HBO Revives Lena Dunham’s ‘GIRLS’ for Five New Episodes Nearly a Decade After Finale

The Emmy-winning comedy will reunite Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Andrew Rannells, with production scheduled to begin in 2027.

HBO is bringing GIRLS back for a new chapter, with the Emmy-winning comedy set to return for five episodes nearly a decade after its sixth and final season concluded.

Created by and starring Lena Dunham, the series will reunite its central cast as it revisits the lives of Hannah Horvath and her close-knit circle of friends at a new stage of adulthood. Production is scheduled to begin in 2027, marking 10 years since the original series finale.

Dunham will reprise her role as Hannah, alongside Allison Williams as Marnie Michaels, Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson, Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro and Andrew Rannells as Elijah Krantz. Dunham will also return as a writer and director, with Judd Apatow once again serving as an executive producer.

The revival promises to shift the show’s focus from the uncertainties and upheavals of life in one’s twenties to the challenges and revelations that come with turning 40.

In a statement, Dunham revealed that the decision to revisit GIRLS came only after she found a story worth telling about its characters in the present day.

“We always said we would only return to GIRLS if there was a specific story we were burning to tell,” Dunham said. “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.”

The creator added that once the five characters began occupying her imagination again, it became difficult to ignore their return.

Reflecting on the opportunity to revisit the series, Dunham described the experience as a rare chance to return to a project that transformed her life, this time with the benefit of hindsight and a deeper appreciation for what it meant to her and its audience.

She also offered a characteristically playful nod to the show’s distinctive fashion sensibility, closing her remarks with a reference to “the joy of being together” and “the chance to wear yellow mesh.”

Amy Gravitt, HBO and HBO Max’s executive vice president and head of comedy programming, welcomed the revival, highlighting the contrast between the world the characters inhabited in the original series and the one they will face in the new episodes.

“We’re thrilled to have Lena turn her gaze from the tumult of one’s twenties to the milestone of turning forty,” Gravitt said. “To say the world has changed since we last saw Hannah, Marnie, Shoshanna, Jessa, and Elijah is a massive understatement.”

Gravitt added that she expects longtime viewers and new audiences alike to welcome the characters back, with the promise that, despite the years that have passed, they will retain the familiar qualities that made them memorable.

Originally running for six seasons, GIRLS became a defining comedy of the 2010s, earning attention for its candid, often uncomfortable portrayal of friendship, ambition, relationships and self-discovery among young women in New York City. The series also helped establish Dunham as a prominent creative voice in television.

Across its six-season run, the show received 19 Emmy Award nominations and secured two wins, including Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series.

For the revival, Dunham will executive produce alongside Apatow for Apatow Productions, Ilene S. Landress and Michael P. Cohen for Good Thing Going. Williams, Kirke, Mamet and Rannells will serve as co-executive producers.

With five new episodes planned, the return of GIRLS will offer an opportunity to explore how its characters have evolved since viewers last saw them in 2017 — and whether the passage of time has brought them the clarity, stability and self-awareness that often seemed just out of reach during their twenties.

If Dunham’s comments are any indication, however, the reunion will not be a simple exercise in nostalgia. The characters may be older, but their creator appears ready to discover what happens when the familiar chaos of GIRLS collides with the realities of turning 40.

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