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"What we all got so wrong about The Wrong Girl."

It’s been compared to Offspring and every bad Katherine Heigl that depicts a blonde woman continuously falling over for some unknown reason while she tries to find out a man.

To be fair, a lot of those comparisons were coming from me, and from all the other women in my world who are desperately searching for diverse and relatable characters on our TV screens. Somehow, a stunning young blonde woman complaining that she’s hard-done-by didn’t seem to tick any of those boxes.

The title wasn’t very misleading; maybe this was “the wrong girl” to be on Australian screens.

Listen to Laura Brodnik and Jessie Stephens discuss the truth about The Wrong Girl on The Binge.

Except there’s a touch of magic and familiarity about the combination of a character played by Jessica Marais, based on material penned by Zoe Foster Blake, and brought to life by a talented team of Aussie creatives.

Marais’ character Lilly has definitely graduated from the Bella Swan school of walking, meaning she hasn’t quite got the hang of it, yet there’s something relatable about her and the anxiety that fills her head.

There’s been a lot of discussion (and upset) around the idea that Lily’s one purpose in life seems to be finding a guy, or at least that’s what the show’s trailers would have us believe.

But once the show gets going, it’s clear that the guy issue is just one her many problems. Her fears about not living up to her career potential, missing out on her dreams and being alone for the rest of her life are all quite real. They are thoughts that sit in my head, and in the heads of every other woman I know.

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I guess a pretty face doesn’t cancel all that angst and self-doubt out. I guess that’s kind of comforting.

To be honest, I could have done without her constantly fretting in horror that she was also going to end up “fat”, like that’s the worst thing in the world a woman could ever be, but I’m willing to write that off as a realistic character flaw.

We’ve seen versions of Lily on the screen a million times before, but that doesn’t make her presence any less relevant or welcome.

And The Wrong Girl itself is a welcome addition to the TV stratosphere. The ensemble cast gel together like perfect sandwich ingredients, the breakfast TV setting is the perfect backdrop for quirky drama and the entire show is a testament to the genius of Zoe Foster Blake and the fan base she has created.

I was wrong about The Wrong Girl. We do need a show like this.

Listen to the full episode of The Binge here. 

The Wrong Girl airs on Ten on Wednesday nights at 8.30pm.