If the streaming wars have brought forth a landfill of content, then treasures must abound. But not all of those gems have been discovered — or if they have, they aren’t given the audience that they rightfully deserve. Such is the case for Girls5eva, the heartwarming, satirical showbiz comedy that premiered on Peacock in 2021 as one of the streaming service’s flagship original series.
Surprisingly, after a hilarious second season in 2022, Peacock passed on making a third season of the show, leading Netflix to pick up the Tina Fey and Robert Carlock-produced comedy. Now, as of March 14th, the show’s long-awaited third season — along with its first two seasons — are streaming on Netflix, bringing this great to show to an arguably wider audience.
The third season, as the two before it, is as delightful, absurd, and endearing as the first two — but if you haven’t gotten familiar with the rise, fall, and rise again of the fictional girl group Girls5eva, let’s catch you up to speed. After nabbing a one-hit wonder in 2000 and briefly serving as “girl group du jour,” the five-member Girls5eva breaks up when their sophomore album tanks (it was released on September 10th, 2001) and star member Wickie Roy (Renée Elise Goldsberry) goes solo. Over 20 years later, the now four-member group (one girl died in an infinity pool accident) reunites, and Wickie, Dawn (Sara Bareilles), Gloria (Paula Pell), and Summer (Busy Philipps) decide to give their shot at pop star success another go.
The first season chronicles the group’s reunion and provides a crash course into the hilarious lore of Girls5Eva’s five minutes of fame, and the second season follows up on their commitment to take control of their music careers. All the while, we’re given hilarious original songs, absurd cutaways and flashbacks, and delightful cameos from the likes of Mario Cantone, The Property Brothers, and one of the show’s executive producers, Tina Fey.
Where Season 2 found the girls in “album mode,” the newly-released Season 3 sees Girls5eva in “tour mode,” crammed into a van as they bring their developing act across the United States. Similar to their initial ambitions in re-forming the group, the ladies of Girls5eva have another ambitious goal in mind, and to make it happen they’ll attempt to connect with new fans, win over old ones, and keep their eyes on the future while cashing in on their success of the past.