The Pitch: The girls are in album mode: after Season 1 of the Peacock comedy concluded with an impromptu performance at Jingle Ball, the four women of Girls5eva sign a record deal and begin recording their second full length album.
Led by Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt writer Meredith Scardino and several 30 Rock producers (namely Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and Jeff Richmond), Girls5eva Season 2 doubles down on the show’s unique tone — it’s satirical, but earnest; rooted in reality, but featuring a good helping of 30 Rock’s absurd showbiz comedy.
Where Season 1 chronicled the reformation of Girls5eva 20 years after their original girl group heyday, Season 2 is an even more focused endeavor — now, it’s up to Dawn (Sarah Bareilles), Wickie (Renée Elise Goldsberry), Gloria (Paula Pell), and Summer (Busy Philipps) to launch the next phase of the group and complete an album of original and authentic material.
True Commitment: Season 1’s strengths were many, but perhaps the biggest was its incredibly committed and hilarious cast. Each of the four women are once again at the top of their game, and Season 2’s jokes are delivered with the poise and command that characterize the very best actors in the business.
Goldsberry is, as always, an unforgettable actress, completely unafraid of summoning outlandish physical and vocal choices to make even the smallest of moments feel larger than life. It’s enough to make Wickie Roy just a straight-up diva, but what Goldsberry provides is a very particular kind of foolishness and absurdity that makes us laugh both at her and with her — all delivered with an undeniable commitment to the bit.
Wickie is a character that constantly oscillates between extreme emotions: all of her exasperated reactions are at a 10, and each smartly written joke requires the unquestionable presence of Wickie. So, when Goldsberry reaches these extremes at the drop of a hat, she’s a loaded gun — you don’t know what she’ll say next, how she’ll say it, and sometimes, why she says it at all. The incredible command and tact that Goldsberry brings to those moments of unpredictability is exactly why she’s so compelling in Girls5eva, and it makes the jokes land even harder.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Girls5eva ensemble are just as wonderful — including some characters that didn’t quite get their time to shine in Season 1. Daniel Breaker, who plays Dawn’s husband Scott, gets some more well-earned screen time this season, and we even get to see him show off his Broadway chops for a song or two. (Let us not forget that Breaker was nominated for a Tony for his leading role in the incredible musical Passing Strange 15 years ago! The man is very talented!)
