Lena Dunham’s New TV Show, ‘Camping,’ Premieres This October

Lena Dunham is moving on from Girls, and this probably means that fans should too. To help ease the pain, she’s coming out with a new HBO show that will debut October 14.

Camping focuses on a couple, Kathryn and Walt, played by Jennifer Garner and David Tennant, who head for the desert for the weekend with friends and family to celebrate Walt’s 45th birthday. Viewers will see their strained marriage tested even further.

Garner plays a type-A mother who strives to control the festivities every step of the way, despite unanticipated attendees, uncooperative guests, and a place the camp host describes as having its own magic. With any other actor, the character might come across as aggravating, but Dunham and her writing partner, Jenni Konner, chose Garner for her charm.

“We can’t wait for the warmth and intelligence she’ll bring to our central character.”

The 30-minute limited series comedy is based on a British show, the brainchild of Julia Davis, an English actress, comedian, writer, and director. In addition to Garner and Tennant, the cast includes Juliette Lewis, Ione Sky, Arturo Del Puerto, Janicza Bravo, Brett Gelman, and Bridget Everett. There will be eight episodes.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Dunham described the last year as tough, and hints that this may have provided fodder for the series. She broke up with her boyfriend of over five years, Jack Antonoff, last January, and she also stopped writing with Konner. Dunham also opted for a hysterectomy to help mitigate the symptoms of endometriosis.

“I’ve essentially been married and divorced, and been through menopause, so it was not a wild leap. It was a very soothing use of my own experience.”

Though Konner and Dunham teamed up for Camping, they will continue their work with HBO separately in the future.

In the Rolling Stone interview, Dunham mentions that, over this past year, she has come to terms with how much solitude she needs, and how essential being alone is for her well-being and for her work as a writer and producer. She even created a Sad Girl Writing playlist on iTunes.

“As f***ing dopey as it sounds, I just want to be an artist. And frankly, the experience of losing my fertility, of not necessarily having the family structure I thought I was going to have — the one gift that’s come out of that is I don’t have anyone to support but myself.”