Actress Jemima Kirke said she would be willing to take part in a reboot of the HBO series Girls if the job paid well enough. (Photo: Christian Vierig/Getty Images)
While Lena Dunham — who last week celebrated 10 years since Girls on HBO premiered in 2012 — recently ruled out rushing into a series reboot, co-star Jemima Kirke could be on board if things get off the ground. If the price is right, that is.
“Yes!” Kirke told the Telegraph when asked if she would be willing to return to the series, which ran for six series from 2012 to 2017. “For the right amount of money.”
The British-born actress, 36, also has an idea of where her character Jessa might have ended up, although she told the Telegraph she’s wary of being compared to the fugitive New Yorker.
“I don’t want to give anyone another chance to equate with her, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a couple of kids, maybe from two different fathers. Maybe she would raise them alone with a nanny who she insists on calling her her personal assistant,” said Kirke, who now stars in Sexual Education and Conversations with Friends.
Kirke also admitted she hasn’t kept in touch with her former co-stars, including Allison Williams and Zosia Mamet. She remains friends with her childhood best friend, Dunham, who created the show and cast Kirke in the supporting role, but hasn’t spoken to the actress-director since her marriage to musician Luis Felber in September 2021.
Kirke (pictured far left in 2014 with girls co-stars Lena Dunham, Allison Williams and Zosia Mamet) says she’s only stayed in touch with Dunham since the series ended. (Photo: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)
“Only Lena,” Kirke answered when asked who else she communicated with. “But I haven’t spoken to her since she got married.”
Another challenge to bringing the show back would be the criticism it might face in the troubled landscape of 2022. When it originally aired, the show received heavy criticism for its privileged portrayal of white women in their 20s. If the show did return, Kirke said it would “definitely get heartache.”
“I think Lena did something without fear and she wouldn’t be able to do that today,” said Kirke. “She would be too scared.”
The story goes on
When the show ended in 2017, Kirke, who shares two children with ex-husband Michael Mosberg, felt done with the process.
“You just want to cry and fall on the couch,” she said. “I was ready to move on.”
Speaking to in January, Dunham expressed interest in rebooting the series, but only if the timing makes sense.
“We all recognize that it is not yet time. I want it to be in a moment where the characters’ lives have really changed,” Dunham explained. “Right now everyone would just want to see Kylo Ren [Adam Driver].”