HBO greenlights five-episode ‘Girls’ revival for 2027 production
Lena Dunham and the core cast are set to return for HBO’s five-episode ‘Girls’ revival, but its story remains under wraps.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
HBO has greenlit a five-episode ‘Girls’ revival, with production due to begin in 2027, Variety reported. The return brings Lena Dunham back to the series about a decade after its sixth and final season.
The Girls revival HBO news is bigger than a cast reunion. It gives a show rooted in twenty-something life in New York a chance to catch up with its characters after a long gap, while testing whether viewers now see them differently.
The original HBO comedy-drama ran from 2012 to 2017. Created by and starring Dunham, it followed Hannah Horvath and her friends through their messy 20s in New York City.
Who is returning for the ‘Girls’ revival?
Dunham will reprise Hannah, with Allison Williams returning as Marnie Michaels, Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson, Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro and Andrew Rannells as Elijah Krantz, according to Variety.
Judd Apatow is also returning as an executive producer. Dunham, Ilene S. Landress and Michael P. Cohen are executive producers, while Williams, Kirke, Mamet and Rannells are co-executive producers, Variety reported.
No plot, release date, episode titles or complete cast list has been announced. Variety reported that Adam Driver and former co-showrunner Jenni Konner were not named in HBO’s announcement, but that does not establish whether either may be involved later.
Why the long gap gives the show a story to tell
Dunham said in a statement reported by Variety that the group had agreed to come back only if it had a specific story it was eager to tell. She said the characters became imaginable to her again around her 40th birthday.
That leaves the new episodes with a built-in creative opening: Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, Shoshanna and Elijah can be seen at a later stage of life than the one that defined the original series. A Variety column argued that the revival could reveal changes in both the characters and the audience that watched them.
That is an opportunity, not a promised storyline. Dunham discussed possible futures for the characters in a 2025 interview, but Variety said those ideas were speculative and have not been confirmed as part of the revival.
The revival’s challenge
Variety’s commentary also pointed to the risk. A return can put familiar characters into a new period of life, but it can also turn them into devices for plot twists or commentary on the moment rather than people audiences recognize.
For ‘Girls,’ the test will be whether its short run has the specific story Dunham described. The announced five episodes offer a focused format, but the details that will decide the revival’s shape have yet to be disclosed.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.