYC. We laugh because we know it’s true, even if we don’t want it to be. 2 Broke Girls feels like a older person writing about those young kids these days. The comedy is too broad and the storylines too unrealistic. Lena Dunham is writing about her own generation, whereas Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings are years removed. It's all very sitcommy, and that form only contributes to its staleness. A show that aims to be current needs to have a current form. We don't know where we're headed on Girls, with its loose/almost nonexistent plot structure, but that's ok, because it's all too real and refreshing.