Lena Dunham Revives Girls at HBO for Five New Episodes
HBO is bringing back Girls with much of its original cast, setting up a return to the characters a decade after the finale, with filming planned for 2027.
By Hushread Stories, written with AI from 13 outlets · First published 13 Oct 2026
In brief
- HBO has ordered a limited revival of Girls consisting of five new episodes with Lena Dunham returning.
- Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Andrew Rannells are also confirmed to return for the revival.
- Adam Driver will not return, making this a reunion of much of the cast rather than everyone.
- Production is scheduled to begin in 2027, about ten years after the original series came to an end.
- Dunham said her interest in returning grew when the characters began speaking to her around her fortieth birthday.
Timeline · 4 moments
Andrew Rannells joins the confirmed returning cast
Bleeding Cool ↗Williams, Mamet and Kirke confirmed to reprise roles
The Hollywood Reporter ↗Dunham confirmed to reprise her role as Hannah
Deadline Hollywood ↗HBO announces a five episode Girls revival
Consequence of Sound ↗How it started
Girls premiered in 2012, following four millennial friends in New York City, according to Express & Star. Its original run lasted six seasons, CNN Brasil reported.
Dunham said the idea of returning took hold when the characters began speaking to her again around her 40th birthday. The revival brings her back to Hannah, the role she played in the original series, according to Deadline Hollywood.
How it unfolded
On October 13, 2026, HBO announced that Girls would return for a limited run of five episodes, Consequence of Sound reported. The order is for a short revival, rather than an ongoing new run.
The casting announcements confirmed the return of the four central performers. Dunham, Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet and Jemima Kirke will reprise their roles, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Andrew Rannells is returning too, Bleeding Cool reported. That expands the reunion beyond the central quartet, although Adam Driver will not be back.
The announcement also established the production timetable. Filming is set to begin in 2027, according to The Hollywood Reporter, putting the return roughly a decade after the original finale.
Where it stands
HBO has ordered the revival, its five-episode length is confirmed, and most of the original cast is returning, according to Deadline Hollywood. Production is still ahead.
Some coverage describes a reunion of the original or full cast, including The Wrap TV and IndieWire Movies. That wording is broader than the announced lineup: Driver's absence means this is not a complete cast reunion.
What to watch
The next scheduled step is filming in 2027, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The supplied coverage gives no premiere date or detailed account of where the new episodes will find the characters.
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