'Girls' Adds Gay Man to Cast of Regulars

Among my friends, I am notoriously Lena Dunham's biggest critic, so they will probably be shocked to see me say that I am (gasp) impressed with the fact that she added Andrew Rannells to the cast of Girls as a regular cast member if the show is picked up for a fourth season.

Rannells plays Elijah, Dunham's gay ex-boyfriend/roommate who adds a twist of cRaZy to her life. He makes her do cocaine as a writerly experience! He sleeps with Marnie! It's all very scandalous. Rannells' storylines may end up leaning in the way of cartoonish, but hopefully if he becomes a regular and not just a sporadic character, they can give him a little more depth. It's good news that Girls is finally diversifying — after two seasons and endless scrutiny from all sorts of people, including a very eloquent essay by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — it's high time.

I hope that Rannells is given due time as a real character, and doesn't become two-dimensional. That would be a waste of his talents; he was nominated for a Tony for his performance in Book of Mormon. More good news: not one but two black women will be on the show's third season. Danielle Brooks, aka Taystee from Orange Is the New Black, and my dream best friend Jessica Williams, correspondent on The Daily Show, are set to join Girls.

Hooray! It took some poking and prodding (to put it lightly) but Dunham is finally, finally making steps towards a more diverse cast on Girls.

Top image: HBO