Girls! Sex and the City! The Most Beloved Female Foursomes in TV

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[Photo: HBO]

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[Photo: NBC]

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[Photo: HBO]

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[Photo: Fox]

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[Photo: CBS]

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[Photo: TV Land]

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[Photo: ABC]

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[Photo: VH1]

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[Photo: ABC Family]

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[Photo: UPN, CW]

What is it about a show following a foursome of fabulous women that makes it so compulsively watchable? Sex & the City, Designing Women, Girlfriends -- the formula has been a proven hit, time after time. To figure out why, we of course have to refer to the OG of female foursome TV: The Golden Girls. Following the lives of sexy seniors raunching it up in a Miami retirement community, the multi-Emmy winner introduced the four archetypes that would be the secret sauce for the success of all it's imitators: The Witty Everywoman (ie, the leader of the pack), the Innocent (ie, the lovable airhead), the Vixen (ie, the tart who'll steal your man and giggle about it), and the Realist (ie, the wise-cracking shade-thrower). This combination? Ratings gold.

To celebrate Girls' creator Lena Dunham's first SNL hosting gig, let's take a look at some of our favorite female foursomes in TV history. Sofia Petrillo forever. And once you've had your fill of all the Girls in the gallery above, one of the hit HBO show's most beloved male co-stars Andrew Rannells reveals his most beloved golden gals on television plus dishes on working with Liza Minnelli on Sex and The City 2.

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