Bravo’s first original non-reality TV series is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking story about an L.A.-based self-help author.

This one is smartly acted, crisply written and willing to address all manner of issues--marriage, betrayal, family economics, friendship, even the pitfalls of public domesticity--in gratifyingly complex ways.

Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce is a smart, solid examination of just how messy relationships are and how hard it is to make them work.

Girlfriends’ Guide, loosely based on the series of books by Vicki Iovine, is, like most of Bravo’s shows, extremely entertaining, the TV equivalent of a great beach read.

Significant parts of Guide will remind you of past dramas about women in their 40s who are suddenly “out there” again. But it has its own sense of humor and hurt, all of which Edelstein conveys nicely.

Few divorces are pleasant, but the sharp, nasty scenes between Abby and Jake are the only emotionally honest moments over the first two episodes. Not surprisingly, they're the best ones, too. A shame the antagonists are so unlikable.

Finding the proper balance for dramedy isn't easy and Girlfriends’ Guide fails miserably at that task.