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Girlfriends aired from September 2000 until -February 2008 on UPN and The CW.

Brought to TV by Moesha creator Mara Brock Akill and executive produced by Kelsey Grammer, Girlfriends was a somewhat raunchy comedy centering on the love lives of four thirty-something African-American women and was, in some respects, a cross between the 1980's Designing Women and the 1990's Sex and the City. Joan ( Tracee Ellis Ross), who commented to the viewing audience about herself and her friends , was an attorney at the Los Angeles law firm of Goldberg, Swedelson, McDonald , and Lee. Her professional life was on track but not so her personal life-she constantly fretted about being unable to find " Mr. Right," and endured one dating disaster after another. Joan had three close friends with whom she shared her ups and downs and to whom she gave advice-Maya ( Golden Brooks), her married assistant at work ; her best friend Toni ( Jill Marie Jones), a self-centered , gold-digging real estate broker, and Lynn ( Persia White), a friend from college and perpetual student who lived with her. Joan's one male confidant was William ( Reggie Hayes), a fellow attorney at the firm, who made wisecracks about her social problems despite the fact that his own social life was if anything, worse than hers. Seen occasionally were Maya's husband Darnell ( Flex Alexander and later Khalil Kain) and her young son Jabari ( Tanner Scott Richards and later Kendre Berry).

For awhile Joan dated Sean ( Dondre T. Whitfield), a recovering sex addict, but was disappointed because he just had sex , he didn't make love. In February Lynn moved in with Toni, who wasn't happy about it-and Joan relished her newfound privacy. In May Toni accepted the proposal of Clay ( Phil Morris), a rich doctor, even though she really loved Greg( Chuma Hunter-Gault), another guy she had been dating. Because Joan convinced her to follow her heart , Toni gave the ring back only to have Greg dump her after he found out about the engagement and became convinced she was a gold digger. Meanwhile Wiliam dated Yvonne ( Cee Cee Michaels), a feisty lady cop , and because he worried about her safety, he asked her to quit the force.

At the start of the 2001-2002 season Sean left for New York and William was engaged to Yvonne. Joan and Sean were having problems with a bicoastal relationship and broke up while William , finally commited to a Valentine's Day wedding , asked Joan to be his " best man." When the wedding day came Yvonne bailed out because she thought William was too controlling. Toni set up her own upscale real estate office -with Lynn as her assistant, and William as her attorney. Lynn moved in with William, on a platonic level, although they did spend a little time as uncommited " sex buddies." Maya and her husband Darnell had been having problems with their marriage , mostly about money. In the season finale, he found out about Stan ( Don Franklin), a guy Maya had been flirting with , and kicked Maya and their son , Jabari, out.

In the fall of 2002 , when her parents pressured her to pay off her student loans, Lynn took an office job, which she hated. Maya and Darnell's marriage counseling didn't help and she moved in with Joan while William began an affair with manipulative Monica ( Keesha Sharp), whom all the girls hated.In November Darnell told a distraut Maya that he wanted a divorce. When Mr. Swedelson ( Phil Reeves) brought Sharon ( Anne-Marie Johnson) into the firm as a new senior partner , William quit because he was convinced he should have been promoted. Unable to make a living on his own , he negotiated a return to the firm with a modest salary increase . In early February Maya and Jabori, who had been living with Joan for six months, finally moved into their new apartment. Toni got engaged to Todd ( Jason Pace), the successful plastic surgeon she had been dating, and during the spring she was making wedding arrangements. Her biggest concern, ironically ,was not that he was white, but that he was shorter than she was. William 's return to the firm created an awkward situation since he had been having an affair with Sharon, and, even though they still had the hots for each other , they reluctantly broke it off. In the season finale, Toni married Todd, whom she really did love, and Joan reconciled with Ellis ( Adrian Lester), the actor with whom she had been having an on-again, off-again relationship for more than a year.

During the 2003-2004 season Joan broke up with Ellis when she fell in love with his agent, Brock ( Malik Yoba), but their relationship ended when he told her he didn't want to have children. Unhappy with her work at the law firm, she quit and tried to find herself. Meanwhile after making senior partner, William told Joan he wanted to be more than friends. Toni's relationship with Todd deteriorated when she found out he didn't have much money and he moved to New York without her for a job as a plastic surgeon on a reality TV show. When she went to see him there in the spring, she told him she was pregnant. Lynn started the season breaking up with her celibate boyfriend Sivad ( Saul Williams) and then married William, who was determined to beat Joan, who, he thought was marrying Brock to the aisle. After Joan broke up with Brock, William convinced Lynn to have their marriage annulled and the following month she got a job managing the apartment complex where Maya lived. In May Maya self-published her book , Oh Hell Yes and , selling it on the streets , got a five-figure deal and $ 25, 000 advance, from a major publisher that wanted to release it. Eventually William fired her because of her preoccupation with her literary career.

