Although there is an abundance of coming-of-age comedies in the ether, none of them quite compares to Girls, and we all know it. There was a unique genius to the HBO show written and created by Lena Dunham, which we have all been mourning (and rewatching) since it ended in 2017.
Now, almost 10 years later, Lena is back to fill the void. HBO has green lit a five-episode limited reboot of Girls starring Hannah (Lena Dunham), Marnie (Allison Williams), Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Shoshanna (Zosie Mamet). The internet is understandably elated.
Of course, rebooting any beloved series or franchise comes with a lot of pressure. Where are all the characters now? How are they still in each other's lives? What about Adam Driver (who played Adam) given that he and Lena are not exactly on the best of terms? The fans have questions.
Here's what we know about the HBO Girls reboot.
When is the Girls reboot coming out?
Production is set to begin next summer, meaning we are unlikely to see the Girls reboot until early or mid 2028. An exact release date has not been confirmed.
How many episodes will there be in the new season of Girls?
The new limited series will consist of five episodes.
Who will star in the Girls reboot?
The announcement was made via a fake Zoom call between Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Lena Dunham, so we can safely assume the four lead actresses are involved. Andrew Rannells, a close friend of Lena's who played Elijah in the series, also jumped on the call and will star.
'You know how we used to spend every summer together, you know, doing what we were doing, making this show,' Lena said on the call. 'Is that something you would want to do again? Are you free next summer?'
What will happen in the Girls reboot?
'We always said we would only return to Girls if there was a specific story we were burning to tell,' Lena 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. And, as you may remember, once this fivesome starts talking it's pretty hard to get them to stop.'
As for the title, Lena joked, 'can we still call it Girls? Because we're old as.'
How did Girls end?
Hannah: At the end of Girls, Hannah is living in upstate New York with her baby, Grover, whose father is a surf instructor who does not want to be involved in his life. She is working as a college professor and, after a period of anxiety and upheaval, is settling into her new role as a mother (and as a real adult).
Marnie: After attempting to save her friendship with Hannah by moving into her house and becoming Grover's co-parent, Marnie realises she needs to put herself first and moves out. She is considering going to law school.
Shoshanna: At the end of series six, Shoshanna was newly engaged to Byron Long (Julian Leong) who she met at a Sprinkles cupcake vending machine. She did not invite Hannah or Marnie to her engagement drinks and is considering cutting ties with the group.
Jessa: Jessa is upset about her fallout with Hannah after Hannah found out she had been secretly dating her ex-boyfriend Adam. They reconcile, but are not on great terms. Jessa and Adam are still dating, but their relationship is volatile and does not seem like it will last.
Elijah: Elijah is enjoying a career high after landing a major role in the musical adaptation of White Men Can't Jump. He is seeing his ex Dill Harcourt (Corey Stoll) and is still living in Hannah's flat.
Why is Lena Dunham rebooting Girls?
'When I initially pitched Girls, I was 23, living in the back of my parents' place in a bedroom I shared with my 17 year old sibling,' Lena wrote in a Substack article titled 'So, Girls is coming back for 5 fresh eps...'. '[...] I thought, in the way 23 year olds often think things, that I was at the last transitional age. But 40 is its own kind of weird.'
'There was a long period in which it was impossible to imagine reconvening Girls – it felt so recent and so big, like a glacier we were sailing away from. Then, I turned forty. I thought about the distance I felt – having not yet had a child, having come "later" to marriage, having gone very fast in certain ways and still having some challenges with the washing machine – from the woman I thought I'd be and so many women I know.'
She described coming back to the Girls characters as a 'gift'. 'I love these girls (and boy) and I love all the people who have reminded us afresh why we do this, which is the joy of being together... and the chance to wear yellow mesh.'
Who is going to produce the Girls reboot?
Judd Apatow, who helped get the show green lit back in 2012, will also return as executive producer.
'We're thrilled to have Lena turn her gaze from the tumult of one's twenties to the milestone of turning 40,' Amy Gravitt, executive vice-president of HBO programming said in a statement.
'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.'
Is Adam Driver in the Girls reboot?
Several key cast members, including Adam Driver who played Lena's on-off love interest throughout the show's run, did not feature in HBO's statement.
In Lena's memoir Famesick, which was released in April, she alleged that Adam was verbally and physically aggressive on set and that they have not been in touch since the show ended. Adam dismissed the allegations during an interview shortly after the memoir was published, quipping: 'I have no comment on any of that. I'm saving it all for my book.'
Unless a miracle happens, then, we can assume Adam (much like Kim Cattrall in And Just Like That) will be sitting the reboot out.
Will Jenni Konner be involved in the Girls reboot?
In Famesick, Lena detailed the breakdown of her relationship with Jenni Konner, who was her co-showrunner and an executive producer on Girls. Jenni was also absent from HBO's statement about the reboot.
Girls reboots have been teased several times over the years and in 2017 Lena and Jenni both said they would 'do a movie' when the time was right. Jenni said, 'We feel like no one necessarily needs to hear from us right now. But if someone wants to do the movie, we'll do it.' Sadly, the duo has since fallen out.
Nikki Peach is a senior writer at Grazia, working across news, entertainment, features. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).