The Golden Girls will be reborn as a gay TV series called Silver Foxes
The Golden Girls defined a generation of older women in the late Eighties. The sitcom about the lives of four ladies who shared a house in Miami was astonishingly well-written, and at the receiving end of three Golden Globe awards for best Television Series – it also won tonnes more accolades.
The show wrapped in 1992 after seven seasons but now writers and producers Stan Zimmerman and James Berg are collaborating for a male-led comedy series called Silver Foxes.
So what’s all the fuss?
Silver Foxes will tread a similar path as Golden Girls in the sense that it’s all about friendship and ageing, only there’s a few added dynamics.
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While two men in the cast play the eponymous silver foxes, one of the other central characters who shares the house the characters live in will be a twink.
(The Golden Girls, Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank)
Silver Foxes will begin by telling the story of the fourth gay man, who recently was forced back into the closet after moving into a bigoted nursing home.
Once out of the assisting living centre, the four men go on to share a Palm Springs house together, decorated decadently with mid-Century fixtures, fittings and artefacts and enjoy a rampant social life.
“Guess the cat is out of the bag about that secret reading I had last year” Silver Foxes writer Stan Zimmerman wrote in a message on social media surrounded by the show’s potential creative team, including Star Trek actor George Takei.
Sparking political interest in the show, he added: “Fingers crossed that Hulu or a major network has the guts to portray the story of 4 older gay men”
Entertainment company Super Deluxe will develop the series, which will be split into half-hour episodes, with a view of selling it to a streaming platform or cable network, report Variety.
A solid history of producing smash hits
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Stan Zimmerman and James Berg have a strong history of working together on other hit shows including Gilmore Girls and Roseanne.
It has been reported that both Hollywood big wigs were inspired to make a movie for the queer community after watching the LGBTQ+ documentary Gen Silent, which follows a similar narrative on queer discrimination in nursing homes.
Variety also report that the writers and producers hosted a table read at Stan’s house in 2017, and names around the table being considered for the show included George Takei, Leslie Jordan, Bruce Vilanch, Todd Sherry, Melissa Peterman, Daniele Gaither and Cheri Oteri.
In an interview with the Huffington Post Stan shot down fears the show may not appeal to wider heterosexual audiences.
He said: “It’s really not just gay… that’s what’s so frustrating about Silver Foxes, when I say it can have the same affect that Golden Girls has. So then it goes from the ages to the homophobia.”
“Maybe they’re scared that four gay guys is not going to be able to attract a heterosexual audience. I don’t know when that’s ever been proven because it’s never been done.”
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When asked whether the show may feature a straight actor, the writer insisted: “That’s like saying when you’re writing a black show, can’t one of them be white? This is our show, this is the point of view we want to have.”
Set to the sobering backdrop of the AIDS crisis
The comedy will be set to the sobering backdrop of the AIDS crisis that plagued gay men in the Eighties and Nineties. “A lot of us didn’t think we would be here” Stan told Huff Post.
“So now what happens? We have found most of our family and support groups amongst each other. I think that’s the story we would love to tell.”
“How we band together in times of need, especially as you get older, you’re there for one another. I think it could be quite poignant, but also really, really funny.”
Silver Foxes is in its early development phase with Super Deluxe
