'Girls' Season 5 News: Lena Dunham Explains Reason For Ending 'Girls'

By Jackie Villegas, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, January 28, 2016

Earlier this month, HBO confirmed that it had renewed the popular - and often controversial - drama comedy series "Girls" for its sixth - and final - season. "Girls" Season 6 is set to air in 2017.

Speaking from a Cinema Cafe discussion with Norman Lear at the Sundance Film Festival last week, "Girls" star and creator Lena Dunham spoke about why the series needed to end, saying, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter, "We were always conscious, especially because the show has been at times such a lightning rod, of overstaying our welcome."

"We've been very blessed to have the experience of people continuing to engage in the show in a really kind of rabid way after four — heading into five — years," the actress/director/writer/producer said. "We wanted to make sure we kept the momentum alive and didn't allow it to soften over time."

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Dunham, who has stated on numerous occasions that it was important for her to wrap up "Girls" after six seasons and not push it past its shelf life, stressed that the series is about an "incredibly specific period" in the lives of Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham), Marnie Michaels (Allison Williams), Shoshanna Shapiro (Zosia Mamet), and Jessa Johansson (Jemima Kirke), and that continuing past that period would drastically alter what the series is about. Dunham, who was 23 when she wrote the pilot for "Girls," will be 30 as production begins on the sixth season.

The "Girls" creator also said that ending the series will free her castmates to pursue other projects. Since the series premiered in 2012, several of the "Girls" talents have become in-demand actors. Adam Driver recently starred as Kylo Ren in the blockbuster hit "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" while Allison Williams starred in the title role in NBC's 2014 live musical "Peter Pan."

"These birds have to fly!" Dunham said, adding: "They're all in 'Star Wars' and stuff. They're busy!"

The fifth season of "Girls" premieres Sunday, Feb. 21, on HBO.