If seasons one and two of The Sex Lives of College Girls were a long term relationship, Season Three is a series of meaningless hookups after a life changing breakup. The show follows four roommates—Bela, Leighton, Kimberly, and Whitney—as they navigate their first few years at a fictional Ivy League–esque college. It was announced in July 2023 that singer and actress Renée Rapp, who plays Leighton in the show, would be limitedly featured in season three with an eventual departure from the show. This prompted significant outrage from fans, who see her as the most compelling storyline and are sad to lose the queer representation.
The ensemble cast sits at the heart of the show. Leighton is a wealthy, (formerly) closeted lesbian with an abrasive, vibrant personality. Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) is a sheltered first–generation college student who has difficulty adjusting to the university life. Bela (Amrit Kaur) is a sex–positive comedian who fans speculate is a self–insert by Mindy Kaling, one of the prominent creators of the show. Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) is a confident soccer player trying to juggle athletics, academics, and relationships.
Leighton had the most impactful overarching story that focused on her coming out and embracing her identity across the first two seasons. After Rapp’s departure, the show feels more fractured. The writers seem to have their dating app settings set to “looking for something casual,” when maybe they should be focused on making real connections. The downfall of the season is not the departure of Leighton, but rather the lack of any impactful overarching plots.
The show relies heavily on the dynamic between the four roommates, but this season struggles to recreate the captivating dynamic the roommates had previously. The characters of Bela and Kimberly remain terminally annoying, and they struggle to stand on their own without the likability of Rapp. They introduce a new roommate, Kacey (Gracie Lawrence), a prissy southern girl who is also not very likable, she insults all her new roommates off the bat, and does not have any redeeming qualities. Her storyline revolves around being insecure about being a virgin, something that was already explored in season one with Kimberly. I wish the writers had focused on creating something entirely new with the character that would have introduced more conflict.
This season is simply too chaotic. Each character has roughly two full relationships in the season, making it incredibly difficult to be invested in characters. Given that this is an ensemble show, there should be more variability characters’ storylines, and throughout the past seasons this has been the case, especially with romantic relationships. But season three has all of our characters in short term flings. The writers should have focused on creating continuity and cohesion in this season by allowing even just one character to have a successful long–term relationship. Instead, it feels like as the show continues to mourn the loss of Rapp, it can’t commit to anything real.
Despite the loss of Leighton as strong lesbian representation in the show, this season, to its credit, does find a way to highlight more queer characters. Bela befriends a freshman named Taylor (Mia Rodgers), a queer woman who struggles with alcohol abuse and whose story is placed at the center of the season. However, Taylor’s storyline is not exactly unique; from shows like Euphoria to The L Word, it is incredibly common for the media to show queer characters struggling with addiction. Kimberly also dates a bisexual man named Eli (Michael Provost), who is featured in three episodes in the season. Eli’s story focuses on the misconceptions and biases that people—specifically straight women—have against bisexual men. This is something not often discussed in any form of media, and I thought that the representation of Eli as a character is really great. However, after dating for two episodes Kimberly breaks it off because Eli is too much of a partier (another common LGBTQ+ stereotype).
In the final episode of the season Bela comes out as bisexual, which feels extremely forced. It was met with casual reactions from the other characters, which I didn’t mind, but the writers saving it for the third season finale made it feel like an afterthought.
In many ways, it feels as if the show is trying to be socially relevant without meaningfully engaging in new discourse, causing it to fall too often into tropes. Renée Rapp’s relationship with her girlfriend had been the most consistent example of love and gave us a group to root for; it is hard to find nuanced queer representation that centers joy. In a show with so few successful relationships, the loss of Leighton as a character is sorely felt.
It’s not too late for The Sex Lives of College Girls to find the “one,” but the writers need to focus on developing the existing characters before they bring in new relationships. While the show is called The Sex Lives of College Girls, it could benefit from also exploring the non–romantic aspects of each character’s life. I would like to see Bela explore her comedy career again, something that was dropped this season, or for Whitney and Kimberly’s academic and career ambitions to shine. More than anything, I urge the writers to develop more consistency throughout the episodes.
Ultimately, this season feels empty and unsatisfying, but hopefully in season four, the writers will recover from the loss and find their plot once again. And hey, maybe the show will finally delete the apps and start meeting people in person.
