Lena Dunham's 'Girls' to Return for Limited HBO Run
The cast of the acclaimed series will reunite for a five-episode revival a decade after its finale, exploring the characters in their 40s.
HBO has announced that Lena Dunham's breakout series "Girls" will return for a limited run, approximately ten years after its 2017 series finale. The revival will feature original cast members Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, and Andrew Rannells, alongside creator and star Lena Dunham.
Production is slated to begin in 2027, with Judd Apatow returning as executive producer. The limited series will consist of five episodes.
"We always said we would only return to 'Girls' if there was a specific story we were burning to tell," Dunham said in a statement. "I've missed these characters, but for a long time I couldn't quite picture them in the present day. Then, right around my 40th birthday, they started talking to me in the shower."
"Girls," which aired from 2012 to 2017, followed the lives of four friends navigating their 20s in New York City. The show garnered 19 Emmy nominations and two wins, including best casting. It was created by Dunham when she was 23 years old.
Amy Gravitt, executive vice-president of HBO programming, noted the shift in the characters' lives. "To say the world has changed since we last saw Hannah, Marnie, Shoshanna, Jessa, and Elijah is a massive understatement, but we know fans - old and new - will be happy to see how they've grown and relieved to see that they're still the 'Girls' we knew way back when."
The title for the revival has not yet been announced. Dunham expressed enthusiasm for returning to the series, stating on Substack, "it's rare in life that you get the chance to return to something you love with new knowledge and a ... ton of gratitude."
Key cast members like Adam Driver, who played Hannah's on-and-off love interest, were not mentioned in HBO's official announcement. Dunham has previously written about Driver's alleged on-set behavior in her memoir "Famesick." Co-showrunner Jenni Konner is also not included in the revival's statement. Since "Girls" concluded, Dunham has worked on the Netflix series "Too Much" and the indie film "Sharp Stick."