Since her decade-defining show Girls ended in 2017, Lena Dunham has been busy: she created the comedy series Camping, starred in a Tarantino film, and made some life-changing decisions. Now, the writer is set to produce a new HBO Max show called Generation.
The series is written by 18-year-old Zelda Barnz and her dad Daniel, who directed the Jennifer Aniston-starring 2014 film, Cake. Made up of half-hour episodes, the show will follow a group of high schoolers “whose exploration of modern sexuality (devices and all) tests deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love, and the nature of family in their conservative community”.
Speaking in a press release, Dunham said: “I have fallen head over heels for this brilliant family, who have allowed their 18-year-old daughter Zelda to express herself in a way that’s both effortlessly funny and plumbs the depths of the adolescent experience. I cannot wait for people to see Zelda’s brilliance come to life.”
Zelda added: “I wanted to see myself and kids my own age represented on TV in a way that felt real, without judgement or nostalgia. I’m so appreciative of my mentor and soul-sister Lena Dunham for all her support and guidance.”
With Daniel directing, the younger Barnz will serve as co-executive producer. Confirmed cast members include Nathanya Alexander (Ocean’s Eight), Chloe East, Nava Mau, Lukita Maxwell, Haley Sanchez, Uly Schlesinger (The Sinner), Sam Trammell (The Fault in Our Stars), Chase Sui Wonders, Justice Smith, and Martha Plimpton.
It feels fitting that Dunham starts the forthcoming decade with a show called Generation, spotlighting the next era of voices; her Girls character Hannah Horvath once declared herself to be “the voice of my generation. Or, at least, a voice of a generation”, so we’ll see what’s to come from this new crop.
