7 TV Show Reboots That Should Happen And 6 That Would Suck
Some are talking about 2017 as the year of the reboot. 24 came back, Prison Break came back. Charmed, Arrested Development, Will & Grace and Roseanne among others are all reported to be in the making. Which new reboot are we going to hear about next? I mean, I'm not complaining, some really good shows are coming back on the air. So, I thought I'd put together a list of some shows I'd really like to see a reboot of and others I'll be happy to never ever see again.
Every show has its loyal fans that will go crazy at the idea of a reboot of their favorite show. But some shows had to come to an end. And bringing them back could ruin our memory of the show at its peak. So, reboots are always a risk, but not always worth taking this risk. Reboots are inevitably going to be compared to the original - look at how fans picked apart the Gillmore Girls revival despite all of that anticipation.
Let's see if you agree with the shows that I would like to leave behind and the ones I think would be major successes if they ever came back to our TV screens:
13 Friends - Yes
We're as passionate about a Friends reboot as Joey Tribbiani is about sandwiches. It's thirteen years since the end of the show and we have never stopped wanting more. The spin-off Joey didn't work so I feel like we're owed something. But, in a TV interview Jennifer Anniston explained why a reboot would never work:
“I think why people have such an affection for it is because, even though it was only 12 years ago when it ended - or 13, it's getting father and father away - there was something about a time where our faces weren't shoved into cell phones and we weren't checking Facebook and Instagram,” she said.
“We were in a room together or in a coffee shop together and we were talking, having conversations,” she continued. “We've lost that.”
She might be right. The advent of social media would change the dynamic of the show. But we still want it.
12 Sex and the City - No
SatC was a legendary show while it was on the air (1998 - 2004), and still amazing for those of us who watched the re-runs a few years later because we were too young to watch when it was first on. Sex and the City, however, proves that you can indeed have too much of a good thing. The first movie was released in 2008 and it was good, it tied up a few loose ends for us. But the second movie, released in 2010, bombed. It was terrible, trying too hard and offensive. That's where everyone involved probably got a little too greedy and decided to make another movie to make more cash rather than retaining the integrity of the story lines. Here's hoping Sex and the City doesn't make that mistake again. Though fans believe that Kim Cattrall may have hinted at a spin-off series being in the works last year…
11 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - Yes
Will Smith has gone on to be a household name since he played the goofball teen on Fresh Prince. The show ended in 1996! (Doesn't that make you feel old?) Nevertheless, its popularity will live on, people are buzzing whenever Will does the rap on talk shows and the Carlton dance is a mega gif. It would be really cool to see where the characters are all grown-up. In 2015 there were rumors of a reboot being on the cards and fans were like yayyy. But when Will Smith was doing press for Suicide Squad a year later, an interviewer asked him when there would be a reboot and Smith replied, “I don't think ever-like, pretty close to when Hell freezes over. Pretty close, like, we're gonna leave that one alone.” Damn it!
10 The O.C. - No
Do you guys remember The O.C.? It was on TV when I was a teenager and it was all anybody could talk about at school. The characters like Seth and Summer and Ryan and Marissa were so popular at the time, it's weird to think that the actors who played the parts haven't really done much since then. Anyway, there couldn't be a continuation of the story because all of the story arcs were wrapped up by the end of the show in 2007. And I don't know about you but I just don't think it would work now. I think the kids these days are watching shows that are a lot darker like Pretty Little Liars, Skinsor 13 Reasons Why. Either that or they want some sort of vampire or superhero involved. There was that Spider-Man kiss in The O.C. but that doesn't really count.
9 Sabrina, The Teenage Witch - Yes
It wasn't that long ago that an image of a poster for a Sabrina, the Teenage Witch reboot went viral and fans were insanely excited before it turned out to be a fake. Many of us grew up with the show after all. So it's that kind of demand that makes me think they would put a lot of effort into it. After the whole reboot prank, Melissa Joan Hart who played Sabrina said of the idea, "It would have to be creatively really brilliant. It would have to be a new take on it, because otherwise - there's no point in going backwards. I like moving forwards." It turns out that that might actually happen as rumors are circling that the Sabrina character may appear on Netflix show Riverdale seeing as Sabrina is actually an Archie comic character. How exciting!
8 Desperate Housewives - No
Desperate Housewives was brilliant when it first came out in 2004, it had a Stepford Wives vibe and it was showing us the cracks behind a perfect exterior - that's the kind of stuff we want to see. But am I the only one that gave up on watching the show? I can't even remember what season I got up to, but after a while I just got bored. The show ran for eight seasons altogether until it ended in 2012. They dragged the show out, so it would not make a good reboot. Perhaps like Sex and the City, it was another of those instances where you just have too much of a good thing. It doesn't look like a reboot is on the cards. In an interview with Fox News, Eva Longoria said she would love to reprise her role as Gabby and she even reached out to the show creator to ask about it, "I'm like, 'Everybody keeps asking me if we're gonna reboot 'Desperate Housewives'.' He goes, 'We just got off the air!'" That sounds like a no for now.
