Summary

The pilot of this comedic drama series about a circle of friends living in New York City.

Hannah, a young aspiring writer working at an internship and living in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is dismayed when her parents, both college professors, tell her over dinner that they no longer wish to support her financially. They get into an argument over this turn of events, which Hannah sees as “arbitrary.” Hannah is unable to dissuade them and distances herself from them. The next morning she speaks with her roommate Marnie, who is currently taking pains to avoid her boyfriend Charlie, whom she now says “repulses” her. Marnie contemplates breaking up with him, feeling as though she is not deserving of Charlie’s constant affections, but Hannah advises against it, fearing that Charlie will respond with something drastic. Marnie, meanwhile, tries to convince Hannah that she should try to parlay her internship into a paying job. They also plan for a welcome party for their friend Jessa, who has just arrived from Britain and is staying with her American cousin Shoshanna, who is quite enthusiastic about her moving in. Jessa unpacks at Shoshanna’s place as Shoshanna espouses on her love for the show “Sex in the City,” which Jessa has never seen.

Hannah confronts her boss Alistair and asks if she can have a paying position of some sort. He believes that Hannah doesn’t have the technical skills necessary to secure a position and takes her request as a sign that she is leaving. She leaves and goes to visit her sometime-boyfriend Adam, an actor, telling him about her day and about her parents cutting her off. Adam understands, revealing that he regularly receives the bulk of his income from his grandmother. They prepare to have sex, although it ends up being somewhat awkward. Meanwhile, Charlie tries to be romantic with Marnie, as they are alone in the apartment. However, his friend Ray arrives, interrupting the mood. Following sex, Adam and Hannah talk about Hannah’s numerous tattoos. She realizes she is late for the dinner engagement with Jessa and leaves, but thanks Adam for helping her feel better.

Jessa arrives for the “party,” so far occupied only by Charlie, Marnie, Ray, and Ray’s girlfriend Alexi. Hannah finally shows up quite late, much to Marnie’s frustration, but she and Jessa are quite excited to see each other. Marnie takes Hannah aside and advises her to get her parents to support her again while she looks for a paying job; Hannah’s response is muddled by her consumption of an opium-based tea brewed by Ray. Jessa gives contradictory advice, however, telling Hannah that she should convince her parents that she is an “artist” and is suffering for her art. Hannah seems to embrace both of their ideas and immediately leaves to visit her parents in their hotel room, much to their surprise. She brings them a rough draft of her memoir, which she has been writing for some time, and asks them to read it immediately. Meanwhile, Marnie and Jessa argue about what happened with Hannah, and Jessa believes that Marnie is “mothering” her too much. The argument turns to Jessa’s extreme tardiness for the party and apparent disrespect for her friends, but Jessa suddenly tells Marnie that she’s pregnant, implying that it was accidental.

Hannah asks her parents for a large monthly stipend to allow her to finish her book, but they balk at the suggestion, calling her “spoiled.” Hannah suddenly falls off of her chair and admits that she drank the opium tea, although her parents know that it is quite mild. Her father believes they should stay in town a few more days, but her mother realizes they are being “played” and doesn’t want to cave in to Hannah’s demands. Hannah falls unconscious and wakes up the next morning in the hotel bed, finding that her parents have already checked out and left. She finds two envelopes of money left by her parents, one for her and one for the hotel’s housekeeper, and takes them both, leaving the hotel.