While receiving almost universal praise for it’s inaugural season, HBO’s Girls did take some criticism for it’s all-white cast and lack of racial diversity. One would think that a series revolving around young people in New York City would feature at least one character of color in these lady’s lives, right? Well, apparenty Lena Dunham agrees this time around and has sent out a casting call for not only an African-American actress but also an asian actress for Season 2 of Girls. Take a look at the casting call for yourself:
[TAKO] FEMALE, AFRICAN AMERICAN, 23-26 years old. Adam’s best friend. A tough, tiny lesbian. RECURRING. Likes: biking without a helmet, making her own soap and preserves, bar fights, Brigitte Bardot. Hates: needy girls, most of Manhattan, the messages her mom leaves on her machine, when Adam lames out and stays home.
[SAKE BAR WAITER] MALE, ASIAN, 20S-40S, delivers sake that Marnie and Jessa did not order…(1 LINE)
[JUNKIE WOMAN] FEMALE, PLEASE SUBMIT ALL ETHNICITIES, WORN 30S/40S. Woman yelling loudly in the Emergency Room, demanding vicodin for pain. (1 SCENE)
[GAVIN] MALE, CAUCASIAN, LATE 20S, BURLY GUY, plays Adam’s overacting scene partner in his play. (2 SCENES)
HBO Watch believes that many of the criticisms of Girls were a bit overblown and were written by desperate entertainment bloggers trying to come up with a controversial post for the week. These same critisisms could be applied to any number of programs across all networks. Why pick on Girls specifically? In it’s debut season no less. Though we are glad to see a bit more diversity (reality?) in the upcoming season 2 of Girls. Rumor has it that Girls Season 2 may kick off earlier than the anticipated spring of 2013 so stay tuned for the latest on HBO’s schedule.
Were you bothered by the lack of racial diversity in Girls season 1? Are you looking forward to a more colorful season 2? Leave us a comment below with your thoughts.
2 comments
I am a mixed (black, Jamaican) girl and at 24 I can completely relate to this show. Whether the cast is black, white, purple or green, Lena Dunham has done an amazing job at capturing the mid twenties for many males and females while putting a very funny twist to our real life struggles. I will continue to watch the upcoming seasons and am looking forward to the DVD release.
As a side note, I also dont agree with critics calling this a young sex in the city, there may be sex and it is in the city but these characters are far from the Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda prototypes. Lena’s characters are so much more realistic than that.
Keep up a great show and I look forward to many more to come!
All the roles mentioned already happened on season 1 of Girls. Tako at the party episode, the sake waiter at the bar before the threesome, the junkie woman at the emergency room during the party episode, etc. Must be an old casting call.