by Herbie J Pilato
The Golden Girls: Ageless is the title of the Reelz Channel’s new documentary on the classic 1980s sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1985 to 1992.
As refreshingly frank and entertaining as one of Bea Arthur’s Dorothy Zbornak’s comedic zingers on the show it profiles, Ageless [which airs Saturday night, March 13th at 8:00 PM (PST) on Reelz), delivers a wallop of goods and pulls no punches.
Starring with Arthur on the original series (which inspired a failed Golden Palace sequel without the actress) was Rue McLanahan as the man-hungry Blanche Devereaux, Betty White as the daffy but adorable Rose Nylund, and Estelle Getty as the deftly-played Sophia Petrillo, Arthur’s scene-stealing, filterless on-screen mom. Each actress won an Emmy for their respective role, and those responsible for this seamless production of Ageless should do the same.
A winning combination of Golden coverage, Ageless hits its stride right out of the gate. With winning narration provided by actress Valerie Bertinelli, White’s later co-star on TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland hit ( 2010–2015), Ageless voices all the pertinent points of what keeps the senior-geared-sitcom so retro-active and relative today….
Writer/producer Herbie J Pilato is the host of the TV talk show THEN AGAIN WITH HERBIE J PILATO, (returning for its next season on Amazon Prime) and the author of several pop-culture/media tie-in books. He has been part of TVWriter™ for over 20 years and is Contributing Editor Emeritus. Learn more about Herbie J HERE