That fall William was dating the field, putting a crimp in Joan's plans to move their relationship forward. Things got complicated when he invested $100,000 to become her partner in a new restaurant and more so late in the year when they started dating.Todd moved back to L.A. to help Toni with the pregnancy , despite the fact that he still wanted a divorce. In February Joan and William decided they were better friends than lovers but she was still uncomfortable when he was with other women. In the spring Joan opened her own restaurant , J-Spot, but it struggled to find customers. The season ended with Toni giving birth to a daughter, Morgan, Maya getting back together with her ex-husband, Darnell, and Joan and William sleeping together for the first time only to find out they weren't physically compatible.

The 2005-2006 season began with Maya and Darnell remarrying but having trouble adjusting to being back together. Todd initially refused Toni's request for a divorce but eventually agreed it was the best thing to do-and then began a custody fight. Lynn got engaged to troubled would be lesbian Jennifer ( Rebecca Creskoff), after stopping her from commiting suicide and spent the first half of the season working her way out of the relationship. Despite misgivings Joan let William turn the struggling J-Spot into a sports bar and ,after it became a big success , she landed on the cover of a trendy magazine as L.A.'s " It Girl" and reveled in her celebrity. In May soon after Maya and Darnell bought a house , he got a job working pit crew for a NASCAR racing team in Florida. After Todd dropped his custody suit Toni moved to New York so Morgan could spend more time with her father and William was back together with his old status-conscious girlfriend , Monica .

When Maya and Darnell returned from Florida Lynn, who had been house-sitting for them, temporarily moved in with Joan while struggling with a career writing music. William was having second thoughts about his engagement to Monica, whom he had made manager of the bar at J-Spot and late in the year Darnell quit his job with NASCAR and returned home permanently. At his wedding reception in February, William revealed his doubts about marrying Monica and when she left him and went home to Chicago, he suffered a serious depression. Joan convinced Monica , whose mother cut her off financially , to come back to L.A. and manage the J-Spot. In April Maya revealed to the girls she was pregnant and in the season finale William and Monica reconciled and Joan's new guy Aaron Waters ( Richard T. Jones) propsed to her.

In the fall of 2007 Aaron got news that he was being shipped to Iraq and he and Joan decided that they should get married before he desparted. . In the end , however, they decided to wait until he got back. Maya suffered a miscarriage and went into a big depression, even taking pills in an attempt to get over her loss. She and Darnell eventiually considered adopting a child. Meanwhile, Monica told William that she was pregnant. Lynn's music career was taking off as a record label wanted to sign her however in early 2008 she learned that her record label was pushing back the release of her album because she wasn't black enough and she started to turn in sub-par songs in an attempt to get out of her record deal.

The 2007-2008 season was cut short because of the writers strike that effected all of Hollywood. The strike eventually ended in early 2008 but in February , The CW announced that Girlfriends had been canceled and that no further episodes would be made for the season. A lot of fans were angry that a sitcom that had run for 8 years would not even get a propper final. The CW did offer to air a One-Hour retrospective episode but when they offered the actors half of their usual salary to take part, the actors all turned them down.

A Review from Entertainment Weekly

Cover Story
Girlfriends
UPN, 9:30-10 PM DEBUTED SEPT. 11
By Lynette Rice

Networks were feeling awfully randy this development season: No fewer than six Sex and the City rip-offs were on the drawing board, thanks to HBO's successful and libidinous sitcom quartet.

One of the few to get a pickup for fall was UPN's Girlfriends -- which was dubbed in early thumbnail descriptions as an ''urban'' Sex and the City. (Groundbreaking!) Besides the customary X-chromosomed cast, the African-American foursome also do the City girl thing by talking about their carnal exploits around restaurant tables. Check out this exchange over cocktails: Single attorney Joan (Lyricist Lounge's Tracee Ellis Ross) laments, ''You guys, I just came to the saddest realization today. I haven't had sex in a year.'' Her cheeky friend Maya (Golden Brooks), the only married one in the group, tries to sympathize: ''Damn, girl, you sure you're still open for business? I mean, you know what happens when you don't wear earrings.''

