Girlfriends Guide To Divorce is a comedy/drama aired on Bravo, December 2, 2014. This is Bravo’s first original scripted series.

When the show opens, Abby McCarthy (Lisa Edelstein) is sitting in her bed watching her interview, with the Today’s Show hosts Kathy Lee and Hoda Kotb. Her husband, Jake (Paul Adelstein), enters the bedroom and jumps in the bed, when Abby tells him that he smells like sex.

The next morning their children, Charlie (Dylan Schobing, Hell On Wheels) and Lilly (Conner Dwelly, Once Upon A Time), come into the bedroom and they get up to have breakfast. Abby and Jake communicate through text messages, so the children do not hear their disagreements.

Abby has reverted to smoking to decrease her stress. Lyla (Janeane Garofalo), divorce attorney, are talking on the phone, discussing Lyla’s ex-husband, who is unemployed and stays out all hours of the night partying. They meet Phoebe (Beau Garrett) for breakfast, at a local cafe, where they run into a sexy man that briefly speaks with Abby. She later admits that she is interested in him but quickly finds excuses why she cannot take the relationship further, which is mostly due to Jake. Jake’s new twenty-five year old girlfriend, Becca Riley (Juilianna Guill), who is an actress on a show on the CW network. Abby says that Jake is rubbing her nose into this new relationship. 

The girls decide to go shopping and continue their talk about Becca. Free spirited Phoebe pulls up her shirt and shows Abby her new boob job. Abby grabs them and says that they feel great. 

Later, she meets with her book editor, Cat (Carrie Fischer), who shows her some press photos. She has also set up a book signing for Abby, at the Barnes And Nobles. Cat tells her that she needs to kick Jake out of the family home, for her own good.

Lyla’s ex-husband, Dan (Michael Weaver) brings his kids back home. He admits to Lyla that he is now in a new relationship and she is not happy. They have sex after having dinner with their children. She warns Dan about feeding their son chicken nuggets, because he is getting fat. When Dan leaves, Lyla calls the police to tell them about a drunk driver, Dan. The police arrive and arrest him for DUI.

The next morning, Abby drops her kids off at school, where she runs into her homosexual brother, Max (Patrick Heusinger) and his husband, Ford (J. August Richards). She tells Max about her separation from Jake. He warns her that, Lyla and Phoebe are encouraging their separation and to be cautious. 

All three ladies, get dressed and go to a fancy club. Abby and a friend set around talking about child support, while Lyla is having fun on the dance floor. Abby admits to being hesitant about getting involved with another man, at this point. She kisses Abby, before she gets up and leaves. Abby begins wandering around the club, by herself and is approached by the twenty-eight year old bar manager, Will (Warren Christie), who admits enjoying talking to her. They go into his apartment, where Will tries to undress her but a phone call from Lilly, interrupts them. They are having sex, when she accidentally calls Will “Jake”, for which she apologizes. She tells him that she had six orgasms and it was great, then divulges the real reason behind her and Jake’s separation, he discovered e-mail exchanges between her and another man.

She calls Lyla, before she leaves Will’s home and tells her about her sexual entourage’ with Will. When she returns home, Jake and her have an argument about them not having sex for five years. They start to make out but Abby stops and tells him that she is seeing a therapist. He is upset and ask her, if her skin is crawling because she finds him repulsive. The kids are woken up by their yelling, Lilly says that she knows that they are going to divorce. Abby tries to calm her before she storms out of the room. 

Abby drops the kids off at school the next morning, where she runs into Max again. She tells him that their marriage is over and that she was just in denial. Max refuses to except the divorce and thinks they can repair their relationship.

She goes to her book signing, where Phoebe and Lyla meet her. She breaks down about her fight with Jake and her sexual encounter with Will. She gives a short speech and admits to wishing that her husband would die. She offers to sign their books, but they all refuse, and she drunkenly stumbles out of Barnes and Nobles. 

Review

Girlfriends Guide To Divorce is definitely a nice addition to the Bravo network. While it is not perfect, it does have a strong start. The acting is fairly well and I did not notice anyone slipping, in their roles. While the show is bleak there are signs of light hearted humor, which make it more bearable. With Mari Noxon at the helm, you should expect to see a quality show, that is able to withstanding the test of time, as long as fans can get behind Abby McCarthy. I enjoyed the first episode and feel that it deserved a 7 out of 10.

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