HBO is bringing back “Girls.” The network has ordered a limited, five-episode revival of Lena Dunham’s influential comedy-drama, reuniting the show’s four leads a decade after the series ended its six-season run.
Dunham returns as creator, showrunner and star in the role of Hannah Horvath, joined by Allison Williams as Marnie Michaels, Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson and Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro. Andrew Rannells will also reprise his role as Elijah Krantz. Production is set to begin in 2027.
“A specific story”
Dunham said the cast had always agreed to return only under particular circumstances. “We always said we would only return to ‘Girls’ if there was a specific story we were burning to tell,” she said in a statement. She said she had long struggled to imagine the characters in the present day, until they began “talking to me” around her 40th birthday.
Judd Apatow returns as an executive producer through Apatow Productions, alongside Dunham, Ilene S. Landress and Michael P. Cohen of Dunham’s Good Thing Going banner. Williams, Kirke, Mamet and Rannells will serve as co-executive producers. HBO has not announced a premiere date or plot details.
A defining, divisive series
“Girls” aired on HBO from 2012 to 2017, following a group of friends navigating the setbacks and messy relationships of their 20s in New York City. The series won two Golden Globes, including best comedy series in 2013, and became one of the most talked-about and debated shows of its era, praised for its candor and criticized over questions of privilege and representation.
The revival joins a busy stretch for television reboots. On the same day, Hulu picked up a full series of Ryan Coogler’s new take on “The X-Files,” starring Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel in new roles.
Sources & Credits
Reporting based on: Variety; Associated Press via The Washington Post; The Verge.
Image: “Lena Dunham at Berlinale 2024” by Elena Ternovaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Join the conversation