7 Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Yes
Watching old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer now, you can't help but notice how far we've come in terms of special effects and prosthetics etc. Yes, the demons on the show were ugly but perhaps for all the wrong reasons. So, a Buffy reboot would do well if they updated all of that business and made it super scary. Here's what Joss Whedon, the show's creator, has to say on the possibility of a reboot:
"I see a little bit of what I call monkey's paw in these reboots," Whedon continued. "You bring something back, and even if it's exactly as good as it was, the experience can't be. You've already experienced it, and part of what was great was going through it for the first time. You have to meet expectations and adjust it for the climate, which is not easily. Luckily most of my actors still look wonderful, but I'm not worried about them being creaky. I'm more worried about me being creaky as a storyteller. You don't want that feeling that you should have left before the encore. I don't rule it out, but I fear that."
6 Lost - No
Lost ended six years ago now and it was on the air for six seasons. It was a fantastic show, really original, lots of drama and excitement and twists and turns. If you haven't watched Lost then prepare for a few spoilers here. This is what producer Damon Lindelof had to say about a reboot, "Those characters not only died, but we showed you their experience post-death. Any new take on Lost will probably have to feature new characters, as it should." Injecting some new blood into the old series does sound like a promising idea. But much of the greatness of Lost was based on us thinking, "Where the hell are they? What on earth is going on?" We wouldn't have that in a reboot because we know the big twist now. Even if they changed things up and had a new twist, we'd always have the originaltwist at the forefront of our minds.
5 Ally McBeal - Yes
In case you never watched it, Ally McBeal was a show about lawyers that was part drama, part rom-com. That's perhaps simplifying it a little too much, because the show had some really surreal and bizarre elements. That's what made it unique. It was on the air from 1997 until 2002 and I think it could make a comeback, almost certainly with new characters. I get the impression that the original actors would not go back to the show even if they could. Most legal dramas like The Good Wife etc are very serious. I could go for something more light-hearted in the genre. It would be a change for the better. It doesn't seem like it's going to happen anytime soon though. There are no rumors concerning an Ally McBeal reboot. Though there are people on the web calling for it.
4 Glee - No
I think Glee was the result of the generation that grew up with the likes of High School Musical. They got a little older and wanted something similar but age-appropriate for them. The amazing thing about Glee really was the level of diversity in its cast and story lines. I have big respect for the show and I'm not knocking it. But Glee's popularity waned after its initial success and only staunch fans stayed until the end. The show only ended in 2015, yet some cast members and fans have talked about a reboot. It's way too soon to even think about a reboot of Glee. Give it some time, let the nostalgia kick in and then maybe a reboot could work. A new generation could appreciate a Glee reboot based on social issues of the future.
3 Addams Family - Yes
Okay, so the depictions of The Addams Family you will be most familiar with are probably from the movies with Christina Ricci playing Wednesday Adams. But it was a TV show in the 60's and I think it would work well as such again. Who wouldn't want to watch an up-to-date version of these creepy characters? Fans made a mock trailer imagining a darker version of The Addams Family on Netflix - what a great idea that is. Netflix should take some inspiration from that. Fans also photoshopped a picture re-imagining Christina Ricci as Morticia Addams, and she looked awesome. Now that would be perfect for the grown version of The Addams Family - as long as the kid who played her brother Pugsley in the films doesn't get cast as Gomez, that would be pretty weird.
2 The Golden Girls - No
The Golden Girls was on from 1985 until 1992 and it captured the hearts of audiences. On her 95th birthday, Betty White, the only living cast member said that she would love to do a reboot in an interview with Katie Couric. But as Betty White is the only remaining actor, many fans of The Golden Girls don't want a reboot to happen. They would have to have other actors come in and play the beloved characters which means it just wouldn't be the same. And even if they did do it, then the new actors would be compared to the old greats, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, and even if they were good, audiences would no doubt see them negatively because they miss their old favorites. So a reboot just wouldn't work.
1 Daria - Yes
Daria represented the sarcastic, snarky teen in all of us. And so what if it's a cartoon. Why can't cartoons make a comeback too? This year marks the 20th anniversary of Daria and its producer, Susie Lewis, released a drawing of what the characters would look like now - 20 years later. She also explained what the characters would be up to now and this is what Daria is doing, "The sardonic teen has left the suburbs of Lawndale for New York City's Hell's Kitchen (naturally), where she's grown up to become the only female writer on a late-night talk show. She lives alone - except for her black cat named Godzilla, who is toilet-trained, thanks to Daria's hard work and dedication - and while she's tried the online dating game, she hasn't found anyone special quite yet." So, make it happen Susie!
