‘Gay Golden Girls’ reboot may never happen because of ‘homophobic and ageist’ Hollywood
LGBT sitcom fans may have been excited by news of a ‘Gay Golden Girls’ that emerged last week, but it seems that homophobia in Hollywood could stop the project from ever happening.
Original Golden Girls writer Stan Zimmerman confirmed that reports of a gay “reboot” were “not a rumour”.
He added that the show, called Silver Foxes, while not a strict reboot, is inspired by The Golden Girls and features four older gay men living together.
What’s more, not only is a script in existence, but a private reading took place at Zimmerman’s house with George Takei, Leslie Jordan, Bruce Vilanch, and Todd Sherry as the leads, and Daniele Gaither and Cheri Oteri as a “power lesbian couple”.
But despite a script and cast already being lined up, it looks like Silver Foxes may never reach our screens, and Zimmerman thinks the latent homophobia in Hollywood could be part of that.
He complained to FoxNews that he’s struggling to get anyone to actually read the script, and suggested that the homophobia in the system is the reason.
“Unfortunately, we cannot get one network executive to read it,” Zimmerman said.
“Or even a producer to pass it to them. We have found ageism and homophobia alive and well in Hollywood.
“Hopefully a groundswell of support from the viewing public will get an outlet like Hulu or Amazon to make it.”
Shifting technology in recent years makes that a very real possibility, as companies once thought of as mere broadcasters take a significant role in producing TV shows, including those with LGBT themes.
Orange is the New Black has been a significant hit for Netflix, running for five seasons and counting
Amazon Studios has made 30 episodes of Jill Soloway’s Transparent, starring Jeffrey Tambor as Maura Pfefferman.
But whatever happens with Silver Foxes, we can still look forward to The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes – the seasonal drag show that has enjoyed over a decade of performances in San Francisco.
Watch the original Golden Girls intro below:
