First Wives Club reboot will feature a 'version' of 'You Don't Own Me' number

The classic 1996 revenge comedy starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton gets a modern television remake courtesy of Girls Trip writer Tracy Oliver and actresses Jill Scott, Michelle Buteau, and Ryan Michelle Bathe. “I don’t think that all movies necessarily lend themselves to remakes and reboots and TV shows,” admits Oliver. “But, at the core of this one, it was just all about women and women finding their voice and their place. That’s something that’s timeless and something we could definitely use in 2019.”

After singer Hazel (Scott) finds herself embroiled in a cheating scandal, her former college best-ies, surgeon Bree (Buteau) and lawyer Ari (Bathe), come to her aid. “In the process of helping her get through it, they realize they’re also dealing with issues in their own marriages,” says Oliver. Naturally, the trio plot revenge. Oliver, an unabashed devotee of the film, says Club stans shouldn’t be worried. “I thought the fun of the movie was all of the broad high jinks and adventures they got into, so I definitely kept that stuff,” admits the writer, who teases that even the film’s window-washer-trolley gag pops up. “You’re tuning in to watch these women outmaneuver these men and have some fun, so that’s there.”

Oliver says viewers can expect a new “version” of the film’s iconic “You Don’t Own Me” number, as well as other Easter eggs: “If you’re a real fan of the movie, you’ll catch every single reference in there.”

The new First Wives Club will debut in 2019 on BET.

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