Lena Dunham’s Newest HBO Shows Lands Jennifer Garner As Series Lead

Jennier Garner in Juno, Lena Dunham in Girls

It's almost hard to believe, but we're fast approaching a year since HBO's acclaimed comedy Girls ended. The quirky dramedy ran for an impressive six seasons on the network, with creator Lena Dunham and showrunner Jenni Konner remaining on contract with HBO to produce more content. The first of these is the upcoming comedy Camping, for which Dunham and Konner will serve as executive producers and showrunners. Bits and pieces about the new show's contents have slowly been released, and the latest is major. Camping has cast its first series regular in none other than Jennifer Garner.

Jennifer Garner will return to the world of TV by playing Kathryn Siddell-Bauers in Lena Dunham's Camping. Kathryn is described as an L.A. mother with control issues and an undercurrent of anger and resentment. The series will follow a motley crew of characters who assemble for a camping trip celebrating the 45th birthday of Kathryn's husband. This includes various frenemies from Kathryn's life, including her ex-best friend and sister.

Regarding Jennifer Garner's casting, Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner released a statement sharing their enthusiasm for having the Alias and Dallas Buyer's Club actress on board for the new project.

We love Jennifer's restraint and comedic timing, and we can't wait for the warmth and intelligence she'll bring to our central character, Kathryn. It's truly a dream to have her first on our call sheet. Now we just have to write her some stunts.

This statement, which comes to us from TV Line, is a not so thinly reference to Jennifer Garner's tenure on Alias. For five seasons, Garner played Sydney Bristow on the ABC drama, picking up a Golden Globe win and an Emmy nomination in the process. While Garner was first introduced to audience on the small screen, she seems to have made a conscious decision to focus on film acting throughout her post-Alias career. This includes roles in films like Dallas Buyer's Club, Juno, and The Odd Life of Timothy Green. But Garner's coming return to TV will no doubt please the OG fans who have followed her career through the years.

Overall, Camping looks it's shaping up to be a hilarious series that will likely only make up one season. It's teased that the titular trip "becomes a weekend of tested marriages and woman-on-woman crime that won't soon be forgotten. Plus, bears." It should be interesting to see what other names will make up the show's cast, particularly if any Girls alum will pop up. It's also unclear if Lena Dunham might have an onscreen role, although she's been very open about the challenges of directing and acting at the same time. Regardless, the pressure it likely on to deliver the way that Girls' first two seasons did.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated about Camping as details become public. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch and our cancellation list to see if your favorite show got the chop last year.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.