Tracee Ellis Ross teams up with Regina King and more for all-Black 'Golden Girls' rendition
Tracee Ellis Ross has had a busy year, and she just added one more gig to her plate.
The "Black-ish" star posted a video on Instagram Sunday which included a photo of the "Golden Girls" cast morphing into a photoshopped version featuring Ross' face in place of Betty White's, along with actresses Regina King, Sanaa Lathan and Alfree Woodard in place of Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan. and Estelle Getty.
Ellis Ross prompted fans to look at the link in her Instagram bio, which leads to a virtual event page titled "Zoom Where It Happens".
Screenwriter and producer Lena Waithe hosted a rendition and live table read of "Golden Girls" with a reimagined, all-Black cast starring Ross, King, Lathan and Woodard on Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET.
The production team for the series included Hollywood power players Tessa Thompson, Ryan Bathe, Karen Richardson, Kerry Washington, Rashida Jones, Stefanie and Quentin James, Channing Dungey, Issa Rae, Latanya Richardson, Aisha Hinds, Cynthia Erivo and Ava DuVernay.
"In an effort to further engage our community and drive change, all you need to do to enjoy this evening is sign up to receive messages about how you can make a change during this election," the website states.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and produced by Emmy nominee Stephanie Allai, the first episode is in partnership with Zoom Video Communications and supports nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization Color of Change.
"'Zoom Where It Happens,' is an opportunity to bring people together for joyful, entertaining cultural gatherings that also work to support action-oriented organizations that are uplifting communities by registering voters and increasing civic engagement," said Ellis Ross in a statement.
For the debut premiere, King assumed the role of Dorothy, Ellis Ross played Rose, Woodard portrayed Sophia and Lathan starred as Blanche in a remake of the classic episode "The Flu."
Many fans of the first episode offered praises on Twitter. "Proud of these ladies! The wigs! The accents! The costumes! Good vibes," DuVernay tweeted.
Over 100,00 people registered to view the table read, and 50,000 were able to get in due to Zoom's maximum amount of participants allowed.
"When you combine cutting edge technology and some of the most creative minds in entertainment, incredible things happen," said Janine Pelosi, CMO for Zoom in statement. "It is an honor to partner with this dynamic group of artists on this nostalgic series with bold intention."
Future episodes for "Zoom Where It Happens" will be announced to fans who continue to follow the hashtag #zoomwhereithappens.
Editor's Note: This story originally posted on August 27, 2020.
