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Yet another Twitter feed is taking the sitcom route via CBS. The network is developing a comedy series based on Charlie McDowell’s feed and Web site Dear Girls Above Me, about a single man who gains insight into the female mind by eavesdropping on his upstairs neighbors. The Girls feed, which has more than 34,000 followers, consists of imaginary 140-character letters McDowell writes to the party girls who live in the apartment above him in reaction to conversations he overhears. Some recent examples:
Dear GAM, Your “friend” from last night was fun, but did he need to grunt, “You like that,” over and over? It seemed pretty clear you did.
Dear Girls Above Me, “Did you hear that all these kids were rescued in Chile after being trapped in some mountain?” Miners, not minors.
Dear GAM,”I found out he’s taking me to a 3D movie! If the glasses aren’t cute I will literally die.” Just focus on not making out with air.
Girls, which has received a script commitment, follows a similar deal CBS recently inked for Shh … Don’t Tell Steve, a comedy based on a Twitter feed of a guy documenting the deeds of his immature roommate. Both Girls and Steve hail from Katalyst, the company of Twitter king Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, and CBS TV Studios. And they both come on the heels of the promising launch of CBS’ freshman comedy $#*! My Dad Says, the first TV series based on a Twitter feed. Like $#*!, the script for Girls will be co-written by the feed’s creator, aspiring filmmaker McDowell, who will co-write with Justin Lader. And also like $#*!, which was developed with veteran comedy showrunners David Kohan and Max Mutchnick on board to supervise the script and executive produce, Tim Doyle is in negotiations to do the same on Girls. Kutcher, Goldberg and David Schiff will also executive produce. Here is a video of McDowell, son of actors Mary Steenburgen and Malcolm McDowell and step-son of Ted Danson, trying to enjoy a quiet evening while his neighbors upstairs are throwing a very noisy party.
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Are we that lost and humorless that this is actually considered funny? Children are funnier than this. This is more silly than funny. Whatever happened to the intelligent comedy shows of yesteryear?
I don’t agree. It’s not making fun of stupid things people say, it’s making fun of stupid things women say. It’s called Girls Above Me, not Dudes Above Me or People Above Me. And while the show may never see the light of day, we all know that a hit TV show can have enormous cultural influence. I absolutely believe CBS has the right to develop whatever they like, but people also have the right to respond. It’s just disappointing that in 2010 a show about a guy making fun of a couple of bimbos ( though no doubt they will have hearts of gold or be clever in some cool way) is what the top-rated network thinks people want. It’s hard to believe there aren’t better ideas out there.
He’s not making fun of what -women- say, he’s making fun of what -these two particular women- say. I used to be neighbors with a girl as vapid as they and I wish I could have been half as clever as he’s been in response to some of the crazy crap they say. As far as the feed goes, they don’t yet seem to have hearts of gold nor have they said anything clever as of yet. It’s called “Dear Girls Above Me” because they’re both girls and that only makes sense, not because he’s making fun of all women.
To reiterate Sadie’s comment:
I don’t agree with you, Boon. It’s not making fun of stupid things women say. It’s called Girls Above Me, not Girls Below Me or Girls in the Same City as Me. And since the show may never see the light of day, your comments about the influence of a hit TV show are entirely irrelevant. It’s disappointing that in 2010, people are still so moronic as to think that an entire segment of the human population is hung out to dry anytime a small sampling of people within that group is mocked.
Well Ashton is an airhead so what else would he promote. Durrr. Duhhhhhh. Uh huh. Oh yah.
Making fun of women? I dont think Charlie’s mission was to make fun of women…He just happens to have a couple girls living above him that fit the stereotype.
As for a series based on the blog, I’m not a real big fan of the idea.
It’s almost sad with “$%#* my dad said” being not only a complete embarassement to CBS but to Shatner himself…yes,lets do another “twitter” show from ASHTON kUTCHER’S COMPANY WHO’S RIGHT HAND LADY, carey Burke, TURNED DOWN “DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES” WHILE AN EXECUTIVE AT nbc two TIMES. NOW YOU KNOW WHY SHE GOT FIRED. Yes, they certainly have talent don’t they. Where as Moonves does. WHY is he buying this crap?he doesn’t need to.
Dumb show idea (look forward to Twitter feeds becoming more stupid in hopes of attracting network interest), but CBS is the strongest net this season so far, so they must be doing something right. Friday nights viable again with “Blue Bloods”? Go figure.
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I’m flabbergasted. How is this degrading to women? These are two stupid girls. Some people are just frickin’ stupid. It wouldn’t work to call the site “dear guys above me” when they are GIRLS. I’ve met people like this, so I’m not so dubious.
