TV Reboots You Didn't Know Were Being Made
For several years, reboots have been all the rage in Hollywood, and we've got plenty of recent proof — like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Mad Max: Fury Road, and the new-look Star Trek franchise raking in huge amounts of cash at the box office. Television producers haven't been blind to this trend, and a number of reboots and revivals have also made their way into the primetime lineup and various streaming services over the last few years. You may be familiar with some of the recent offerings, like MacGyver, The Powerpuff Girls, or the new Roseanne revival, but there are even more on the horizon. We've peered into the future of television, and a lot of it looks pretty darn familiar. To help you keep track of what's headed your way over the airwaves, here's an in-depth look at some of the most interesting upcoming TV reboots you didn't know were in the works right now — or maybe even already available to watch.
Bug Juice
If you were too young during the late-'90s heyday of reality TV to watch shows like The Real World, you might have ended up watching Bug Juice instead. Produced by the Disney Channel, Bug Juice was a family-friendly reality series that focused on the lives of 20 kids from around the country who are brought together for a summer of fun and new experiences at camp. It premiered in 1998 and ran for three seasons. However, after its cancellation in 2001, the show continued to gain new fans through regular reruns on the Disney Channel.
In August 2017, Disney announced that it was reviving the series with a planned premiere in early 2018. Many of the original Bug Juice crew will be returning for the new show, including executive producers Douglas Ross and Alex Baskin. The new Bug Juice will feature kids aged 10-12 and will take place at Camp Waziyatah in Maine—the site of the first season of the original series.
Miami Vice
From 1984 to 1989, the NBC crime drama Miami Vice practically ruled the airwaves. Starring Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two undercover detectives with the Metro-Dade Police Department, Miami Vice soared to the top of the ratings for its unique take on the police procedural drama. The New Wave art-inspired look and rock-music sound of the series set it apart from other cop shows of the era, as did the focus on drug-trafficking and prostitution. Miami Vice racked up an impressive fifteen Emmy nominations and four wins for its first season. After its cancellation in 1989, the popular show lived on in reruns and via a 2006 film adaptation.
In August 2017, NBC announced that it was developing a reboot of Miami Vice in conjunction with production companies headed by Vin Diesel and Chris Morgan of The Fast and the Furious franchise. While no cast or official premiere date has been announced, it seems unlikely that NBC would shut the door on a show that did so well for them the first time around.
Magnum, P.I.
Along with Miami Vice, Magnum, P.I. was one of the top crime-drama shows of the 1980s. It aired on CBS for eight seasons, from 1980 to 1988. The show starred Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a military veteran who uses his unique skills to set himself up in Hawaii with a new career as a private investigator. The show collected plenty of hardware during its eight-year run, including 19 Emmy nominations and two wins.
Although rival network ABC tried to develop a Magnum, P.I. sequel series in 2016, starring Eva Longoria as Magnum's now-adult daughter, their project never got off the ground. In 2017, CBS reclaimed their once-successful show by announcing they were developing a complete reboot of the series. The rebooted series will follow a premise very similar to the original, but updated for the present. Like in the original series, Magnum will be an ex-Navy SEAL and intelligence officer, but while the original Thomas Magnum was a Vietnam vet, his modern incarnation (played by Jay Hernandez, with Perdita Weeks co-starring as a gender-swapped Higgins) will be newly returned from a tour in Afghanistan. A premiere date hasn't been set just yet, CBS, however, has committed to a new Magnum, P.I. pilot.
The Munsters
While the '60s sitcom The Munsters only ran for two seasons initially, it later found a large following through years of reruns and numerous follow-up films. Like the similarly themed The Addams Family, the show was an amalgam of traditional monster movies and family friendly sitcoms. The Munster family lives in Mockingbird Heights, a fictional suburb in California. Other than their monstrous appearance, The Munsters was a typical family sitcom in the vein of My Three Sons and Leave it to Beaver. Despite it's silly and slapstick nature, The Munsters also broke new ground: it was the first American TV series to depict a husband and wife sleeping in the same bed. After its cancellation in 1966, The Munsters went on to spawn five different movies and also a sequel series, The Munsters Today.
