I'm a sucker for a behind-the-scenes story about working in TV and movies. Stan Zimmerman has the inside track on working on some of the most iconic shows of the last 30 years (we won't mention Roseanne anymore, eek). I'm a huge fan of the Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls (even if the former has aged better than the latter) so this scratched my itch.

I wanted to love this. I wanted more Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls, but I was vastly disappointed in all of this. While his work shouldn't be dismissed or diminished, this books title is very deceiving. Reader be warned, I guess, he only worked on each show for one season. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the chance to review this book.

All I have to say, is that I wanted to read this solely because Gilmore Girls was mentioned in the title. Yeah, I know, I am 'that' person, but seriously, who wasn't addicted to Gilmore Girls? I had no clue who Stan was until reading this book, but man, am I glad he is around.

Thanks Stan for helping create some of the most beloved shows, characters, and somehow having the best cast on every single one of those shows.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting read as a fan of Gilmore Girls. Many things I didn't know, and some I did, but a fun read about overcoming odds.

Stan Zimmerman dreamed about becoming an actor but instead help bring some of the best television shows to the world. The Roseanne Show , Golden Girls and The Gilmore Girls , fans of all ages will enjoy this novel . The writing is fun and easy to read . I couldn’t to put it down .


I just reviewed The Girls by Stan Zimmerman. #TheGirls #NetGalley

Overall I enjoyed this book. Stan Zimmerman shares lots of behind the scenes information about his time working in the television and entertainment industry. The toxic work environments were aplenty and Zimmerman has countless examples from the various shows he wrote for during his career. There was a lot of name dropping and some of them I didn't recognize due to my age (I'm a millennial). I was drawn to this book because I have friends who love The Golden Girls and I personally love Gilmore Girls. I was surprised to learn what a strange environment was created for the writers on Gilmore Girls since the show is so creative and has such excellent dialogue. I think this book is great for anyone who enjoys entertainment or Hollywood memoirs

I enjoyed this behind the scenes look into the life and career of Stan Zimmerman. His anecdotes provide an entertaining look into the world of television, film and theater. Despite the title, this book is less focused on his time with the Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls (he only wrote for each show for one season), and more on his career as a whole. The narrative was a bit slow in places, bogged down by the minutiae of getting different shows casted or off the ground, but overall this is an enjoyable read for those interested in the entertainment business. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I absolutely adored this book! I am a sucker for any Hollywood behind the scenes accounts so this book was right up my alley. Add in that Stan Zimmerman was recounting his experiences on some of my favorite shows and movies? Count, Me. In!

From fun tidbits like how RuPaul ended up in the Brady Bunch movies to more heartfelt stories about his upbringing and friendships as a gay man, this book has it all.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Autobiography from Stan Zimmerman, writer, producer, &/or director on many well-known TV shows such as The Golden Girls, The Gilmore Girls, & Roseanne, plus films such as The Brady Bunch reboot. Zimmerman takes us from his early beginnings as a young Jewish boy who wanted to be famous, through his writing partnership with Jim Berg, to the present day & the touching last chapter where he deals with the loss of his mother.

This seemed to be a very quick read, & I think that was down to the tone of the book. It felt as if the author was there having a friendly conversation with the reader. I must say that the TV business is brutal: the fact that so much preparation work is put into writing & producing a new show & it can all just be cancelled at a moment's notice. Tough business! It did feel quite surface level though until that last chapter. I really enjoyed reading it though & would recommend it to anyone who likes autobiographies from 'behind the scenes'. 3.5 stars (rounded up)

Great book


Top storyline and every bit of this article was well crafted, the author has my 5 star reviews, yeah....

Autobiographies are not usually my bag but this was refreshing, waspish, funny and enough names dropped and behind the scenes of some of my favourite shows to keep me hooked.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 35%

I thought this would have been an interesting look behind the scenes of some great tv shows as well as recounting his experience of being a young gay man in that time and place when so many were closeted.

While his struggles we mentioned, it felt really glossed over and the focus was on name dropping a different celebrity every paragraph which got boring fast.

Here we have an quite interesting book about Stan Zimmerman who has written a few episode of The Golden and Gilmore Girls but also other shows and a few tv movies. He has also been an consulting producer for 22 episodes of Gilmore Girls.

