Ashley Park | Girls5eva

• Genre: Comedy, Musical
• Created by: Meredith Scardino
• Starring: Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell, Renée Elise Goldsberry
• Music by: Jeff Richmond, Giancarlo Vulcano
• No. of seasons: 3
• No. of episodes: 22
• Executive producers: Meredith Scardino, Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Jeff Richmond, David Miner, Eric Gurian
• Producers: Lauren Gurganous, Matt Whitaker, Dara Schnapper, Steven Ast, Bill Sell, Kimmy Gatewood, Janine Brito, John Mahone, Joe Dinnen
• Cinematography: John G. Inwood
• Editors: Jon Philpot, Nicole Brik, Micah Gardner, Nathan Floody, Agnès Challe-Grandits, Kyle Gilman, Sean M Cusack
• Running time: 25–33 minutes
• Production companies: Little Stranger, Bevel Gears, 3 Arts Entertainment, Scardino and Sons, Universal Television
• Network: Peacock
• Release: May 6, 2021 – June 9, 2022
• Network: Netflix
• Release: March 14, 2024

A 1990s girl group that managed to score only one hit gets an unexpected chance at a comeback when their song is sampled by an up-and-coming rapper.

"Pilot"

While Dawn is getting her first mammogram, she hears a song from the rapper Lil Stinker, who has sampled a song her group recorded 20 years earlier. The band reunites for the first time in years to sing backing vocals for Lil Stinker on The Tonight Show. Bored by their humdrum lives and energized by performing again, they ask to support Lil Stinker on tour, but he tells them they're too old, a sentiment their former manager repeats. Wickie, the only member of the band who's apparently wealthy and happy, heads to the airport, and Dawn chases her to confront her about the way she left the band years ago to start a solo career. Wickie confesses her career never went anywhere. Her glamorous life on social media is a sham; she actually works at an airport. In the morning, Wickie shows up at Dawn's apartment with her suitcase and says she wants to restart the band after all. She apologizes for the past and admits the band members make her better. The four women reunite on a bench they dedicated to their former band member, Ashley, who died in 2004, and confirm their decision to restart the band.

"D'wasg"

Dawn's husband Scott is getting tired of Wickie's stuff taking over their apartment when her clear grand piano is delivered. It becomes a point of tension until he hears Dawn and Wickie playing and singing together, which makes him relent. Wickie tells Dawn she's her best friend. Summer is having her own marital issues; her husband Kev lives in Tampa and is rarely reachable. She plays a Cameo of Kev for Dawn and Wickie and pretends it's a FaceTime conversation. Meanwhile, the women decide their aim is to play at December's big Jingle Ball concert. Their first step is to gain traction by playing a pop-up show at the mall where they first played as a band. The mall's shut down, but they livestream the performance of "Dream Girlfriends" and are happy with it. However, later that night, they discover the video has been removed because their old manager Larry owns the rights to their songs.

"Alf Musik"

The women realize they can't perform their songs without Larry's permission, so they need new songs. They approach Alf Musik, the reclusive Swedish man who wrote their old songs and has written many hits. He writes another song for them, but they reject it as too misogynistic. They realize all their old hits were misogynistic, too. He writes a new song to better reflect who they are now, but it's about being sad and invisible, which is how Alf sees them. They reject it, too, and decide Dawn will write their new songs instead; she used to write before Larry shot down her efforts twenty years earlier. Meanwhile, Dawn has been putting off her planned attempts to get pregnant because it would interfere with the band. However, she's afraid of raising Max as a "New York lonely boy," an eccentric only child who befriends doormen and is more at home with adults than kids. But when they run into John Slattery, Talia Balsam, and their adult son on the street, she's reassured. She tells Scott she's okay with Max being an only child, but he says he really wants a second child.

"Catskills"

The women go to a cabin in the Catskills to write songs. When they discover the cabin's owner hiding in a closet because she has nowhere else to go, Dawn gives her money to stay in a motel. Wickie tells Dawn she's too much of a people-pleaser and that the band will never succeed if Dawn doesn't learn to speak up. Gloria goes to the farmers market to "accidentally" run in to her ex-wife Caroline, and even though the two sleep together, Caroline says she doesn't want to get back together because Gloria is a workaholic. Gloria realizes her tendency toward overwork began when Girls5Eva started in order to avoid attention from boys before she came out. Summer, who's been tasked with making a salad because Wickie and Dawn don't like her songwriting ideas, confesses she doesn't know how to make a salad or do anything else useful. And Wickie is forced to confess she charged the others for the cabin rental even though she was getting it for free as an Instagram influencer. As the women admit their flaws to each other, they're inspired to write the song "Four Stars" about being imperfect but still good enough.