The people spouting all this feminist crap are the ones who are making a problem. I know I would have never had that thought about this until YOU brought it up.
….And I still think you’re wrong.
Can’t wait to see this, after a long day at work, stress and difficulties in life we deserve to watch something that will make us smile and laugh.
Exactly! Everyone should just lighten up a little bit, if you guys think it’s a lousy idea or that it’s offensive then just don’t watch the show if it airs on television. A lot of people may like watching it, because they can relate to having noisy and annoying neighbors and they’ll get a quick laugh out of it. That’s all.
That would require logic. And knee-jerk ranting on a forum is so much more satisfying than simply refraining from watching the show.
Makes less than NO sense why CBS would even take Kootchers calls. He should stick to tweeting for dollars. Go back to Idaho you spud!
This idea is brilliant! The most craetive and innovative series I have read about since Seinfeld. Serenity Now!!!
The Lader kid is hilarious!!! He has a ton of great material!!! Fresh face in the industry!!!
CBS = Can’t Buy a Sitcom
CBS = Can’t Buy a Sitcom
If you think this is degrading to women you’ve obviously never read the guy’s tweets. He never once generalizes or assumes that all women act this way. The guy lives beneath two loud people and those people happen to be female. He would most likely do the same thing if they were male because he would still be subjected to every idiotic thought that finds its way out of their mouths. I’m a woman (and I consider myself a feminist) and I find the thread funny because I have obnoxious neighbors and thin walls, so I can relate.
If you don’t approve of the premise then don’t watch it. It’s that simple.
exactly! I don’t know where everyone is getting this crazy ‘he hates women’ stuff from. They obviously haven’t really read anything that Charlie has said. It’s all in good fun about 2 obnoxious people that get too loud. I have idiot female neighbors that i hear talking all the time, and when i tell my friends about the stuff they say Nobody ever goes to ‘she’s spreading anti-feminist rhetoric’ thing. People need to calm down and stop making snap, panicked decisions when they’ve never even taken the time to look at the broader story.
I follow the feed, it’s funny, yes, but, my problem isn’t with the feed — it’s with the fact that it’s been selected to be a tv show. IF there were a shitload of tv shows airing showing smart awesome funny women out there I wouldn’t say a word, I would probably even happily watch DGAM, BUT, smart, awesome, funny women seem to be nearly absent from mainstream TV… I’m tired of having to choose between absentminded sluts and angry sexless bitches. Charlie Mcdowell is a funny kid, the people spouting the anti-feminist rhetoric are the TV networks…
And can i point out that your “shut up and don’t watch” logic is basically telling us not to discuss something that’s a kind of important topic in the feminism you purport to subscribe to? If we all just shut up when something bothered us you’d still be barred from voting and relegated to the kitchen. Part of feminism is criticism.
If it really upsets you, then write a fantastic script and make a sitcom. As a feminist, shouldn’t you be paving your own way? Why are you just bitching and moaning about it?
I am a huge fan of Dear Girls Above me!! I am excited to see CBS pick it up and turn it into a series. With Charlie McDowell on board, CBS has a huge hit on their hands!!
Way to go CBS – you get hundreds of great pitches this season and this is the crap you buy.
If the naysayers who think he’s hassling women bothered to read one of the most recent posts as of this story, you’d know he’s taking the piss out of the whole culture of vapid idiots, male and female – as evidenced with ‘Dear GAM, Your “friend” from last night was fun, but did he need to grunt, “You like that,” over and over?’.
I knew this would be a TV series the second I found it. Let’s just hope it doesn’t go the way of other twitter adaptations.
DGAM is the only thing I look forward to on facebook. This guy’s awesome. I can’t wait to see it on TV.
Damn, now the GAMs will know about us…
Charlie and Charlie’s friends,
Stop posting these comments yourself. We’re not that dumb.
Right. Painfully obvious.
Oh because Charlie can’t have fans? Riiiiiiiiiight, because he hates women so no one can like him. Because that TOTALLY makes sense.
BTW, before a bunch of tightwads start attacking me, that was sarcasm. All of it.
CBS is now developing a sitcom based on these comments.
It’s theoretically possible that this could be a show full of negative stereotypes about women, but the perfectly simple (and plainly obvious) solution is to have more women on the show than the “Girls Above”. As long as the Girls are the only girls/women in the world of the show, and the other ones act differently, then the show’s portrayal of the Girls is not sexist.
Not that complicated.
Ok, its meant to be funny and to make fun of the dumb girls above….if he tried to portay a “REAL 21st century woman” then it wudnt be funny and wudnt be a show!!!!! Dumb women around smart men is a funny show! O, and BTW, I’m a smart, successful REAL 21st century woman!
If you’re so smart, learn how to spell “wouldn’t”