By Dean Robbins

Young women struggle with adulthood in ‘Girls’

“Girls” (Sunday, 9:30 p.m., HBO) is a new series about friends trying to get their adult lives started in New York City after college. That may sound old hat, but executive producer Judd Apatow and writer-director-star Lena Dunham have created something extraordinary. The characters, relationships and emotions feel instantly real. That means there’s no sugarcoating as the characters treat each other terribly and screw up their lives. By the way, did I mention that “Girls” is a comedy?

“Girls” is a low-key slice of life that finds humor in the way modern 24-year-olds talk and behave. Take the main character, Hannah (Dunham), who has worked for two years as an unpaid publishing intern while fancying herself a memoirist. Her lifestyle — which consists of an aimless sexual relationship and endless soul-searching talks with her best friend — is made possible by her beleaguered parents. As the pilot begins, they decide to cut off the flow of money. She tries to appeal to her father’s sense of guilt before her mother screams at him: “Don’t you realize you are getting played by a major player?”

She’s got that right. Hannah is a shameless con artist with a huge sense of entitlement. “Girls” is brutally honest about her flaws, and yet we end up sympathizing with her anyway. I can’t explain how Apatow and Dunham pull off this trick, except to acknowledge that they’re major players themselves. CV