'Girlfriends' Reboot Hopes Heighten After Producer Kelsey Grammer's Latest Interview

Since the abrupt end of Girlfriends in February 2008, fans have longed for a reboot. Kelsey Grammer, executive producer of the show, was asked in a recent interview about any updates regarding the possibility of a revival. The question came at a time when his own television series, "Frasier," had made a comeback almost three decades after it was first broadcast.

"I would love to reboot Girlfriends. Of course, it would probably be a different kind of show, but we got The Game back on, and that was wonderful. I don't know if Paramount+ is gonna grab another season of that, but you never know. I think they should because I know many people who love that show and love those characters and would like to see them continue," the 68-year-old told Deadline. 

"We'll see what happens. But yeah, I would love to reboot Girlfriends and I would love to see Tracee [Ellis Ross] in that role again. She was terrific in that. The show was a wonderful opportunity to see all those young women start out. It's such a beautiful ensemble effort, and I was very proud to be connected to that."

Grammer has discussed in the past his love for Girlfriends and the excitement of getting it on the air back in 2000. He told Blavity's Shadow and Act in 2022 that he wanted to create a show that television executives have always said they wanted, even though their actions indicate otherwise.

"In the early '90s, I started my own production company and NBC, ABC, CBS, we'd all get together and start talking about how we've gotta bring a little more diversity to our shows and 'Let's get some Asian, let's get some Black, let's get this, let's get that,'" he said at the time. 

"And I always thought, 'What the hell, they're talking about every year but we never do it.' So I said, fine, let's [do it] and we started [searching] for writing talent and, of course, met Mara [Brock Akil]. We were very impressed with her and [thought] 'This is a good show. This is a show that should be done.'"

"…It didn't get its proper sendoff," he continued, discussing the series' eight-season run. "It should have been given some honor because it was kind of a breakthrough show and something I was proud of," he said, adding that the cast did excellent work. Mara did a hell of a job."

Originally on UPN, Girlfriends moved to The CW, the network that was the successor to UPN in 2000, before ending in 2008 due to the high production costs and the 2007-08 strike by the Writers Guild of America. It starred Ross with Jill Marie Jones, Golden Brooks, Persia White, and Reggie Hayes; its spinoff, "The Game," premiered in 2006.