The NBC sitcom The Golden Girls is one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. The show follows four older women sharing a home in Miami and attracts new generations of viewers thirty years after airing its final episodes.
As well as helping the late Betty White cement her status as television’s First Lady, the series proved in its all-female cast that women could carry comedy just as well as men, The Golden Girls challenged perceptions of aging and representation of women on screen, often tackling taboo subjects for the 1980s and early 1990s, such as homophobia, menopause, and HIV/AIDS.
In recent days, an image advertising a revival of The Golden Girls, featuring Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Lisa Kudrow, has been making the rounds on social media. Many responses and shares show that fans of the original series were taken aback by the announcement, as well as the upcoming release date of June 2024, in which ten episodes are said to be dropping.
On Facebook, the announcement has 152,000 likes and 85,000 shares, as of Monday, March 25th. Previously, there had been no outlets sharing casting announcements, series development, or Disney Plus’ acquisition of the franchise – so is this rumor true, or yet another example of social media misleading users?
Is there really a Golden Girls revival on its way?
The short answer is no, there is no Golden Girls reboot in the works, as of 2024. Given that Betty White had only died in late 2021 (with co-stars Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, and Rue McLanahan passing away in 2008, 2009, and 2010, respectively), it would be unlikely that they would have developed and re-cast her character so quickly, as TV and film projects take years of development before they eventually hit our screens.
The image is edited of pre-existing images of Fey, Poehler, Kudrow, and Rudolph. Poehler and Kudrow have been digitally enhanced to look older than they actually are.
The original poster of this image appears to be the Facebook page Yoda BBY ABY. Recently, the page has made posters for a third Dune movie and a Breaking Bad revival. The page, which boasts 84,000 followers, states in its bio that they are “100% satire and fake news” – although making fake movie posters to generate clicks and engagement doesn’t exactly fall under the category of satire.
How can I tell when social media is lying to me about movie and TV show announcements?
If only one “news” page on social media is posting a claim, such as a movie remake or TV revival, and no other media site has not picked it up, that’s a good sign that they’re not telling you the truth.
When it comes to highly-anticipated movies and TV, you will typically hear about them long before you see them. Often, an entertainment outlet like Variety or Deadline will confirm that the project is in the works, followed by casting announcements, then posters or promotional trailers, and a release date.