‘It’s shorthand for what we expect women to look like’: how ‘not-too-done’ hair took over screens in 2024
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From the sisters in Nobody Wants to Ashley Jensen’s detective in Shetland, one hairstyle dominated ambient TV this year. The 2024 Netflix series Nobody Wants This was widely adored for many reasons – not least the concept of the Hot Rabbi, the renaissance of its star, former The OC geek-hearthrob Adam Brody, and the soothing LA lifestyle porn. But, for many of us, through Brody’s co-stars Kristen Bell and Justine Lupe, it was simply another 2024 example of what has become known in some quarters as “TV hair”.
![[Lauren Cochrane]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Lauren-Cochrane,-L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Throughout the series, Bell and Lupe, playing two very LA sisters who co-host a podcast about sex and relationships, sport a very specific brand of subtly waved hair. Neither ringlets nor straight, it’s glossy and well-styled, done but not too “done”. And it’s in any TV series where white women are the main characters – see Meghann Fahey in The Perfect Couple; Rose Byrne in Platonic; or even, back in 2021, Anna Kendrick in Love Life. It’s arrived in the UK too – Ashley Jensen has TV hair in Shetland, which crucially remains immaculate even on the windswept isle. Far away from the ultra-glam tresses seen on Love Island, this look may be subtly “done”, but – make no mistake – it is definitely “done”.
![[Justine Lupe and Kristen Bell do TV hair in Nobody Wants This.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c242a59c7fe0c26c46391294445536afa263926f/0_2_3600_2160/master/3600.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Tina Farey, the editorial director of the British hair salon chain Rush, says clients have begun using Kristen Bell as a reference for a haircut. “People love how low maintenance this style is – while still so glam. [The waves] beautifully frame most face shapes, with the universal appeal being their ability to add volume and casual elegance to almost any look.”.
![[Scottish TV hair, courtesy of Ashley Jensen in Shetland.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2cd58688d8cd38539125f2db9a196d3453561a5e/0_107_3239_1945/master/3239.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
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