Do not adjust your hearing aids: That persistent buzz is just the chatter surrounding “Silver Foxes” — the gently ballyhooed “gay reboot of ‘The Golden Girls’” that isn’t actually a gay reboot of “The Golden Girls” but sort of is.

The brainchild (or grandparent?) of screenwriter Stan Zimmerman (who, back in the day, penned some fine “Golden Girls” episodes himself), “Silver Foxes” is certainly “inspired by” by the original “Girls, and will tell the tangling tales of four older gay men living (and likely grousing) together in Palm Springs — that is, if it gets picked up before the idea is shipped off to Shady Pines.

Right now, “Silver Foxes” exists in just two incomplete forms: 1) a scarcely documented table reading held at Zimmerman’s home that went swiftly viral on Instagram;
2) as a dream tumbling around in the heads of gay men everywhere. However, the latter could not have fathomed the fierceness of the foursome brought together for the former: the lead roles were read by George Takei, Leslie Jordan, Bruce Vilanch, and Todd Sherry. (OMG which one is the tramp?!) Rumor has it they’ve even written a cameo opportunity for Betty White.

This is one hip replacement.

I, for one, am screaming. Networks, meanwhile, are showing Zbornak levels of skepticism.

“Ageism and homophobia are not only keeping the show from getting picked up, but from even being read by a major network,” Zimmerman told HuffPo, all but raising his bugle to summon sleeping armies of slighted gays into clicking formation, let’s-get-Betty-White-on-“SNL” style.

This may or may not work, but here’s a slice of cheesecake and some truth: I’ve seen this move before. You flirt with the ones you don’t want (NBC, ABC, CBS — I mean, give me a break here) in order to draw the interest of the ones you do (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon). I’m pretty sure I learned that one from Blanche. Will it work? Depends.

Netflix seems not to have noticed it has absolutely no money for these sorts of things (might I and Tom Selleck suggest a reverse mortgage?) but it seems like a no-brainer that a comedy about aging gay men in Palm Springs would draw viewers like . . . well, aging gay men to Palm Springs.

In the meantime, not sure if you know this already, but you can get in a solid (or slightly mushed-up) four servings of “Golden Girls” each and every night from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Why so late? Because “The Golden Girls” is the raciest thing the Hallmark Channel airs by leaps and bounds (or short, careful steps).

(And with that, I conclude my housesitting for the vacationing Matthew Gilbert. Notice how I didn’t break anything. Thanks for letting me crash on your couch.)

The post From ‘Golden Girls’ to ‘Silver Foxes’? first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

The gay, male reboot of “Golden Girls” has hit a roadblock.

George Takei, Leslie Jordan, Bruce Vilanch and Todd Sherry had already done a table read as the core four. Daniele Gaither and Cheri Oteri also read for the lesbian neighbors. Zimmerman told Fox News a Betty White guest appearance was also planned.

However, Zimmerman says homophobia has kept the show from being developed.

“Unfortunately, we cannot get one network executive to read it,” Zimmerman told Fox News. “Or even a producer to pass it to them. We have found ageism and homophobia alive and well in Hollywood.

They plan to continue shopping the series around to networks and hope a streaming service will pick up the show.

“Hopefully a groundswell of support from the viewing public will get an outlet like Hulu or Amazon to make it,” Zimmerman says.

The post Gay, male ‘Golden Girls’ reboot delayed by ‘ageism,’ ‘homophobia’ in Hollywood first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

“Golden Girls” writer Stan Zimmerman confirmed to Fox News that a new series inspired by the classic sitcom is in the works featuring four older gay men living together.

“The Golden Girls,” which stared Rue McClanahan, Betty White, Bea Arthur, and Estelle Getty, aired from 1985 until 1992. Throughout its run, it racked up 68 Emmy nominations and 11 wins.

“It is not a rumor,” Zimmerman told Fox News in an email. “[‘Golden Girls’ writer] James Berg and I did write a pilot script called ‘Silver Foxes.’ It is NOT a reboot of ‘The Golden Girls.’ But it is inspired by the show, a show that we were lucky enough to have written on during the first season of the show.”

Zimmerman added a private reading of the script took place in his living room with George Takei, Leslie Jordan, Bruce Vilanch, and Todd Sherry as the foursome.

It also featured Daniele Gaither and former “Saturday Night Live” castmate Cheri Oteri as “the power lesbian couple” who live next door, as well as Melissa Peterman as a woman who runs a retirement home where Leslie Jordan resides until “the guys find out he has to go back in the closet.”

Unlike the original, which took place in Miami, “Silver Foxes” would be based in Palm Springs.

Zimmerman also revealed he’s hoping to get the last living “Golden Girl” to join as a special guest.

“We did create a one line role for Betty White to play,” he said. “Our fingers are crossed.”

However, Zimmerman said that despite the all-star cast, as well as having two original writers on board, he’s having trouble finding a network to pick up the series.

“Unfortunately, we cannot get one network executive to read it,” he explained. “Our even a producer to pass it to them. We have found ageism and homophobia alive and well in Hollywood. Hopefully a groundswell of support from the viewing public will get an outlet like Hulu or Amazon to make it.”

The post ‘Golden Girls’ writer addresses reboot rumors first appeared on We Got Bruce!.