Cue Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.” HBO has greenlit a five-episode revival of “Girls,” with creator-star Lena Dunham returning alongside Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, and Andrew Rannells. The cast announced the news in a playful video call that brought the group back together in true Hannah-and-friends fashion.
For six seasons, Hannah (Dunham) and her friends Marnie (Williams), Jessa (Kirke), and Shoshanna (Mamet) made questionable decisions, sabotaged relationships, and stumbled through adulthood. A decade after the series finale, audiences will get to see where their favorite “girls” have wound up.
Here’s what we know so far about the revival, plus what actors can learn from the original series’ stars and casting director.
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- What is the “Girls” revival about?
- Who is in the cast of the “Girls” revival?
- Who is the casting director of the “Girls” revival?
- Who is behind the “Girls” revival?
- Where to find casting calls for the “Girls” revival
- The best acting advice from the original “Girls” cast
- When will the “Girls” revival premiere?
HBO’s “Girls” followed four young women navigating careers, relationships, and friendships in New York City, often making a spectacular mess of all three. The original comedy ran from 2012–2017, earning 19 Emmy nominations and two wins.
HBO hasn’t released an official synopsis for the revival, but Dunham has shared why she wanted to return. “We always said we would only return to ‘Girls’ if there was a specific story we were burning to tell,” she said in a statement.
In a Substack essay, Dunham discussed a time when reuniting the cast seemed impossible. “Then, I turned 40,” she wrote. Thinking about the difference between the woman she’d imagined becoming and the life she was living brought the characters back to mind: “I couldn’t stop thinking about where our Girls would be, and how they’d meet this milestone. Coming back to these characters now is a gift.”
At this time, five cast members are confirmed to return:
- Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath
- Allison Williams as Marnie Michaels
- Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson
- Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro
- Andrew Rannells as Elijah Krantz
No casting director has been announced yet. Jennifer Euston (“American Fiction,” “Orange Is the New Black”) cast the original “Girls” series and won the 2012 Emmy for outstanding casting for a comedy series.
Euston has championed lesser-known performers throughout her career and wants actors to feel at ease in her audition room.
“Nobody should ever feel nervous auditioning for me. I’m the least scary person to audition for,” she told us. “I want them to enjoy the experience and I never let anyone leave my room unless I know—I know—that they did their best, and I’ll do it 10 times if I have to.”
Euston also wants actors to understand that casting decisions can be subjective. “You could give the best reading out of anyone, but maybe you look like the producer’s high school bully,” she said. “Walk into the room, do your best, and leave it there. Throw the sides in the garbage can and walk away.”
For actors waiting for their next opportunity, she added, “Work begets work. Don’t sit at home waiting for the phone to ring. Do anything you possibly can to put yourself in front of an audience, because you never know who’s sitting in that audience.”
Dunham is returning as creator, writer, and executive producer for the revival, with Judd Apatow once again executive producing through Apatow Productions.
Williams, Kirke, Mamet, and Rannells are also co-executive producers. Ilene S. Landress and Michael P. Cohen are executive producing for Dunham’s Good Thing Going.
“We’re thrilled to have Lena turn her gaze from the tumult of one’s 20s to the milestone of turning 40,” said Amy Gravitt, HBO’s head of comedy programming.
At this time, it’s still too early for casting calls to be released for the revival. However, as the project moves closer to filming, opportunities may pop up in our HBO casting call page. And since the original series was primarily set and filmed in New York City, keeping an eye on our NYC casting call page is also a great idea.
In the meantime, these roundups are filled with gigs that are currently seeking talent:
While we have to wait a little longer for casting opportunities, actors can definitely learn a thing or two from the show’s original cast.
Start with the script.
“I do a fair amount of improv, but I really do like to start out from a scripted place,” Dunham told us. “So it’s really important for me to feel like I have a road map, and then improvisation is just a little twisty turn that I can take to get a new shade or color.”
She also advised actors to create their own opportunities. “I would encourage people who feel like they have something to say or something to write, to write parts for themselves, because I think it can be a very liberating thing for actors.”
Find what makes you different.
Williams landed her “Girls” audition after Apatow saw a “Mad Men”–inspired music video she made with friends. She’d also recently taken an on-camera audition class, and “Girls” was her first audition afterward.
“There’s no trajectory to follow,” she told us. “So the key is figuring out what skills you have that other people don’t. Chief among those are your personal experiences and your face and body and voice—those are things that no one else shares.”
For actors creating their own material, Williams said, “Make something that you would click on.”
Know the material well enough to trust yourself.
In a 2025 Vogue essay, Mamet recalled preparing her audition tape for Shoshanna.
“I did not prep beyond learning my lines. I ran those four pages over and over and over again until I could say them upside down and sideways and probably backwards, if put to the test.”
Once filming began, Mamet frequently got to improvise. “There were some scripted lines, but then, like they always did, on our last take they told me to just go for it, to improv whatever I wanted.”
Production is scheduled to begin in 2027. No premiere date has been set yet. Until then, all six seasons of “Girls” are available to stream on HBO Max. Stay tuned to Backstage for more updates.
