EXCLUSIVE: Lena Dunham 'Kicking Herself for Adam Driver Takedown' as He 'Won't Be Joining Girls Reunion'
Adam Driver will not be joining Lena Dunham on the 'Girls' revival.
Oct. 17 2026, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Lena Dunham is facing renewed scrutiny over her recent criticism of Adam Driver as she prepares to resurrect Girls, which originally ran from 2012 to 2017.
Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Andrew Rannells will return alongside Dunham, but sources told us Driver, 42, who portrayed Hannah Horvath's complicated boyfriend Adam Sackler, will be absent from the upcoming shows.
Lena Dunham Revives 'Girls' Without Adam Driver
Dunham announced a five-episode HBO revival of her hit series 'Girls.'
The reunion follows Dunham's recent memoir, in which she made accusations concerning Driver about their relationship during the original production, saying he threw tantrums on set.
Dunham's decision to revisit Girls comes nearly a decade after its conclusion, with the original characters now confronting middle age rather than the uncertainty of their twenties.
She said: "We always said we would only return to Girls if there was a specific story we were burning to tell."
Dunham added: "I've missed these characters, but for a long time I couldn't quite picture them in the present day. Then, right around my 40th birthday, they started talking to me in the shower. And, as you may remember, once this fivesome starts talking, it's pretty hard to get them to stop… ."
The original series followed four young women navigating friendships, relationships and careers in New York City, establishing Dunham as one of television's most revered creative voices.
Driver's portrayal of Adam became one of its defining performances. Production on the new shows is scheduled to begin next year, with Dunham returning as creator, showrunner and star.
She noted: "It's rare that you get the chance to return to something that changed your life with the gift of hindsight and a whole new level of gratitude and understanding."
Amy Gravitt, HBO's executive vice president and head of comedy programming, welcomed the opportunity to revisit the characters.
"We're thrilled to have Lena turn her gaze from the tumult of one's twenties to the milestone of turning 40," Gravitt noted.
Turning 40 Inspires 'Girls' Comeback
Dunham accused Driver of explosive outbursts during 'Girls' filming.
Dunham has also addressed her changing perspective in a Substack reflection explaining why she reconsidered bringing back the series.
She wrote: "It felt so recent and so big, like a glacier we were sailing away from."
Reflecting on turning 40, Dunham described the distance between her expectations of adulthood and the reality of her life.
"Maybe there was once a part of me that wanted to outrun Hannah and her ladies," Dunham noted. "Seeing the love you've so generously shared for it helped to turn me around."
Memoir Details Alleged Adam Driver Outbursts
Dunham alleged Driver threw a chair against a wall during rehearsals.
Dunham's accusations against Driver in her 2026 memoir, Famesick, went further than suggestions of an uncomfortable working relationship.
The actress alleged Driver behaved aggressively during the filming of Girls, including allegedly screaming at her when she forgot her lines and throwing a chair against a wall beside her during rehearsals.
She also alleged Driver disregarded her carefully planned directions during their first s-x scene, physically moving her around in ways she had not anticipated.
Dunham described feeling confused and uncertain about whether she had lost control of the scene as its director.
Dunham also alleged Driver once punched a hole in his trailer wall because he disliked his haircut, and that they frequently argued despite sharing an intense creative connection.
Adam Driver's Absence Raises Reunion Questions
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Insiders questioned whether the revival could succeed without Driver's character.
A TV source exclusively told Radar: "The timing of all this is potentially very awkward for Lena. She's finally bringing back the show that made her famous, but the announcement has immediately revived questions about what she wrote concerning Adam. Instead of everyone talking exclusively about the reunion, there's now this enormous elephant in the room.
"Adam wasn't some peripheral character who appeared for a couple of episodes. He was central to the show's identity, and his relationship with Hannah was one of the reasons audiences became so invested in it. Bringing almost everyone else back without him, as he almost certainly will not be in the new shows, inevitably raises questions about whether the revival can recapture the original chemistry.
"The really complicated thing is that Lena's memoir painted an extraordinarily intense picture of their relationship. She described behavior she found intimidating, but also acknowledged an emotional connection that went far beyond an ordinary professional friendship."
They noted, "What makes the situation especially interesting is that Lena has spoken about returning to Girls with the benefit of hindsight, greater maturity and a different understanding of her younger self. Her memoir demonstrates just how complicated that earlier period was, particularly where Adam was concerned.
"The reunion is supposed to be about revisiting these characters a decade later and discovering how they've changed. But inevitably, some of the attention will focus on the real-life relationships between the actors and whether those have changed just as dramatically.
"Adam has become an enormously successful Hollywood actor since Girls ended, so his participation was never something anyone could automatically assume. Nevertheless, his absence will be conspicuous because audiences remember just how important he was to Hannah's story."
