Five iconic episodes of Younger that are based on real people and real scandals.

For even more Younger goodness, read our full recap of the season six New York premiere of Younger right here.  We spoke to Younger stars Nico Tortorella, Debi Mazar, Molly Bernard and Miriam Shor about why this new season is so unmissable. 

The hit show Younger may pass itself off as the most sugary kind of TV fiction, but in reality, it’s actually based on a select group of people whose names have all appeared on book covers.

The series, which airs in Australia only on Stan, is now in its sixth season and stars Sutton Foster as Liza Miller, a 40-year-old woman who poses as a 26-year-old in order to re-enter the book publishing industry after she finds herself divorced and bankrupt in New York City.

The TV series itself is based on the novel of the same name by Pamela Redmond Satran, but that’s not where the literary influence ends.

Over time, Younger has morphed into a show that’s not just about ageism, female friendships, love triangles, and pretty clothes but also holds a mirror up to the prevalence of books and celebrity author’s overall influence on pop-culture.

In some cases, the series has morphed into a Gossip Girl-style outlet for the book publishing industry of New York, where secrets and scandals of the trade are played out on screen via parodies, tributes and blind items.

In most cases, it’s been easily identifiable to fans and industry insiders alike which real-life authors have been reinvented for the small screen in order to create realistic publishing scandals throughout the show.

So, here are five iconic episodes of Younger that are based on real people and real books.

Jane Krakowski ‘as’ Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell.

Jane Krakowski, the critically acclaimed comedy actress best known for her roles in 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, popped up in season one of Younger. The episode was entitled ‘Shedonism’ and she played a Candace Bushnell-type character named Annabel Bancroft, an out-of-control and raucous author who penned novels such as Man-hattan and Goldman Sex.

Of course, no one is saying that famed Sex and the City author Bushnell, on who the character of Carrie Bradshaw is based, has ever carried out the exact same antics as Annabel and passed out in a drunken stupor at her own book launch party.

It was more the fact that she embodied the idea of a glamorous New York writer who was not afraid to write about sex and relationships in an honest way.

Take a look at the trailer for Younger season six, post continues. 

Iconic young adult author John Green renamed as 'Rob Olive'.

Have you ever heard of 'sick-lit'? It's the idea of sicknesses, often terminal ones, being romanticised and used as plot points in novels and as romantic foils for protagonists. Protagonists who are mostly teenagers with pretty faces.

Perhaps the most popular and best-selling book to emerge from this literary trend is The Fault in Our Stars, which turned into a blockbuster teen movie starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. The novel was penned by John Green, who appears to have been parodied in a Younger season two episode called 'The Mao Function' as a sick-lit author who jumps ship from Empirical to another publisher.

The author, renamed here as 'Rob Olive', is played by Kobi Libii and his character has writer's block when it comes to his new novel about a teenage girl who goes into hospice the day before her prom. In Younger, his breakout novel is called #I'mDying.

Notorious writer and socialite Cat Marnell parodied as the fashionably difficult Jade Winslow.

Writer Cat Marnell's story is a well-known one, thanks to her brilliant memoir How To Murder Your Life.

Through her book, which caused quite the splash when it was released in 2017 and quickly became an international best seller, the world was given an inside look into her life of partying and drug-taking against the glamours backdrop of New York. Which all took place during her time working at publications such as Lucky and XoJane. 

The character of Jade Winslow (played by Justine Lupe) who appeared in Younger episodes 'The Jade Crusade' and 'Un-Jaded' is widely believed to be based on Cat Marnell thanks to her on-screen antics.

The New York Post reported that the infamous Marnell had reached a book deal with Simon & Schuster worth up to half a million dollars for her book as it was so in demand, much like the advance Jade receives in the show.

Marnell has spoken openly about how she blew through her enormous book advance in record speed and how there was no book in existence when she actually signed the deal. She also admitted that she was a bit of a nightmare to deal with during the process and that she handed in her novel nearly a year past the agreed-upon deadline for publication.

Her story is what inspired the memorable character arc of Jade Winslow on Younger, the only difference being that while Marnell did eventually deliver her book, the Younger character of Jade did not.

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin reimagined as Crown of Kings author Edward L.L. Moore.

I think all fans can agree that Younger's spoof of famed fantasy writer George R.R. Martin as Edward L.L. Moore is its most enduring and blatant author tribute.

Actor Richard Masur, who portrays Edward L.L. Moore on Younger told Thrillist that he loves playing a character based on such as famous writer.

"When I read the part, I just thought it was hysterical," he told the publication. " I loved this character. I'm a big fan of the Game of Thrones books, and I have a sense of what the guy's like. So I just exaggerated the hell out of it."

Kiko Kagami as a Marie Kondo stand-in. 

In the premiere episode of Younger's third season, entitled 'A Kiss Is Just a Kiss', the series does quite a blatant homage to best-selling author and Netflix sensation Marie Kondo.

The parody comes in the form of author Kiko Kagami (Joy Osmanski) and her book Blissful Living. “My book is rooted in the idea that all objects have a spirit,” she says in an Empirical pitch meeting. “And we must work on lightening our load, by setting free those objects that no longer serve us."

Apart from the character of Diana Trout drunkenly kissing her old wedding dress goodbye before tossing it out the window, the idea of parting with your belongings and people in your life did not go down so well with the rest of the Younger characters.

The first five seasons of Younger are available to watch now, only on Stan. Season six will drop weekly on Stan on Thursdays, the same day as it airs in the US.

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