Scene that had to be cut from Lena Dunham’s new series, Generation

A buzzy new series produced by Lena Dunham drops in Australia today, and it’s already caused controversy.

New show alert.

Anticipated HBO Max series Generation (styled Genera+ion) hits streaming on Binge in Australia today with three bingeworthy half-hour episodes, and another five to air in following weeks.

Executive produced by Lena Dunham, the show is a dark comedy about a diverse group of high school students exploring their sexuality in a conservative community.

The show was filming at a high school in California as recently as last month, where it made headlines after two extras quit when they were confronted with real dead kittens to dissect in a biology class scene.

Production confirmed it used dead cats for the scene in a statement to Variety, and despite saying the animals were “ethically sourced”, they ultimately decided to cut the scene.

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Generation hits streaming on Binge on March 11.

“Genera+ion depicts the unfiltered experiences of high school students and is drawn from many formative moments in the lives of the show’s writers,” a statement read.

“The production recently filmed scenes depicting a biology classroom assignment involving dissection of animal specimens.

“These were ethically sourced in consultation with American Humane via a biological supply company that works with schools.

“Everyone involved was informed in advance that this would be a sensitive scene involving a real dissection; the assistant directors checked in regularly with all participants on set, and two background actors who expressed discomfort were released with full pay.

“However, after subsequent discussion with the creative team, the scene is being reconceived and will not appear in the series. We deeply regret that this occurred.”

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A controversial scene was edited out of the show.

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Dunham was in London at the time of the incident, and said she was not aware of the use of cat corpses on set.

She said in a statement: “I am committed in my life and work to the principled, humane and ethical treatment of animals. I don’t use animal cadavers in any of my work, ever, and I was not on set or aware that they were used in a recently shot scene depicting a biology classroom assignment. I fully support the scene being edited out of the show.”

Controversy aside, Generation is generating loud discussion, and has been described as Euphoria meets Sex Education.

Created by teenager Zelda Barnz and her father, Daniel Barnz, the stories are told in the perspectives of students unwilling to conform to the norm, despite society pressures and social media.

Dunham told Variety, “I have fallen head over heels for this brilliant family, who have allowed their 18-year old daughter Zelda to express herself in a way that’s both effortlessly funny and plumbs the depths of the adolescent experience.”

Generation hits streaming on Binge today

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