Just when you thought there was nothing left to reboot, remake, or revive, TV is riding a new wave of nostalgia. And this time, there’s a turn-of-the-century twist.
Shows from the late 1990s and early 2000s are back. “Scrubs,” which aired from 2001 to 2010, will return on ABC on Feb. 25 with new and returning cast members. Sarah Michelle Gellar is returning as part of the sequel series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), directed by Chloé Zhao and set to premiere on Hulu in 2026. Disney+ is also planning a limited series reunion of “Malcolm in the Middle” (2000-06) starring Bryan Cranston, Frankie Muniz and other original cast members in the spring.
This is just the top of the list of ongoing reboots and revivals. Hulu has just ordered a new version of “Prison Break” (2005-09, rebroadcast in 2017) directed by Elgin James and starring Emily Browning to series. Kerry Washington is developing a new take on “Desperate Housewives” titled “Wisteria Lane” with Onyx Collective. The production teams behind “Blue Sky” series such as “White Collar” and “Royal Pains” are also trying to revive their shows. Peacock also gave the green light to make a “Community” movie, but production has been held up due to scheduling conflicts.
All of these projects join recent entries from TV mega-producer Greg Daniels, including a double shot. Daniels’ latest version of “King of the Hill” (with Mike Judge) received rave reviews and was just renewed for two more seasons, while his “The Office” offshoot “The Paper” (produced with Michael Corman) did well on Peacock and will air back-to-back on NBC this Monday.
This trend is driven, in part, by demographic changes. As Millennials enter middle age, they become more interested in nostalgia for the shows of their youth. And Gen Z kids, whose streaming hooked them, are also intrigued.
“Millennials are reaching an age where they’re paying attention to a lot of things because they want to pass them on to their kids. They have more power as a consumer group because of their size and not just because they’re nostalgic for those things,” says former WB chairman Jordan Levine, who helped craft programming for this generation as a teenager.
Reboots, remakes, and revivals have been a part of television since the beginning (remember the many iterations of “The Honeymooners,” “Dragnet,” or later “The Brady Bunch”). In the multichannel era, the idea of ”getting the band back together” grew stronger as programmers relied on familiar titles. Because its built-in awareness has made it easier to market in cluttered environments.
Early streaming was built on the back of revivals of “Arrested Development,” “Fuller,” and more.
‘House’ and ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ were Netflix’s early releases, while Hulu gained momentum with ‘Veronica Mars’ and ‘Animaniacs’ revisits, and Peacock’s ‘Punky… Brewster,” “Saved by the Bell,” and “Bel-Air,” Paramount+ kicked off with a reunion season of “The Real World,” the new “Rugrats,” the return of “iCarly,” and a new release. Try “The Twilight Zone.”
But recapturing the original magic is not easy. That’s why most of these revivals only last a few seasons. A much-hyped “Will & Grace” revival was made in 2017, but like attempts to revive “Murphy Brown” and “Mad About You,” it quickly fell through. “Punky Brewster” and “Saved by the Bell” quickly faded away, and more recently “Frasier,” “That ’90s Show” and “Night Court” also failed to gain traction. (CBS Studios tried to buy “Frasier” on other platforms after the show was canceled on Paramount+, but had no luck.)
“It’s never been this good. You can’t help but compare it to the original,” said one TV executive who chose not to reboot the show.
Successful revivals include “Roseanne,” which continued as “The Conners” for seven seasons after director Roseanne Barr was fired. In animation, in addition to the explosive return of “King of the Hill,” the new seasons of “Futurama” and “Phineas and Ferb” also made a splash with their comebacks.
There’s a lot of stigma around trying to revive a show that’s been on hiatus for a long time, so some stars and showrunners would rather come together for a reunion special. “Friends” will air on HBO Max in 2021, and CBS just taped its 30th anniversary “Everybody Loves Raymond” event to air on Nov. 24. And in January, the cast of “Married…WithChildren” will gather on stage in Los Angeles for a non-televised reunion. Additionally, there are countless rewatch podcasts hosted by former stars of fan-favorite shows.
Perhaps there is a lesson somewhere that not everything needs to be revived. “Fundamentally, it comes down to, is there a reason why it’s artistic?” Levin says. “Is there a purpose? Is there a catalyst beyond just economics or marketing or consciousness? We’ve certainly seen underlying intellectual property rebooted in new ways because someone took it and made it their own.”
