Allison Williams Says Gen Z Gets ‘Girls’, Which Ebon Moss-Bachrach Blames On Their Narcissism
Allison Williams and Ebon Moss-Bachrach had one of television’s most startling scenes during the original run of Girls. In it, Moss-Bachrach chomped on her hindquarters with a gusto usually reserved for an Italian beef sandwich in his current show, The Bear.
Not everyone was on board with the scene or the show when it first aired. But now, the series has been rediscovered by Gen Z viewers, and they’re more attuned to Williams’s character, Marnie Michaels, and the show’s vibe than previous generations.
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The actress reflected on that along with her costar in a recent Vanity Fair video.
“My theory is what was coded as selfishness among Millennials is now coded as self-care and just being aware of what you need, and advocating for your needs and standing up for yourself,” Williams said in the video. “And so Gen Z is like, ‘No, we get her. She makes sense to us.’”
She noted a different reception when the series first aired from 2012 until 2017. “The whole show got a lot of flack when it was airing for everyone being too selfish and self-centered and blah, blah, blah,” she explained.
Moss-Bachrach, who played Marnie’s former bandmate and love interest Desi Halperin, felt that Gen Z viewers may find Williams’ character more relatable because the “level of narcissism” that she exhibited has simply become the “baseline” these days.
“No! I actually think that it’s a bunch of girls trying to create the best environment for each of them to survive and thrive and being wrong, but like still trying and caring,” she countered. “I think that’s a pursuit that is resonant in a new way, whereas before it just looked like we didn’t know that any other countries existed or that anyone had lives that were less fortunate than ours. But that was sort of the point — it just got missed a little bit.”
Moss-Bachrach didn’t agree. “It was massive narcissism,” he maintained. “It’s insane self-involvement. But… I think there’s something to that, too.”
What would their characters be doing in the present day?. “I think Marnie, I think she’d still be trying to have a singing career, in addition to other jobs,” Williams said. “I picture her with another marriage under her belt come and gone, I think. Probably on the verge of deciding to have a baby on her own.”
Moss-Bachrach said Desi would either be “working with troubled youths” in the desert or “bussing tables” out in Joshua Tree. “Like, adjacent to a music scene, maybe?” he said. “But I like the idea of him as a therapist. Not like a licensed therapist, but somebody who’s really getting their hands dirty and just like, ‘I’ve been there, guys. I know what you’re going through.’”
Watch the video above.
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