It’s really no wonder that the series has been so quickly embraced by fans, considering it was co-created by Mindy Kaling, who made a name for herself portraying the inimitable Kelly Kapoor on The Office before creating such beloved comedies as FOX’s The Mindy Project and Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. “Mindy Kaling and [co-creator] Justin Noble have created and written a show that is full of heart, female friendships, and awkward naked parties” said Sarah Aubrey, HBO Max’s head of original content, in a statement. “We are delighted that this comic, honest portrayal of the college condition has resonated for everyone, whether they had sex in college or not. We can’t wait to see where these uniquely complex yet relatable characters will go next.” Of course, the show’s Season 1 ending contained quite a few cliffhangers that are begging to be resolved in a second season—so when will we actually get more episodes of this huge hit? Here’s everything we know so far about The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 2, but beware: There are major spoilers for The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 1 ahead!
What is the HBO Max show The Sex Lives of College Girls about?
The Sex Lives of College Girls follows four roommates as they begin their freshman year at toney Essex College. “We wanted four people who were very, very different on paper, and would never choose to live together,” Kaling told The A.V. Club. “As you can probably tell from the projects I work on, I wanted four women with really big personalities, wants, and ambitions. It felt like throwing them together, seeing all their conflict, the places where they aligned, all of that would be conducive to comedy.” Naïve but earnest Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) finds college to be a big adjustment: She hails from a small town and works in a campus coffee shop to help pay for school, as her family doesn’t have a lot of money, and experiences culture and academic shock. Bela (Amrit Kaur) aspires to work in comedy, and immediately tries out for the prestigious humor magazine The Catullan, but hides this career direction from her strict parents, who’d rather she focus on a more practical major. Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) is a star soccer player dealing with pressures of trying to fit in on the team while navigating a mom who holds a high-profile position as a U.S. Senator. And snobby Leighton (Reneé Rapp) is an Essex College legacy who struggles to reconcile her family’s expectations with how she envisions her own life.
What happened in The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 1?
As with real-life college, the 10 episodes that comprised Season 1 of The Sex Lives of College Girls are full of massive ups and dramatic downs. “There’s obviously so much fun stuff that happens to them, but they are really a lot of trials that they have to go through, each of them,” Kaling told Collider. “We wanted them to go through serious st and traumatizing st, and seeing how they deal with it. By putting those characters through the ringer like that, it helped us have them depend on each other a little bit more.” Part of this trauma involves discovering that what seems amazing on the surface has some flaws. For example, Kimberly splits from her high school boyfriend and starts hooking up with Nico (Gavin Leatherwood)—who just happens to be Leighton’s hunky older brother—but finds herself in academic hot water (read: she lost her scholarship) after cheating on an economics test. Bela, meanwhile, is disillusioned by the abundance of sexism, disrespect and inappropriate behavior she encounters around The Catullan, and ends up quitting. Secrets are also rampant on The Sex Lives of College Girls. Leighton finds it difficult to admit to family and friends that she’s gay, which proves to be an issue when she starts dating Alicia (Midori Francis) who is uncomfortable that she’s closeted. Whitney, meanwhile, has to work overtime to keep it under wraps that she hooked up with her team’s (married) coach, although she later connects with Canaan (Chris Meyer), a co-worker of Kimberly’s. “Life can be really hard on campuses for young women and we wanted to show all of that, and not just the fun, sexy part, but the parts that were a little uglier, to be honest,” Kaling added.
Is The Sex Lives of College Girls based on a true story?
The awkwardness of college will feel painfully familiar to anyone who attended university. Co-creators Noble and Kaling both attended prestigious schools themselves—Yale and Dartmouth, respectively—and their experience no doubt influenced how Essex College was portrayed. However, certain The Sex Lives of College Girlsscenes are based on real-life scenarios. For example, a scene centered on characters going to a naked party—yes, it’s just what you think—was inspired by an event Noble attended at Yale. “They do these naked parties and they act like it’s so normal, but everyone is just pretending,” he told Collider. “No one in their right mind would think it’s normal, but everyone’s like, ‘It’s great. We just don’t have clothes on. I’m definitely not looking down at everything I don’t see when I’m in English class with you.’” Kaling also visited Yale and Dartmouth to make sure The Sex Lives of College Girls was realistic. “I was also terrified about the show seeming like it was about my experience or it feeling dated,” she told The A.V. Club. “We went to the type of places we cover on the show, like a women’s center, and talked to the girls there. We wanted to find out what their world was really like.”
How many seasons is The Sex Lives of College Girls?
Two! As noted above, HBO Max renewed The Sex Lives of College Girls on Dec. 7, just before the last two episodes of the first season dropped.
Are there spoilers for The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 2?
Plot lines are still coming together for Season 2, although cast and crew have been dropping hints at what’s to come. “I feel like I can go even deeper in the comedy,” Kaur told Entertainment Weekly, adding that she’s already starting digging into research for Season 2. “I’m going to a stand-up show today to perform a set… I’m looking forward to seeing where they lead [Bela’s] comedy trajectory, if she ends up on SNL or whether she goes and does stand-up or continues writing.” In an interview with TV Line, Noble insinuated that Bela and a fellow comedy hopeful, Eric, may become a thing in Season 2 and that Kimberly will figure out how to make up the $23,000 scholarship she lost. Whitney, meanwhile, should get over her ill-advised coach fling and connect with Canaan on a deeper level: “Now that we have her with Canaan towards the end of the season, they are so charming, and I want to ‘ship them more.” And as for Leighton coming out to everyone—in the last episode of Season 1, she told Kimberly she was gay—that’s a big question mark, Noble adds. “Will it be a secret between the two of them that the other two suitemates don’t know about? Will Leighton jump out of the closet with two feet? That remains to be seen.”
When is The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 2 coming out?
It’s unclear when The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Season 2 will premiere, although it’s probably safe to assume that late 2022 or sometime in 2023 are realistic timeframes.
Which The Sex Lives of College Girls stars are returning for Season 2?
All four principal leads of The Sex Lives of College Girls should be returning for Season 2, although it remains to be seen which supporting cast members will likewise come back.
What’s the most-watched show on HBO Max?
According to HBO Max, The Sex Lives of College Girls is “the biggest Max Original comedy launch on the platform this year” and has grown its audience over time, reaching “new platform highs each week.” In fact, the channel reported the early December episode drop had grown 40 percent from the debut episode. The Season 1 finale also drew strong viewership: Deadline reported it was up 76 percent from the debut, while the show was #2 on HBO Max on Thursday night, behind the Sex And the City offshoot And Just Like That…
Has filming started on Sex Lives of College Girls Season 2?
Production hasn’t yet begun on Sex Lives of Teenage Girls Season 2, although chances are good it’ll get underway sometime in 2022.
Is Pauline Chalamet on The Sex Lives of College Girls related to Timothée Chalamet?
Yes! She’s Timothée’s older sister by three years. The 29-year-old Pauline is a former ballerina and, like her little brother, attended New York City’s LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts (a.k.a. the school that inspired Fame!). In real life, Pauline attended a college very much like College Girls’ Essex: Bard College, where she double-majored in theater and political studies. Next, More, More, More! We’re Counting Up All the Easter Eggs We Can Find in the Sex and the City Reboot, And Just Like That…
