9-9:30 PM · THE CW · Returns Oct. 1

''We are calling this the 'Joy and Pain Year,''' laughs creator Mara Brock Akil, describing Girlfriends' eighth season. With costar Richard T. Jones going to Fox's midseason The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Girlfriends will send him ''off to Iraq,'' says Akil. Also: ''Maya [Golden Brooks] is having a miscarriage. Our stories all sound dramatic, but our writers are turning out some really funny material about some really challenging subjects.'' Less dramatic: ''Lynn [Persia White] — we're putting her on this trajectory to become a rock star,'' says Akil. White won't be faking it either. ''What's wonderful about Persia is, she is a musician. So we're actually moving Lynn's character a little closer to Persia.'' Just as long as the rock star she emulates isn't, oh, Courtney Love...

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