Girlfriends leaves Netflix on September 11, exactly 26 years after it premiered

Here we go again — another binge session deadline courtesy of Netflix. If you’re a fan of throwback sitcoms or, more specifically, have a soft spot for “grown-women-have-problems-too” comedies, time’s almost up to catch all eight seasons of Girlfriends.

All eight seasons of Girlfriends are disappearing from Netflix on 11 September 2026.

That’s your heads-up: this long-running show, the one featuring Tracee Ellis Ross and her endlessly entangled crew of mates, is officially getting pulled from the streamer. Mark the calendar if you want one last shot at a rewatch, or if you've been putting off a first go for twenty years (it happens).

The Story and Characters

Girlfriends kicked off its original TV run on 11 September 2000 — yes, really, Y2K vintage — and hung around until 2008, racking up a respectable eight seasons. The series, created by Mara Brock Akil, traces the highs and lows of four women in Los Angeles. There’s Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), a lawyer-turned-restaurateur with a habit of making her own life complicated; Toni (Jill Marie Jones), who cracks on in real estate while surviving a messy divorce and single parenthood; Maya (Golden Brooks), juggling her job as Joan’s assistant with marriage and family struggles; and then there’s Lynn (Persia White), a restless spirit who takes a uniquely unconventional route into adulthood, somehow dodging most expected career tracks.

• Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross): high-achieving solicitor, then restaurant owner, with an ever-messy romantic and personal life
• Toni (Jill Marie Jones): real estate agent, single mother, dab hand at drama (intentional or not)
• Maya (Golden Brooks): loyal assistant and wife, but barely keeping chaos at bay on both fronts
• Lynn (Persia White): professional free spirit, in every sense
• William Dent (Reggie Hayes): the token male mate navigating his own drama among the group
• Monica Charles Brooks-Dent (Keesha Sharp): William's partner — or adversary, depending on the episode

At its core, every episode is about the messy, interdependent relationships between these mates, managing everything from heartbreak to career stumbles, with barely a breather in between.

The End of a (Streaming) Era

If you thought critical acclaim was the whole story, not quite — at least for season one. Critics only mustered up a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while regular viewers have been a bit more forgiving, throwing it a 69% audience score. Despite some mixed reviews, over time “Girlfriends” found its loyal following thanks to sharp writing and complex friendships that felt like, well, actual life.

Spot-on summary from Common Sense Media called it ‘a true-to-life take on female friendships in the 21st century’, praising both the acting and the wit. Even so, early critics were a bit hard to please — but let’s be honest, it’s outlived most sitcoms from its era.