University Of Iowa Rejects 'Girls' Request To Film On Campus Despite Major Story Line

Here's how we left Lena Dunham's "Hannah Horvath" character in the season 3 finale of HBO's "Girls."

In the final scene, we saw Hannah smiling as she clutched her acceptance letter to the prestigious MFA program at the University of Iowa.

But it looks like "Girls" creator Lena Dunham may need to re-write next season's script, as UI just denied her request to film on-campus.

"After reviewing the script, I felt the storyline placed the city and university in an unfavorable light, and considering the potential for disruption, I made the decision to deny the request," the University's Vice President of Strategic Communication, Joe Brennan, told the Iowa City Press-Citizen. "I won't share details as I don't think it fair to reveal the plot in advance. I understand this is a popular show, but it's my job to safeguard the reputation of the university."

Added UI spokesman Tom Moore, "While we are pleased that the Iowa Writers' Workshop is receiving national attention and that our graduate is doing well in her career, our general practice is to not allow filming, due to potential disruption to campus."

The rejection is a blow to "Girls" staff writer Sarah Heyward, who is herself an alumna of the esteemed writing program.

But perhaps the "Girls" crew should have looped in the University from the get-go, as the Writers' Workshop director, Samantha Chang, revealed, "It was a complete surprise to me that we would be part of the season cliffhanger."

"Since we're just now recruiting our new students for next fall, I am in the process of talking with a few of them about the issue of leaving New York (or San Francisco, or Seattle) and moving to the Midwest for two years," she said. "When I heard that Hannah had been accepted to the program, I experienced a powerful imaginative flash into the head of this new prospective student with relocation issues."