Los Angeles: Writer and filmmaker Lena Dunham’s popular and controversial dramedy 'Girls' is set to return on HBO for a limited five-episode run.
According to Variety, production on the revival will begin in 2027, a decade after the series concluded with its sixth-season finale. The original show aired on HBO from 2012 to 2017.
Created, written, and led by Dunham, 'Girls' follows a group of friends navigating the struggles and dysfunction of their twenties in New York City. All four central cast members are returning for the revival, with Dunham reprising her role as Hannah Horvath, Allison Williams as Marnie Michaels, Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson, and Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro. Andrew Rannells will also return as Elijah Krantz.
Judd Apatow is returning as executive producer for 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.
Explaining the decision to revive the series, Dunham said the team had always intended to return only if there was a specific story worth telling.
“We always said we would only return to ‘Girls’ if there was a specific story we were burning to tell. I’ve missed these characters, but for a long time I couldn’t quite picture them in the present day. Then, right around my fortieth birthday, they started talking to me in the shower. And, as you may remember, once this fivesome starts talking, it’s pretty hard to get them to stop… It’s rare that you get the chance to return to something that changed your life with the gift of hindsight and a whole new level of gratitude and understanding. I love these girls (and boy), our friends at HBO and all the people who have continued to discover the show and remind us afresh why we do this, which is the joy of being together… and the chance to wear yellow mesh…” Dunham said in a statement, as quoted by Variety.