A modern day reworking of iconic sitcom The Golden Girls is what TV audiences are longing for - but not a simply remake.
One of the show’s acclaimed writers feels that the Jane Lynch led planned sitcom take on Golden Girls will be "wonderful". Award winning creative David A. Goodman feels that while it’s easy to "trash" the concept, Lynch’s skills and "recapturing the magic" will lead to a big success. Goodman says that he sat back in awe watching Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty turn his jokes into TV gold.
Goodman also opened up on some moments with show star Betty and even mistakenly being "rude" to Quentin Tarantino - who played an Elvis impersonator. Goodman, who also penned The Orville and Family Guy episodes, is optimistic that "brilliant' Lynch and Cyndi Lauper’s project to create a "kind of a ‘Golden Girls’ for today" will be a hit.
In an exclusive interview with the Mirror US, Goodman said of the reboot: "I root for somebody to try to recapture something as exciting as that. As long as they're not redoing old scripts, as long as they're finding a fresh take. And I think it's wonderful to try to recapture. There was a simplicity to that show that I think audiences love, and if somebody can try to do that again, I think that's great.
"I've worked with Jane a lot. She's very talented, She's a delightful perfect person. I think that is very easy to trash that kind of effort as derivative or as, but that's not, but I don't think that's the goal of those writers. I think the goal is to do something funny and use a familiar piece of intellectual property to bring an audience in, but you've got to keep them. And so I'm all for that. It's about the writing and the acting.
"On that show, you had this incredibly talented group of writers and you had this incredible group of actors who were pros, who brought so much to the party. I wrote many jokes that came out of Bea Arthur's mouth, but once she said them, they weren't my joke anymore. They were hers because she understood how to play that character. So that's the goal.” Goodman, who is honored this month with the WGAW Morgan Cox Award in recognition of outstanding services to the Guild, added: “It's not going to be the same show. It's going to be its own thing.
"And it's so many years later, it's 35 years later, they've got to define it for themselves. But there are a lot of really talented writers in Hollywood and actors and performers. and they can create something memorable. It's never going to be easy, but just putting the tag of Golden Girls on your show doesn't make it easier. It makes it harder. And I'm sure they know that.”
With streaming services’ growth over the last decade, many traditional family sitcoms have been replaced with edgier, darker and even x-rated comedies. But Goodman insists that the biggest audience for networks and streamers will be family-orientated gag-filled dramas. "Comedy is always evolving, I think there is room for a Golden Girls-type show. Audiences still love well-produced Multicam shows, family shows.