While the show originally aired on CBS, the distribution rights now belong to NBC—who unsuccessfully tried to launch a reboot of the series in 2012. The failed pilot for Mockingbird Lane—starring Jerry O'Connell and Portia de Rossi—aired as a Halloween special but was not picked up for further development by the network. It seems that NBC wasn't ready to completely throw in the towel, though. In 2017, the network announced that a new reboot of The Munsters was in the works in conjunction with comedian Seth Meyers and Universal Television. The reboot will update the series for today, transplanting America's "First Family of Fright" from their old California suburb into the hipster playground of Brooklyn, New York.
The Jetsons
In the category of "Does this really need a reboot?," ABC announced in August 2017 that they are working on a live-action reboot of the classic 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Jetsons. Like the original series—which premiered on ABC in 1962—the reboot will be set 100 years in the future and follow the exploits of George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, and Jane, his wife. Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) will executive-produce the reboot, which will be written by Gary Janetti (Will & Grace, Family Guy). ABC hasn't announced a premiere date yet, but because they've committed to give the show a pilot, audiences are all but guaranteed to get their first look at this new live-action Jetsons series sooner or later.
The Twilight Zone
Rod Serling's classic 1959 anthology series The Twilight Zone has gone on to become one of the most beloved TV shows of all time. Over the years, it has spawned numerous revivals, a movie, and other adaptations. Despite the large amount of Twilight Zone material already available out there, CBS is moving ahead with a reboot of the classic series. The network announced in November 2017 they were developing a new version of The Twilight Zone in conjunction with comedian and Get Out director Jordan Peele.
CBS is planning to have Zone join shows like Star Trek: Discovery on their All-Access digital platform, but audiences might see it pop up on the network, which is where Discovery premiered.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Hold onto your butts, rom-com fans: a reboot of the 1994 British blockbuster Four Weddings and a Funeral is reportedly in the works with streaming service Hulu. The original movie was an unexpected breakout success, earning nearly $250 million worldwide on just a $3 million budget and racking up dozens of award nominations and wins after its theatrical premiere.
According to their announcement, Hulu is working with original Four Weddings screenwriter Richard Curtis and MGM TV to develop an hour-long anthology series based on the film. The Mindy Project star Mindy Kaling is attached to executive produce, but a number of other people involved in the original movie's production have been brought on board with her. With these key figures and MGM TV involved, the prospects for a Four Weddings and a Funeral reboot actually making it are looking pretty good. MGM TV has previously created two other successful television reboots based on films—Fargo and Get Shorty. According to Deadline, Hulu could possibly make a straight-to-series order on the project in early 2018.
The Dark Crystal
It's been well over three decades since Jim Henson and Frank Oz brought The Dark Crystal to the big screen. The entertainment landscape may have changed exponentially since 1982, but there's still fertile ground to be explored throughout this practical puppet-filled world — something Netflix has acknowledged by ordering a prequel series titled The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
For those unfamiliar, the original film told the tale of Thra, a dying world filled with a variety of fantastical creatures. As Nerdist explains, after the titular crystal cracked, a conflict was sparked between two races — the frightening Skeksis, who depend on the crystal's power to survive, and a kinder, gentler sect of wizards known as the Mystics. The story centered on a pair of small creatures known as Gelflings, journeying across Thra with the Dark Crystal's final shard in a last-ditch effort to thwart the Skeksis once and for all.
According to Deadline, the new 10-episode program "takes place many years before the events of the film." The U.K. production kicked off in the fall of 2017 and will feature a new assortment of creatures courtesy of and Brian Froud, the conceptual designer for the original Dark Crystal.
Animaniacs
The adventures of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot are about to kick off once more as a new and improved Animaniacs is on its way to Hulu. In January of 2018, Variety reported two exciting bits of news involving the animated series: First, Hulu and Warner Bros. Domestic Television inked a deal to bring all 99 episodes of the original series to the platform, in addition to its spinoffs Pinky and the Brain, and Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain — plus the complete Tiny Toon Adventures.
As icing on the proverbial cake, Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment has also struck a deal with Hulu and Warner Bros. Animation to bring new episodes of Animaniacs to television. The planned reboot is set to premiere on the service in 2020, with Spielberg listed as executive producer and Family Guy's Wellesly Wild — a frequent collaborate of Seth MacFarlane's — taking on showrunner duties.
