Lena Dunham’s New TV Show Is like Mad Men With a Twist
We’re not sure when Lena Dunham finds time for sleeping, but it’s definitely working for her. In addition to writing, directing and starring in the Emmy-nominated Girls and launching her awesome newsletter, Lenny, she already has another series in the works at HBO. It sounds like Mad Men and #girlpower fans are going to love it. Scroll on to get all the details!
According to Variety, HBO has bought the pilot for a new half-hour comedy series developed by Dunham and her Girls team. The show, called Max, will focus on a young, ambitious magazine writer in the 1960s (read: fun Mad Men-type style!) who finds herself in the middle of the rise of second-wave feminism.
The main character, Maxine, will be played by Lisa Joyce. She’s described as, “an enthusiastic, if misguided, low-level magazine employee who stumbles into the forefront of a civil-rights movement both she and the world may not be ready for.” Though the characters are fictional, this does sound vaguely reminiscent of a young Gloria Steinem working at New York Magazine in the ’60s. Gloria slowly became entrenched in the feminist movement when she started reporting on it.
Dunham will be executive producing and directing the pilot, while Girls executive producer and writer Murray Miller has written the pilot episode. Dunham’s first series, Girls, definitely made a cultural impact when it premiered back in 2012, so it wouldn’t be surprising if this show did the same. A date for the pilot hasn’t been set, but with Girls possibly nearing an end after its sixth season airs (its fifth season will air next year), Max would probably premiere sometime in 2016.
Max won’t be the only feminism-focused show airing on HBO in 2016. The network is developing a series based on Maureen Dowd’s book Are Men Necessary? starring Whitney Cummings. They’ve also greenlit a show with YouTube star Issa Rae. HBO may have to change its slogan from “It’s not TV, it’s HBO” to “Women Rule.”
Would you watch this new show? Tell us why or why not in the comments below!
(Photos via Alberto E. Rodriguez, Jerod Harris/Getty)
