One of Netflix’s best sitcoms is a three-season show it saved from cancellation. Over the years, Netflix has resurrected a strong selection of shows with loyal fanbases and intriguing concepts, with hits like Lucifer, Manifest, Arrested Development, You, Cobra Kai, and more all airing their final seasons on the streamer’s global platform. While some, like Fox’s Lucifer and Lifetime’s You, became even bigger successes thanks to Netflix, some shows merely needed a few more episodes to provide a more satisfying conclusion.
One such series is Girls5Eva. Created by Meredith Scardino and produced by comedy legend Tina Fey, the Emmy-nominated Girls5Eva follows a ’90s has-been, one-hit-wonder girl group as they attempt to revive their band and brand after a 20-year hiatus and the tragic loss of one of their original members. The show features an incredible comedic and musical cast, including pop sensation Sara Bareilles, Tony and Grammy-winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, Cougar Town‘s Busy Philipps, and Saturday Night Live icon Paula Pell. The sitcom originally aired on Peacock for two seasons before it was canceled, reportedly due to low viewership and high production costs.
Netflix revived Girls5Eva for a third, six-episode season in 2024, as the chaotic band took their “Returnity” comeback tour on the road across small-town America. The show was a genuine hit with critics, with all three seasons Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes for an overall 97% Tomatometer score, no small feat for a series balancing traditional sitcom shenanigans with hilarious, catchy, cheeky pop anthems. On the whole, Girls5Eva is one of the most unique and truly memorable comedies on Netflix. It may never have found the global audience it deserved, but it’s undeniably worth a watch.
While most workplace sitcoms are static, set in one location and focused on how the characters grow and change within a steady environment, Girls5Eva does something different. It’s technically a workplace sitcom; after all, each new social media video, recording session, writing getaway, and awkward gig is part of the band’s strategy to make it back to the big time. They want to recapture the success of their youth, and they’ll use any means to do it. What makes Girls5Eva so much fun is witnessing how these women’s disparate personalities, talents, and tastes change and clash depending on their success and the venue.
Girls5eva Cast & Character Guide
The musical comedy series Girls5eva moved to Netflix for its third season, which included many cast members from previous seasons and new characters.
Goldsberry’s incredible performance as spotlight hogger Wickie Roy makes the show’s experimental formula especially rewarding. She turns every situation into her own personal runway, while her fellow bandmates try to find their own niche within the group. Despite the strangeness of them being part of a ’90s girl group, these women are undeniably relatable. Each of them juggles second jobs, family, romance, and other personal challenges while fighting for their outlandish dreams, and they look fabulous while doing it. What’s not to love?
Girls5Eva Deserved A Fourth Season, But It Has A Good Ending
Unfortunately, Netflix’s global platform still didn’t give Girls5Eva the reach it needed. Musically inclined shows often have a harder time finding an audience, international or otherwise. Girls5Eva’s songs have to connect just as much as the characters and the plot do. Still, at least Netflix’s last six episodes gave the show and the band the sendoff they deserved, as they played one last, empty but sold-out concert at Radio City Music Hall. As the final stop on their Returnity tour, the women come to terms with their has-been status. The concert is a goodbye for themselves, not anyone else.
Even so, Girls5Eva could have gone on for a fourth season. Season 3 ends on a surprising cliffhanger. A Netflix series uses one of Wickie’s original songs, catapulting her back onto the streaming charts in a way that’s reminiscent of Kate Bush’s revival after “Running Up That Hill” was featured in Stranger Things. The result is a major Hollywood opportunity, but she uses her newfound leverage to ask if the band can do it with her. Sadly, the final episode never reveals whether the rest of Girls5Eva are as jazzed about the assignment as Wickie is.
This was a clear setup for another season that never came to fruition. That final concert is so satisfying to watch, though, one can almost forgive Netflix for quietly ending Girls5Eva after three seasons. Getting to know these characters and following them on their hilariously awkward, brilliant, and bonkers musical journey is well worth it.
All seasons of Girls5Eva are available to stream on Netflix.