"Separ8 Ways"

The band holds auditions to replace Wickie but can't find anyone good enough. They program a holographic Ashley to sing the national anthem with them at an NHL game, but it malfunctions and ruins the performance. Disheartened, they each take the jobs Nance offered them: Summer does TV ads for shapewear, Gloria becomes a dentist for touring musicians, and Dawn sells her songs to other singers. Wickie continues judging the show "American Warrior Singer," which offers her a 1,000-year contract that forbids her from other work. All four women find themselves at the Jingle Ball for their respective jobs, and when they run into each other, they decide to find a way to perform. When Wickie goes on stage to announce the next act, the other women rush the stage and sing "Four Stars." The crowd appears to love them. The women are immediately kicked out of the venue afterwards, but they're exuberant. As they walk down the street, Gloria says she thinks Ashley faked her death.

"Triumphant Return to the Studio"

Girls5eva start recording at the studio with the help of sound engineer Ray, who also turns out to be a producer and songwriter. Dawn writes a song using every definition of the word "set" and she gets defensive when Ray tries to improve it. She sends him away, but later asks him to come back. Wickie invites paparazzi attention until she finds out they photographed her "bad foot", and she then has to do damage control. Gloria claims that she was discharged from the hospital and she sits in on recording sessions until a nurse comes to pick her up since she's still in recovery. Summer and her husband Kev clash over how to handle their divorce announcement, with Kev sneakily recording a song that paints Summer in a bad light. He ultimately agrees to give Summer everything she wants in exchange for him getting to retain their fanbase.

"Leave a Message If You Love Me"

Dawn writes the love song of the album and the group records it, but runs into some copyright issues. Gloria obsesses over a mysterious singer named T.K. whose face no one has ever seen and she concludes that it's Ashley. Wickie agrees to help her investigate further despite being skeptical. Dawn and Summer go to a med spa and Summer insists she didn't get a face lift while Dawn tries to dissuade her from getting more plastic surgery in the future. After their love song is scrapped, Dawn writes a revenge song about their terrible old manager Larry. He overhears and threatens to sue if they don't give him a cowriting credit, but Dawn figures out that his zingers included in the song were all lifted from a movie. Gloria and Wickie ambush T.K. in the bathroom and take off her mask, revealing that she isn't Ashley. The failed mission makes them reminisce about Ashley and the outgoing voice message on her phone, which was never disconnected, becomes part of the group's new love song.

"B.P.E."

The group records several songs for their album, with Wickie taking the lead on most of them. Tate suggests that they should each audition to sing the solo Dawn wrote about her grandmother. Gloria and Summer later confront Dawn about going behind their backs and underhandedly getting Tate to suggest the auditions because she wanted to sing the solo. Wickie and Scott bond during a karaoke night, where it's revealed that Scott is a good singer, and he helps Wickie deal with a past traumatic experience on "Star Search". Dawn and Wickie clash over the solo, but eventually reconcile and Wickie agrees that Dawn should sing it. Meanwhile, the girls are supposed to purge their social media of any incriminating content, leading Gloria and Summer to confront their problematic stint on a prank show in the early 2000s. Gloria apologizes to the man they pranked while Summer helps him get some payback.

"Returnity"

The group finally finishes their comeback album, Returnity, but are disappointed when Tate reveals the label’s weak plan to promote it. Dawn tries to find the source of her strange medical issues. Wickie meets Scott’s friend Sheawn and initially rebuffs him, but allows him to make her dinner after she realizes he can help her understand how to appeal to “normal” people. Gloria and Caroline struggle to have a romantic evening at Gloria’s place, and they decide to move in together. While showing them an apartment, Kev learns that Gloria has held on to another woman’s phone number and offers her some relationship advice. The group attempts a Beatles-style rooftop concert, which ends disastrously when they realize they’re on a hospital helipad. Wickie finds herself inexplicably attracted to Sheawn. Tate calls to offer the group a shot at opening for Collab on tour, and Dawn learns that she’s pregnant.

"Orlando"

Girls5eva arrives in Orlando, Florida to perform at the birthday party of Taffy, a young woman married to a wealthy older man. At the party, Summer tries to make up with Pixie, a folk singer whose song she ruined by scatting live with her years ago. Wickie briefly reconnects with Torque, an old flame, before realizing she truly loves "Lunch Lord". Dawn is reluctant to perform the group's old problematic music; however, Taffy retorts that Dawn also misses her days of youth and fame. Gloria fixes the situation by inviting Taffy to perform with the group.