Silver Foxes, a series described as a gay Golden Girls and created by writers and producers Stan Zimmerman and James Berg (who collaborated on the actual Golden Girls), has been picked up for development by Super Deluxe, a production team owned by Turner Broadcasting, Variety reports:
Zimmerman and Berg created the series, having previously collaborated together on shows like “The Golden Girls,” “Roseanne,” and “Gilmore Girls.” The pair also co-created the Lifetime comedy series “Rita Rocks” in 2008. They were inspired to make the show after seeing the documentary “Gen Silent,” which explores the lives of LGBTQ seniors navigating discrimination in nursing homes. In 2017, they hosted a table read of the pilot at Zimmerman's home with actors George Takei, Leslie Jordan, Bruce Vilanch, Todd Sherry, Melissa Peterman, Daniele Gaither and Cheri Oteri.
Zimmerman posted a photo of the table read (above) on social media last year.
The creators expressed concern later last year that despite significant buzz the project was stymied by homophobia in the industry:
“In all my years in television, I've never seen a script reading get so much attention. I think this proves that there's a great interest in seeing a sitcom like ours come to life,” Zimmerman told HuffPost. “Ageism and homophobia are not only keeping the show from getting picked up, but from even being read by a major network.”
The topics that “Silver Foxes” will explore are particularly relevant to modern audiences given America's political climate, Zimmerman said. The show, he added, “has much to offer the world, especially after a week where we had a president tweeting a trans ban in the army and our own government arguing in court against basic rights for LGBTQ people in housing and employment.”
We look forward to this seeing the light of day.
