HBO has released the first trailer for the upcoming third season of Lena Dunham’s polarizing comedy series Girls.  While the second season ended on a rather down note, this trailer amps up the fun level and promises plenty of drama, comedy, and Adam Driver (on a related note, Adam Driver should be in everything).  Series regular Christopher Abbott made a public departure from the show during the beginning of production on season three, and in this trailer we see Allison Williams’ Marnie reeling from his absence.  We also get a peek at a possible new career path for Dunham’s Hannah and more adorable shenanigans courtesy of Zosia Mamet’s Shoshanna.  Though Girls is certainly a bit of a mixed bag at times, the good seems to outweigh the bad and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what season three has in store.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Season three of Girls premieres with two back-to-back episodes on HBO January 12, 2014.

Did anyone count the seconds Shoshanna and Jessa turned up on screen in this episode of Girls?  More than twenty, but less than a full minute, surely.  The problem with any episode that focuses entirely on Hannah is that Hannah is, by far, the least likable of the foursome.  In small doses she can be fine — the cold open was a thing of beauty to anyone who works in, or pays close attention to, media.  Hannah, looking to do some kind of Woody Allen-esque “I just want to talk about how awkward I am” piece, or maybe some kind of long-form old-school journalism is told, “have a threesome with strangers you meet off of Craiglist.  Or go on a cocaine binge.  Just an idea.”  Hit the jump to see how that played out, as well as why you should “look at the doll and describe her!”

“I watched Girls, but I didn’t really have an opinion of it” – said no one ever.  Last year the show started off shaky and turned some viewers off, but got progressively better as the reality of what the series is — and not what the divisive hype claimed it was — became clear.  Girls is really a fine show.  Series creator and star Lena Dunham is not “the voice of the generation” (which was a satirically uttered line that HBO turned into a sincere tagline), but she has moments where she gets it really right.  So maybe getting the most out of the show means accepting it as an ironic embrace of White Girl Problems, without being dismissive of its truths.  Hit the jump to find out where all of the girls are now, and why things are already so much better than before.

The first trailer for the second season of HBO’s comedy series Girls has arrived, and it’s pretty great.  The first season of the Judd Apatow-produced series was met with a surprisingly polarized response, but creator/writer/producer/star Lena Dunham took it all in stride and is back with a vengeance.  Some of the season one criticisms were valid, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t find this season two trailer incredibly funny.  The events of the season one finale look to be reverberating throughout the show’s second season, as we see Hannah (Dunham) taking advantage of her single life, Jessa (Jemima Kirke) getting to know her new husband (Chris O’Dowd), and the unendingly creepy/affable Adam (Adam Driver) going full stalker on Hannah.  Oh yeah, and Jorma Taccone’s back.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Season two of Girls, which will also feature Donald Glover, Andrew Rannells, Rita Wilson, Patrick Wilson, and Colin Quinn, premieres on HBO on January 13th.

The networks will be unveiling their fall schedules next week at the upfronts, but a few high-profile NBC pilots have already been picked up to series.  Briefly:

• The New Normal – Ryan Murphy’s blended comedy pilot centering on a same-sex couple and their surrogate.
• Revolution – The J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke-produced action/drama takes place in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist.
• Go On – Matthew Perry stars as a sportscaster trying to move on from a loss with the help of his fellow group therapy members.
• Save Me – Anne Heche plays a woman who, after letting herself go while in a broken marriage, goes through a transformation in which she becomes the best version of herself and creates miracles.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to pilot season. Networks are busy greenlighting pilots left and right in order to boost their Fall 2012 schedules, and we’ve got news concerning two of the more high profile shows being developed. First up, Deadline reports that NBC has given a pilot order for The New Normal. The half-hour comedy was created by Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler and revolves around a blended family of a gay couple and a woman who becomes their surrogate. Book of Mormon breakout Andrew Rannells is set for one of the three leads in the single-camera half-hour comedy, while the other two roles have yet to be cast. Hit the jump for much more, including news concerning a pilot for McG.