''Let's face it, there's nothing new in the sitcom world,'' admits executive producer Mark Alton Brown (Designing Women), who also employs another well-worn TV trend by having Ross' character address the camera. ''You struggle mightily to fight the sitcom status quo. You twist it in new directions to make it feel fresh.''

The good news is Girlfriends does have two unique things going for it: It's the first UPN sitcom executive-produced by Frasier's Kelsey Grammer (he developed it through his Paramount-based production company) and it's the only fall show to star the daughter of ultimate diva Diana Ross -- not that Tracee's pedigree comes in handy around Hollywood. ''One misconception is that it helps me get acting jobs -- it doesn't do anything,'' says Ross with a laugh. No matter: The 27-year-old actress didn't need any assistance nailing the role of the ambitious, marriage-ready Joan. ''The lines just rolled off my tongue,'' she says. ''When I left [the audition], I was thinking I was able to be myself in the part, which is rare.''

While Girlfriends is wedged in Monday night among all of UPN's other ''urban'' shows (Moesha, The Parkers, The Hughleys), Brown is making every effort to keep the comedy from being written off as just another ''black show on the black night on UPN'' by exploring universal themes like pity sex, dating a friend's ex, and finding love on the Internet. Adds Ross: ''The beauty of this show is that first and foremost, we are girlfriends, women connecting to each other. That can create a broad appeal.'' And who knows? The show's sexy quartet may ultimately trade the inevitable Sex comparisons for those with an earlier, color-barrier-busting comedy. ''Living Single was groundbreaking at the time,'' says Girlfriends creator Mara Brock Akil, ''and we're going to take it to a new level.''

An Article from The Hollywood Reporter

Girlfriends" 100th episode
Girl power
Tatiana Siegel
Nov 8, 2004

"Girlfriends" debuted on UPN in September 2000, what seemed a promising sitcom was anything but a sure bet. Despite positive reviews, mainstream media buzz and TV megastar Kelsey Grammer as its executive producer, the ensemble comedy's prospects still hinged on the fate of its fledgling network.

At the time, UPN was facing a sink-or-swim moment, with many prognosticators expecting a Titanic-like plunge. Three months earlier, Viacom then-No. 2 executive Mel Karmazin had threatened to deep-six UPN if the 5-year-old network couldn't stem its mounting losses.

"When the show first came on, UPN was in a state where people didn't even know if the network was going to be around," creator-executive producer Mara Brock Akil recalls. "When I was trying to audition for the parts in 'Girlfriends,' some people wouldn't even return the phone call."

But like its host network, "Girlfriends" slowly forged its own identity and began to flourish. Teamed on Monday nights with "Moesha," "The Parkers" and "The Hughleys," the black female-centric sitcom filled a primetime network void created when Fox's "Living Single" went off the air in 1998. In fact, "Girlfriends" quickly developed a loyal fan base that propelled the estrogen-fueled comedy to UPN anchor status.

Now in its fifth season, "Girlfriends" reigns as the network's highest-rated comedy -- a position it held last year as well -- and is UPN's longest-running series currently on the air. The sitcom is a mammoth hit with black viewers, where it often holds the No. 1, 2 or 3 ratings position when compared to all network series, and has nabbed seven NAACP Image Awards, including three consecutive outstanding comedy series nominations. And in 2003, "Girlfriends" received long-overdue industry recognition when it nabbed its first Emmy nomination for outstanding cinematography for a multicamera series. As the show celebrates its 100th episode tonight, the series demonstrates that four unknown black women can carry a show and help stabilize a network.

But long before "Girlfriends" was ever greenlighted, Akil envisioned a show that could accurately portray the urbane women of color she was familiar with, not the urban stereotypes that were common in primetime. Akil says that she was motivated because "I didn't see me or my friends really represented on TV."

Fortunately for Akil, UPN was in the market for a show about black women, and network executives were willing to give the first-time creator-executive producer a shot, while Paramount Network Television signed on as the studio. Says Grammer, "Mara had a very clear vision about the kind of show she wanted to do, and we were impressed with her and thought, Let's make this happen."