"I am so pleased and proud that Animaniacs will have a home at Hulu," Spielberg said in a statement, via Variety. "Together with Warner Bros., we look to bring new audiences and longtime fans into this wild world of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. I am also excited that the full library of Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures episodes are included in the deal."
Roswell
The CW is moving forward with a reboot of sci-fi drama Roswell. The series initially ran for three seasons before the WB and UPN merged to form the CW Network, and the cast of the original series featured now-recognizable names like Shiri Appleby (UnREAL), Katherin Heigl (Doubt), Brendan Fehr (The Night Shift), and Colin Hanks (Life in Pieces). According to Deadline, there will be an immigrant twist in this new adaptation of Melinda Metz' Roswell High book series. Grey's Anatomy star — and Season 5 winner of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance — Jeanine Mason has been tapped to star.
If you needed more info on the series, you're in luck! Here's the official logline for the new Roswell: "After reluctantly returning to her tourist-trap hometown of Roswell, New Mexico, the daughter of undocumented immigrants discovers a shocking truth about her teenage crush who is now a police officer: He's an alien who has kept his unearthly abilities hidden his entire life. She protects his secret as the two reconnect and begin to investigate his origins, but when a violent attack and long-standing government cover-up point to a greater alien presence on Earth, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose him and destroy their deepening romance."
The Greatest American Hero
More than 35 years after The Greatest American Hero went off the air, ABC is rebooting the series with some welcome and diverse flair. The original program aired from 1981 to 1983 and told the story of substitute teacher Ralph Hinkley (played by William Katt) who, on a random field trip, is given a super-powered suit by a group of aliens. The invaders instruct him to team up with FBI Special Agent Bill Maxwell (played by Robert Culp) to fight crime and deliver justice wherever it's needed; unfortunately, Hinkley loses the instruction manual for the suit, leaving him at a distinctly klutzy disadvantage when duty calls.
The Stephen J. Cannell-created series flipped the superhero genre on its head, and the reboot will also follow an unlikely hero as they are given an all-powerful suit to patrol the planet. The original hourlong format will be replaced by a half-hour comedy, and New Girl's Hannah Simone will star as Meera, the hero in question. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, she's "a 30-year-old Indian-American woman from Cleveland, Ohio, whose talents include drinking tequila, singing karaoke and not much else." Believe it or not, we're walking on air ...
The Greatest American Hero has been in development for some time, with a previous collaboration with Phil Lord and Chris Miller falling through. But this new reboot feels like a recipe for success. The project reunites Fresh Off the Boat writer Rachna Fruchbom with the comedy's creator Nahnatchka Khan, who will executive produce.
Party of Five
In early 2018, Freeform placed an order for a new Party of Five. The original 1990s series starred Scott Wolf (Perception, The Night Shift), Matthew Fox (Lost, Bone Tomahawk), Neve Campbell (Scream, House of Cards) and Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls, Voltron), as the Salingers, a group of siblings struggling to make it after the tragic deaths of their parents.
The show will have a similar character dynamic, but with a new immigration twist; as Deadline reports, the new Five "will follow the five Buendias children as they navigate daily life struggles to survive as a family unit after their parents are suddenly deported back to Mexico." With growing scrutiny on America's treatment of immigrants, Party of Five is just one of many TV shows currently exploring the subject.
Much like Netflix's One Day at a Time reboot, Party of Five not only features a Latin-American family at its center, it hails from the original series' creators. Christopher Keyser (Lone Star, Tyrant) and Amy Lippman (In Treatment, Masters of Sex) are behind the new Freeform project.
Bad Boys
While audiences continue to wait to see whether Martin Lawrence and Will Smith will suit up for another Bad Boys movie, NBC has placed their bets on a spinoff series titled L.A.'s Finest. In 2017, Deadline broke the news that Gabrielle Union would reprise her role as Special Agent Sydney "Syd" Burnett, Detective Lieutenant Marcus Burnett's (Lawrence) sister who was romantically involved with his partner, Detective Lieutenant Mike Lowrey (Smith). More importantly, Sydney is a formidable DEA agent. Not for nothing, but it's about time she took charge.
