Last summer it was revealed that Stan Zimmerman and James Berg were working on a sitcom called Silver Foxes, described as a kind of ‘gay Golden Girls’. Zimmerman and Berg even wrote episodes of the classic 1980/1990s sitcom, as well as the likes of Roseanne and Gilmore Girls, so are well placed to take on a look at the issues of ageing gay men.
To help see if there was potential in the show, they even staged a table read of the Pilot episode for the single-camera comedy with George Takei, Leslie Jordan, Bruce Vilanch, Todd Sherry, Melissa Peterman, Daniele Gaither and Cheri Oteri involved.
Now the concept has been picked up for development by Super Deluxe (owned by Turner Broadcasting, which in turn is owned by Time Warner). While Super Deluxe is best known for producing online short-form series, it is hoping to make Silver Foxes for a cable network or streaming platform.
While it was originally said the show was about four older gay men in a senior living facility, Variety reports the current version focuses on ‘two older gay men and one twink (their buddy’s young lover) that rescue a friend who’s been forced-back-in-the-closet at his homophobic assisted living facility. After they bring him back to their mid-century Palm Springs house, the foursome creates a fabulous family of friends.’
Zimmerman and Berg were ‘inspired to make the show after seeing the documentary “Gen Silent,” which explores the lives of LGBTQ seniors navigating discrimination in nursing homes’. Silver Foxes is still fairly early in development, so there’s no news on when, or if, we’ll ever see it.