Girlboss

The frenetic Girlboss is a frustrating but occasionally fun show that might be too enamored with its subject. ... I kept watching the series because of its charming cast. Robertson gives a totally committed performance and really shines in the few moments when the show slows to examine her character’s vulnerability.

Like most Netflix shows, Girlboss suffers from pacing problems, though thankfully the episodes are kept under 30 minutes. It gains steam in its latter half, but drags its feet on the way there, failing to find drama in desperate thrift-store searches.

Ms. Robertson convincingly portrays Sophia’s defensiveness and irritating energy, but there’s a pinched, limited quality to her performance. Sophia needs charisma, and Ms. Robertson hasn’t found it. The bigger issue may be the disconnect between the part of Girlboss that wants to be a character study and the part that needs to be a conventionally entertaining series.

Created by Kay Cannon ("Pitch Perfect"), and counting Charlize Theron among its producers, Girlboss clearly wants to be another contemplation of that delicate period on the cusp of full-fledged adulthood, which is where "Girls" began and ended...While this Netflix show has the desire and outward trappings to be its spiritual heir in addressing that moment, Girlboss ultimately feels too loose, and thinly drawn, to close the deal.

Girlboss does not seem to know what it wants to be when it grows up. And while the potential is thrilling, it’s messy, too.

For all of Girlboss‘ bluster, the real problem isn’t that Sophia is unlikeable, it’s that she’s uninteresting. Hardly fleshed out beyond a line drawing of a devil-may-care rebel who hardly blinks at the idea of raiding a dead woman’s closet for vintage goodies, she’s a terribly wobbly center for an already uncentered show.

Nasty Gal isn’t the only thing that goes bankrupt here. The show is tolerable only in small doses. Watching two or more episodes in succession may cause vacuousness.