As Sydney Burnett makes her move to the L.A.P.D., she'll be joined by another familiar face: Jessica Alba, who'll co-star as Burnett's partner Nancy McKenna in addition to executive producing the series, according to Variety. An Army vet, McKenna grew frustrated by regulations preventing women in combat and joined the military police; now, in addition to her career as a civilian detective, she's helping raise a pair of stepchildren with her husband. Does this mean Mike or Marcus will make an appearance in the new NBC procedural? Anything is possible.
Amazing Stories
Apple has been rather secretive regarding the TV projects they've been cultivating over the past few years, but it's clear they are gearing up to compete against streaming heavy hitters like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. One item in particular sparked a lot of interest when it was announced in 2017: Steven Spielberg and Bryan Fuller are joining forces to resurrect Spielberg's '80s sci-fi anthology series Amazing Stories.
With Black Mirror setting a new anthology series benchmark and Jordan Peele bringing a new Twilight Zone to CBS All Access, this move makes complete sense — plus, in its original two-season run, the show was widely acclaimed, winning five Emmys against a dozen nominations. Those accolades were accompanied by an array of top-notch filmmakers behind the camera, including Joe Dante (Gremlins, Innerspace), Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Sully) Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, The Wolf of Wall Street), Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Cast Away) Brad Bird (Ratatouille, The Incredibles), and Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist).
According to an update at Variety, Bryan Fuller is no longer working on the project. It's uncertain as to what the new Amazing Stories will offer audiences, but the expectations remain high.
L.A. Confidential
CBS is getting into the cop noir game with a new small-screen adaptation of James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential. Variety reports that the updated modern-day take on the film — which starred Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pierce, James Cromwell, and Kim Basinger — will, like the '50s-set original, observe the intersections of police, the press, and the seedy side of the film industry in Los Angeles.
The gist of the show sounds similar enough to the 1997 film to keep the audience interested, but CBS is also investing in some top notch actors to bring the story to life. Walton Goggins will play Jack Vincennes — the stylish detective originally played by Spacey — who's described as "all swagger and flash," with a "movie star smile," and Sense8's Brian J. Smith will step into the bookish Ed Exley role, originally played by Guy Pearce. From the sound of things, Ed's authoritative voice will be the narrative component driving the story forward.
While L.A. Confidential doesn't sound like the type of programming CBS has flocked to in recent years, the cast and style of the piece seems likely to bring in fans of all ages.
Snowpiercer
Bong Joon Ho's Snowpiercer took audiences by surprise in 2013 with a post-apocalyptic tale unlike anything moviegoers had seen in quite some time — if ever. Chris Evans took a break from his Captain America duties to lead the charge along with supporting players Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris, John Hurt, and Octavia Spencer, all in service of a story exploring the struggles of passengers on a post-apocalyptic train circling the globe as a brutal class system emerges on board — and chaos inevitably ensues.
TNT picked up the Snowpiercer series, with Hamilton's Daveed Diggs and Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly on board to star. Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange) stepped behind the camera to direct the pilot, and — straight off his five-year stint as co-creator of BBC America's Orphan Black — Graeme Manson joined the project, replacing Josh Friedman as the showrunner for the dystopian series. A premiere date has yet to be announced, but rave reviews seem as inevitable as a train barreling down the tracks.
Starsky & Hutch
Nowadays, when most audiences think of Starsky & Hutch, images of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson hamming it up on the big screen may come to mind. Amazon is aiming to change that with their reboot of the '70s cop series that inspired Stiller/Wilson film. In 2017, Variety reported that the streaming platform had teamed up with James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) to bring an updated take on the buddy cop show to life.
The original Starsky & Hutch aired on ABC from 1975 to 1979, focusing on the adventures of Detectives David Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson (David Soul) as they fought crime in a fictional town known as Bay City. Memorably, the program also featured an informant by the name of Huggy Bear (played by Antonio Fargas).
"When I was a kid, Starsky & Hutch was the first 'adult' show I ever saw, and I fell in love," Gunn explained. "It instilled in me a lifelong love of gritty street shows, of killer '70s threads, and muscle cars. So when Neal Mortiz asked me if I wanted to be a part of an all new 'Starsky & Hutch' on TV, I was instantly intrigued." Amazon's hoping that Gunn's intrigue will add up to big ratings, and that seems like a pretty safe bet.