The resulting series follows the lives and romantic adventures of four sophisticated L.A. women -- Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), Maya (Golden Brooks), Lynn (Persia White) and Toni (Jill Marie Jones) -- and their male friend, William (Reggie Hayes). Although "Girlfriends" is often pigeonholed as simply a black comedy, UPN entertainment president Dawn Ostroff insists that the series has more in common with NBC's "Golden Girls," CBS' "Designing Women" and HBO's "Sex and the City" than the rest of UPN's Monday night lineup.

"('Girlfriends' is) a very smart, well-written, well-acted show that's universally relevant," Ostroff says. "The fact that it stars four African-American women is irrelevant because the subject matter and the story lines that the show deals with on a weekly basis really are relatable to women everywhere."

In fact, Akil says she was looking to explore the issue of class in society more than race.

"A lot of time, people focus on race, and I think class is one of those things that really separate us," Akil explains. "A lot of times, people think that if you're white, you can relate to white people, and if you're black, you can relate to black people. I think what is happening in America is money separates us more; that's what we explore."

She points to characters Maya and Joan -- a struggling single mother and a privileged attorney, respectively -- as examples of women who share the same skin color but are polar opposites because of their economic stations. Ultimately, Akil says she wanted to investigate how women overcome societal divisions and build lasting friendships.

Adds Ostroff: "This isn't the first show that has ever done that.

But I think it's a formula that when well-written and well-acted, when the characters are well-drawn, certainly has relevance that would be relatable to everybody."

Meanwhile, the show has become an asset for Paramount Network TV. With the departure of NBC's "Frasier" in May, "Girlfriends" is now the longest-running half-hour comedy that it produces.

"It is the veteran on our lot," Paramount Network TV senior vp current programming Tom Russo says.

Russo credits Akil with much of the series' success. "She has tremendous vision; she has boundless energy," he says. "I can't stress enough how well-run the show is. It is such a pleasure to go down on that stage on Tuesday nights and watch them work. They do a really great job."

In addition to quality writing and acting, "Girlfriends" has become known for its hip, trendsetting style and music. Costume designer Stacy Beverly creates the show's bright and funky fashions, which Akil refers to as the series' sixth character. And composer Kurt Farquhar sets the mood by crafting what he dubs "the soundtrack of their lives."

"Music is terribly important for (Akil)," says Farquhar, who wrote his first symphony when he was 12 and now scores many of UPN's shows. "She wanted the music to really exemplify who these people are."

"Girlfriends" also is creating shock waves beyond UPN as it recently made an auspicious debut in syndication. The series began its encore run in mid-September in several markets, including Fox affiliates in New York, Los Angeles and Houston. The show began to resonate with viewers immediately -- even beating syndie stalwart "Seinfeld" in New York.

Says John Nogawski, president of Paramount Domestic Television: "It's just astounding the kind of numbers ('Girlfriends' is earning). If you (asked) who would beat who -- 'Girlfriends' or 'Seinfeld' -- the normal person responding to the question would say, 'Seinfeld.'"

Furthermore, syndication gives "Girlfriends" a new opportunity to expand its viewership.

"I think it really works to the advantage of the show in the long run in syndication because a lot of times, the first time some people see it is in syndication," adds Nogawski, who oversaw the syndication sale, which also includes airings on BET. "But it was a little bit at a disadvantage in the beginning when we were selling it."

As for the show's future, Grammer sees no final curtain call on the horizon. "You can tell a thousand stories about them, not just a hundred," quips Grammer, who knows a thing or two about sitcom longevity. "With 'Girlfriends,' it will really be up to the cast and the writers if they still think there is territory to explore."

An Article from The Associated Press

L.A. "Girlfriends" log eight seasons on TV
By JANICE RHOSHALLE LITTLEJOHN

The Associated Press
December 24, 2007

LOS ANGELES — At a time when black sitcoms are losing their luster, the eighth season of "Girlfriends" is worth noting.

The CW comedy about three close-knit L.A. galpals is the longest-running live-action comedy currently airing on prime-time network television. Though like other UPN transplants on the CW, it has never hit Nielsen's top 100, "Girlfriends" is the second-highest-rated comedy among black viewers (bested only by its two-year-old spinoff, "The Game").

With 173 episodes shot so far (13 of 22 were filmed before the Writers Guild strike halted production), "Girlfriends" is just behind "The Cosby Show" with the most episodes produced for a black sitcom.

