Long before Girls or Sex and the City made quartets of funny females the fashionable thing on television, we had The Golden Girls. The classic sitcom has become absolutely iconic in the annals of television history since it went off the air in 1992, and longtime fans have continuously clamored for a reboot or a revival. So what are the odds of it ever happening? According to The Golden Girls creator Susan Harris: it will likely never happen because the underlying charm of Golden Girls stems from the charisma and dynamic of the original cast. Harris explained:
They've wanted to do Golden Girls the Musical and re-do Golden Girls, and we've always said no because Golden Girls would not be Golden Girls without that cast.
If you ever hoped to see a Golden Girls reboot, I think it is safe to say that Susan Harris' recent comments to EW will come as a massive disappointment. This is not really up for debate; Golden Girls lives and dies by the overwhelming charm of its four female leads, and replacing any of them would compromise the integrity of the series.
Sadly, Betty White is the only actress from the central cast of the original series that is still alive. As charming and delightful as Ms. White was on The Golden Girls (and continues to be on a wide variety of film and television projects to this very day) this really seems to indicate that the time for a potential reboot has officially passed us by. Each and every member of the core ensemble played a vital role in the show's balance of personalities, so to lose even one of them would throw the entire thing off.
We have already seen what happens when people try to mess with The Golden Girls' formula. An attempt was made at a spin-off series shortly after the finale of the original series (titled The Golden Palace), and it ultimately didn't work because Bea Arthur did not return as a series regular to join her co-stars. Susan Harris elaborated:
Without Dorothy, it didn't work... [Golden Girls] was what it was and that's the way it should remain.
We live in an age that has become completely defined by remakes, reboots, and revivals. That tradition has slowly but surely made its way from the silver screen to the small screen in recent years, but it now seems that The Golden Girls likely won't follow that trend any time in the near future. Considering the insane legacy the sitcom has already left behind, that might not be a bad thing. On the plus side, The Golden Girls is now available to stream on Hulu, so make sure to check out the classic series in its entirety!
For more information related to all of the most highly anticipated television series slated to premiere this spring, check out our comprehensive midseason premiere guide and fill out your TV viewing schedules accordingly!
