--- description: After the University of Iowa denies "Girls" access to its campus, Hannah might not be heading for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop after all title: University of Iowa isn't a fan of "Girls" image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a3bdc6b253464f0/698687c955a8591164a7ffb0/lena-dunham-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Televison](/tag/televison/) ## Televison Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # University of Iowa Bans _Girls_ From Filming On Campus by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 28, 2014 1:43 PM CUT  Lena Dunham in 'Girls,' season 3, episode 9. Lena Dunham in 'Girls,' season 3, episode 9.Mark Schafer—HBO by [Megan Gibson](/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 28, 2014 1:43 PM CUT When Sunday’s season finale of [_Girls_](http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/university-of-iowa-denies-request-to-film-girls-on-campus-1201149302/ "undefined") ended with a shot of Hannah Horvath (played by writer and creator Lena Dunham) hugging her acceptance letter from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop to her chest, viewers were pretty certain she was headed for grad school. Now Hannah’s future is less certain, with _Variety_ reporting that University of Iowa has denied HBO’s request to film _Girls_ on its campus. Though the first three seasons have followed the show’s four main characters as they traipse around Brooklyn, a move to Iowa would indicate a real step forward for Hannah, a struggling writer. Having Hannah make her way to the prestigious writing program made sense to the show’s writers, particularly staff writer Sarah Heyward, who is a graduate of the program. Yet, the University of Iowa feels differently. “While we are pleased that the Iowa Writers’ Workshop is receiving national attention and that our graduate is doing well in her career, our general practice is to not allow filming, due to potential disruption to campus,” university spokesman Tom Moore[ told the _Press-Citizen_](http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20140327/NEWS01/140327008/UI-denies-HBO-s-request-to-film-Girls-on-campus?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage&nclick%5Fcheck=1 "undefined") in a statement. Of course, it’s always possible that HBO and the Girls crew will simply substitute another university campus for Iowa Writer’s Workshop scenes, but for a show that’s made its name on being ultra realistic—[sometimes too realistic, according to critics](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/10/girls-and-nudity-why-naked-women-dont-have-to-be-titillating/ "undefined")—it’s likely a disappointment for the crew. \[[_Variety_](http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/university-of-iowa-denies-request-to-film-girls-on-campus-1201149302/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/41409/girls-hbo-university-of-iowa-lena-dunham/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/41409/girls-hbo-university-of-iowa-lena-dunham/"},"headline":"University of Iowa Bans Girls From Filming On Campus","datePublished":"2014-03-28T13:43:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:01:04.250Z","description":"Maybe Hannah won't be heading for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop after all","url":"https://time.com/41409/girls-hbo-university-of-iowa-lena-dunham/","keywords":["Televison","girls","HBO","lena dunham"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a3bdc6b253464f0/698687c955a8591164a7ffb0/lena-dunham-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a3bdc6b253464f0/698687c955a8591164a7ffb0/lena-dunham-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lena Dunham, 'Girls'","caption":"Lena Dunham, 'Girls'","creditText":"Mark Schafer—HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/televison/","name":"Televison"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/41409/girls-hbo-university-of-iowa-lena-dunham/","name":"University of Iowa Bans Girls From Filming On Campus"}}]}] ```