"And knowing that, if I got one more year, I could beat Cosby," series creator Mara Brock Akil said with a laugh. "I mean, come on, to be able to say I was right up there with 'Cosby,' that ain't a bad thing."

Not bad, indeed, considering that with ratings down last season, many had suspected the show wouldn't return at all this fall. Akil and the writers even wrote a final episode that tied everything together, including the lovelorn Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross) getting a marriage proposal.

Though CW executives are not willing to discuss the possibilities of a renewal until May, when series are picked up for the fall, there is another contingency plan in place if this season is the last.

"I think fans will be very happy," Akil said.

So does that mean Joan will finally get married? Akil would only reveal that "when we finally feel like Joan is really OK, I do believe the show is over."

While Akil and cast agree that they would not be opposed to coming back, they'd also be fine if they didn't. With nearly nonexistent promotion, network swaps and the loss of a principal cast member last season, just the fact that the show has endured is what's mattered most.

"It's not that I didn't think we could go this long, but it's totally outside my frame of reference," said Ross, who directed the scheduled Jan. 14 episode. "It was one of those things where I was like, 'Yeah, this is really good,' but who would ever think? What show goes eight years? It's not something you imagine."

A Northwestern University journalism graduate, Akil got her start writing scripts on the critically lauded "South Central" before moving to UPN's "Moesha," where she became a producer after four seasons. She landed "Girlfriends" just days shy of her 30th birthday.

"When I first met her, Mara had really not had the reins of a show before 'Girlfriends,' " said CW President Dawn Ostroff. "Over the years she has matured where she is not only able to handle the pressure of producing two shows, but she's just always thinking about where the characters are going and what's going to create the most drama and comedy for the series in the long haul."

Akil is one of only two black women producing multiple shows on the air this season (Shonda Rhimes, creator of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" being the other).

Even more significant is that Akil has two of the only three network prime-time comedies (including the CW's "Everybody Hates Chris") that feature a predominantly black cast — a dying breed amid television's increased interest in "color blind" series.

After years of criticism about the lack of diversity on the networks, much of broadcast television has moved toward multiracial casting. Black shows like "Cosby," "My Wife and Kids," "The Parkers" or "The Jamie Foxx Show" are a thing of the past.

Although there are more black actors on television than ever before — thanks in part to cable — the absence of black shows means fewer working opportunities for black performers, writers and producers, critics say, as well as fewer authentic stories that represent the culture.

That unique representation, said Kelsey Grammer, whose Grammnet production company makes Akil's shows, is what made "Girlfriends" such a significant series.

"For 20 years I was on television watching everybody kind of piss and moan that, except for 'The Cosby Show,' there was really no show of color that was substantial," said Grammer. "But this is a real show about real people that I thought was an important step for television."

An Article about the Cancellation

Saying Goodbye

'Girlfriends' Breaks Up With CW
Sitcom has been on for eight seasons

Zap2It.com
February 14, 2008

The CW sitcom "Girlfriends" will be bidding adieu to the network after eight seasons on the air, it was announced by the series' creator/executive producer Mara Brock Akil on Thursday, Feb. 14.

"Although it's always difficult to say goodbye," said Akil in a statement, "I choose to focus my energy on the history that 'Girlfriends' has made, the human stories that we told, the beautifully complex images that we projected and the blessings 172 episodes bestowed on us, both personally and professionally.

"I am immensely thankful to the amazingly talented cast, writers, directors, staff and crew for their endless dedication and hard work for eight seasons, to the network that always wanted us and the studio that always supported us, but mostly to the audience, especially African-American women, who took the time to tune into us every Monday night at nine to have a dialogue with us and who have been our partner in this journey. I am currently in talks with the studio and network on putting together a retrospective show which will honor and celebrate this landmark series, so please stay tuned."

No statement was released by the network.

The show began airing on UPN in 2000 and moved over to The CW when UPN and The WB merged. It has been enjoying a home in the network's Monday comedy lineup that includes "Everybody Hates Chris," "Aliens in America" and "The Game." "Girlfriends" stars Jill Marie Jones, Persia White, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Golden Brooks as the titular pals.

To watch some clips from Girlfriends go to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=girlfriends+tv+show

For a Website dedicated to Tracee Ellis Ross go to http://www.traceeellisross.com/

For a Website dedicated to Jill Marie Jones go to http://www.jillmariejonesonline.com/

For a Website dedicated to Persia White go to http://www.persiawhite.com/