It was a bit interesting to read about his life both before and after he was famous but be aware that this is not a full hands on biography.

As a lover of all things Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls, I couldn't miss reading this memoir. I'm familiar with Stan Zimmerman as he's been involved with so many of my favorite shows over the years, but I can't honestly say I've really seen or read much about writers of shows, and in particular Mr. Zimmerman. Even though writers are really the heart and soul of the television and movie screens, creating the feelings and favorite moments of so many fans, I realize they are the silent masters in the background. It was very exciting and eye opening to see how much work went into creating scripts and character development for shows that would never see the screen and those that did have their moment in time. The resilience of writers is amazing when you consider how many "no's" they hear to the number of "yes's" they get in the end. I'm glad that Stan and his partner and team continued to push forward or we wouldn't have so many of the popular shows that we turn to over and over. Shows and theater elicit the excitement of the first time experience and also bring us nostalgia and good feelings in the rewatching and rediscovering of our favorite moments and lovable characters. If you're a fan of television shows, writing as a craft, and reading about one popular person who has left his mark on our lives, I recommend this book. Written in a style that flows as if you're one of Stan's good friends, reading from his journal entries, and experiencing his thoughts and feelings as things happen, this is a quick and easy read with a glimmer of Hollywood life.

I love books from and about sitcom writers. Stan Zimmerman´s "The Girls - From Golden to Gilmore" is a breezy read, touching on the shows we worked on as a writer and producer (often with his partner Jim Berg). Fans of "The Golden Girls", "Gilmore Girls" and "Roseanne" will get a glimpse behind the scenes. He does not throw a lot of dirt around, though, most of the people he met he shows in a positive light.
You get glimpses of people like Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, Roseanne Arnold, Amy Sherman-Palladino among lots of other women - Stan as a gay man seems to have bonded with a lot of them. Again, not a tell-all bio but a breeze through several decades of sitcomes, movies and LA theatre.
For me, the book could have easily been a little bit longer but what´s there is a fun read.

NetGalley provided me with an arc for this.

Autobiography from Stan Zimmerman, writer, producer, &/or director on many well-known TV shows such as The Golden Girls, The Gilmore Girls, & Roseanne, plus films such as The Brady Bunch reboot. Zimmerman takes us from his early beginnings as a young Jewish boy who wanted to be famous, through his writing partnership with Jim Berg, to the present day & the touching last chapter where he deals with the loss of his mother.

This seemed to be a very quick read, & I think that was down to the tone of the book. It felt as if the author was there having a friendly conversation with the reader. I must say that the TV business is brutal: the fact that so much preparation work is put into writing & producing a new show & it can all just be cancelled at a moment's notice. Tough business! It did feel quite surface level though until that last chapter. I really enjoyed reading it though & would recommend it to anyone who likes autobiographies from 'behind the scenes'. 3.5 stars (rounded up)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Indigo River Publishing, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Who is the intended audience for this book? Maybe other writers? I found it boring and wondered why someone who was barely successful was even offered to write this book. In fact, the titles is very misleading. He only wrote three Golden Girls shows and 2 Gilmore Gurls. This is not impressive. Got real tired of all the name dropping as well.
However, the parts dealing with his mother were very good.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #TheGirls for advanced digital copy.

I really loved getting these behind the scene scoops. The book was funny, interesting and occasionally, even put some tears in my eyes. It was such an interesting read to see how Zimmerman went from a wannabe actor to something different but also something bigger. I'd definitely suggest this book to those who like pop culture.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The author of this book, a writer on many different TV shows, definitely gives a lot of dirt about the shows he worked on. I enjoyed reading about it.

Stan Zimmerman is such a funny writer (my all-time favorite episode of The Golden Girls is the first one he and his writing partner, Jim Berg, wrote: "Blanche and the Younger Man," AKA "Rose's Mother"), but this memoir didn't contain much humor. It also lacked introspection and reflection. It contains several journal entries, which lend to a feeling of "this happened, then this happened, then this happened," so we just end up reading a sequence of events rather than a story about Zimmerman's life. Some of the behind-the-scenes stuff about how networks operate and the details of writers' rooms is really interesting, but I guess I expected more out of such a strong comedy writer. This is simplistic, barebones stuff.

Also? I wanted a chapter on Silver Foxes! Why did that show never happen?!