If the Sitcom Girlfriends was a Novel

If the sitcom Girlfriends was a novel

I am sure I am not the only woman obsessed and connects every real-life situation to the popular sitcom Girlfriends. From watching the original run as a developing teenager to constantly binging the re-runs as an experienced adult, my overall perspective of the characters and scenarios has changed. There are so many thoughts and opinions I would love to share; however, my imagination has led me to explore: What if this sitcom was a book? Instead of logging into Netflix for the nostalgic boost, we could pull it from our bookshelf, flip to our favorite parts, and re-read it while allowing the words to dance around our thoughts. And no, watching with captions is not the equivalent.

I remember watching the original air and conversing with my middle/high school friends during lunch over the scandalous acts of Toni. The impulsive behavior of Lynn, the witty and colorful dialogue of Mya, the comedic relief of William, and the misunderstood innocence of Joan. However, as I have re-watched this show for the millionth time my stance has changed. Episode 1 showed Toni as the problematic, selfish, and inappropriate friend with poor judgment. However, I now believe Joan was that friend. Joan was controlling and her “unconditional” support to her friends came with conditions. She had to be the center of attention. She had to receive the wins first. Ellis was correct when he read her. “Toni’s won something, now Joan’s got to win something”, season 3 episode 18 “Runaway Bride.” Even down to the small comment she made to Mya on episode 15 during season 1, “Old Dog” “I mean Doctor Dunn was my doctor first. Now, Toni gets the complimentary muffin basket for referring the new patient.” Everything had to go through Joan. Joan was a great friend only when her friends were where she wanted them to be. That includes being unmarried, unemployed, her assistant, not owing a business, living with her, using her home as an event venue, and dictating their holiday plans. In my unpopular opinion, Toni was the better friend. Her judgment was impaired in several episodes, however, when it came to Mya and Lynn she was the better friend. From disabling Lynn’s enabling. To be an advocate for Mya when she wanted to work for William. Now, I am not saying that the girls did not give Joan her fair share of grief because they did. Between Lynn’s jealousy over Sean. When Mya disrespected her home with Tasha’s visit. However, Joan seemed to be marketed as the supportive and innocent friend and that is a far stretch. Let’s be honest, the only reason she behaved respectfully during William’s wedding to Yvonne is because she was the wedding planner, coordinator, best man/woman, and her house was the venue. Her behavior during Mya and Toni’s weddings should have landed her on the block list or the 2000s equivalent. I digress because, despite the case I am building against Joan, I still can not help but love her and see parts of me in her. Come on, there is no way Joan was not a Virgo or Taurus. And no, this is not slander to earth signs because I am a Virgo sun and Taurus moon. Despite my imagination running wild here. I am in no way suggesting this show requires any improvement. The writing from this show is pure genius. This blog is simply about me being the ultimate fan girl and giving this show the flowers it rightfully deserves.

The sitcom first aired in 2000, so I am considering the early 2000s culture as I am allowing my imagination to recreate my favorite sitcom. However, the situations, conflicts, and advice are still relevant in 2024. If this sitcom were a book these are the differences I think we would have seen:

• The novel would have been written in the first person point of view of Joan.

•  Joan would have had sex with Davis. The novel probably would have started with the two flirting at 847 and returning to Joan’s home for the actual one-night stand she was second-guessing about nervously. Their relationship would have been short-lived as Joan would have caught Davis while he was actually on a break from Ava.

• Joan’s pregnancy scare with Marcus would have been an actual pregnancy. There would have been an entire chapter dedicated to this. In the essence of the culture of the 2000s where abortion was a bit of a taboo topic. She would have kept the baby. Only for the moment, she accepted the pregnancy, she would have sadly miscarried.

• William would have been described as having had all the sex appeal. And that cringy romantic relationship with him and Joan would have never happened. Perhaps, after Lynn exhausted the generosity of Joan and Toni, she would have pursued a serious romantic relationship with William for “stability”. There would have been no sex buddy arrangement. Lynn would have cheated on William with Sivad causing division in the friend circle. Near the end of the book, there would have been reconciliation.

• After leaving William at the altar, Yvonne would have remained friends with Joan. This would have created friction between her and William. This would have been why Joan never alerted William about Lynn’s agenda for their relationship.

• Speaking of William, when he left the law firm to start his practice he would have taken his heavy-hitting clients with him. Similar to the sitcom, he would have worked to persuade Joan to leave with him. She would not have seen his vision and much like the show she would have stayed at the law firm. However, after William’s departure, the workplace would have become toxic, leading to a decline in her career. Being the friend to always plan, control, and financially support would have become difficult, again pushing her toward her character development climax. 

• Toni would have picked Clay over Greg. However, their relationship would have been toxic. Clay purchasing the painting from Greg would have led to Greg’s big break, gaining the exposure he was seeking. Toni would have circled back to Greg. The outcome would have been similar to what we saw on the sitcom. Even down to the pumpkin. That was classic.

• There would have never been a Joan and Sean. He would have seen the red flags during their initial encounter at the art gallery and this would have been a character development opportunity for Joan. Now to make it juicy, instead of Stan, Sean would have been Mya’s emotional affair, causing more division in the friend circle. The climax would have been getting Joan alone. Friendless, man-less, and jobless similar to her retreat in New Orleans. Speaking of which, that would have still happened and the ending of the novel would have been a small courthouse wedding with her and Aaron. The only friend she would have retained would have been William. Her friendship with Toni would have ended during Toni’s engagement, as Toni would have recognized that Joan no longer fit into her life. Her transition from girlfriend to wife would have encouraged her to leave the friendship behind completely. This would have been Joan’s awakening where she is forced to sit with herself. During this time, she would try to come on to William, however, he would be seriously involved with Sharon. (I liked her for him more than Monica).

• Marcus, Chris, Ellis, Brock, Javon, and Derek would have married the girlfriends they had after Joan.

• Lynn and Sivad would have consummated their relationship. However, the relationship would have ended soon after.

• Lynn still would have experienced heartbreak from Finn. However, instead of a music career, Lynn would have experienced character development by becoming Elton’s first lady. The two would have started an “alternative” church, that focused on spirituality and not religion. This church would have been LGBTQIAQ-friendly. Instead of Lynn dating Jennifer (did they actually date? Like what was that?) Oh, yeah, an “engagement”. So, instead of being “engaged” to Jennifer, she would have been her friend and then found her calling as a therapist and spiritual healer.

I’m going to leave my imagination here. There are some other '90s 00s sitcoms I can do this for. I could continue to run wild with this, however, I know this is not the actual novel. If you loved this blog post, please share it with the Girlfriends’ fans in your life, and be sure to follow me on Instagram and TikTok: iamanauthoress757. Last thing, have you purchased and read your copy of my debut novel, Suspended License? If not, what are you waiting for? Hurry up please the sequel is about to be released. Thank you for reading. Oh, one last thing, is there some sort of Girlfriends’ fan group? If so, I need to join lol.