Expect to see a lot of familiar titles on the television schedule next year as 2021 becomes the year of the TV reboot. 2020 has been a very strange year for entertainment thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic hitting a giant pause button for the industry at large that could take years for it to recover from. This couldn’t have come at a worse time for the world of television, which is struggling to find its footing in the continuing age of Peak TV. The over-saturation of the market coincided with the end of cable’s domination of it, and with that came the rise of the streaming service. After being the undisputed champion of the industry for years, Netflix finally had some competition, as major networks and conglomerates created their own platforms to host exclusive content and the fruits of their labor.
Finding breakthrough original programming is still a difficult process for any network, especially in a post-Game of Thrones age. There are notable breakouts here and there, but many networks seem all-too-aware of how tough it is to force audiences’ interests in their work. Nielsen ratings have also shown that subscribers to platforms like Netflix and Hulu are more likely to use the services to re-watch familiar shows than check out the new stuff. There’s a reason WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal were both so willing to put down hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure they retained exclusive streaming rights to Friends and The Office respectively. Nostalgia always has and always will sell.
That leads to the coming glut of television reboots. It’s no coincidence that many of these revamps of beloved series are finding their homes on streaming platforms. Reboots and remakes have long been a key part of television and that’s in no danger of stopping now, especially as increasing numbers of platforms and distributors scramble for the attention of an ever-decreasing viewership. Here are the major TV reboots and remake you can expect to see on your screens some time in 2021.
Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell was a staple of early ’90s NBC sitcom programming and remains a nostalgic favorite to this day. It’s already had its fair share of sequels, spin-offs, and TV movies, but Peacock’s planned reboot takes a whole new direction. The series will follow a new group of students at Bayside High from upper- and working-class families who clash after the latter group is transferred to the school as part of a political PR move by California’s current Governor, Zack Morris. Most of the original Saved by the Bell cast will return to the roles that made them famous, including Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez. Unlike the original show, this Saved by the Bell will be a single-camera comedy with a heavy meta-focus, courtesy of showrunner Tracey Wigfield (Great News.)
Daria (Jodie)
For a generation of adolescent girls, MTV’s Daria was the guidebook on navigating the perils and pitfalls of high school as a self-imposed outcast. Initially a spin-off of Bevis and Butthead, the series evolved into a spiky satire of Gen X malaise and the attitudes that inspired such disenfranchisement. As popular and influential as Daria was, it’s not exactly a show suited for the more earnest millennial era. That may be why Daria herself won’t be the lead of the new reboot. That duty will fall to her friend Jodie. Comedy Central has picked up the series, which will star and be executive produced by Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish) and follow Jodie Langdon in her life as she graduates from college.
Walker (Walker, Texas Ranger)
For the past 15 years, Jared Padalecki has been one of the true mainstays of The CW thanks to his role as Sam Winchester in the long-running series Supernatural. With that show set to wrap up its final season very soon, it’s time for Padalecki to move onto greener pastures. His new TV home, however, will still be on The CW, as he will star in a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger. The show was ordered straight to series in January 2020 and is scheduled to premiere in January 2021.
Punky Brewster
NBC is betting big on Generation X nostalgia for the future success of Peacock, which launched in July 2020. Alongside Saved by the Bell will be a revival of Punky Brewster, the sitcom that ran for two years on the network in the ’80s before going into syndication. Soleil Moon Frye will return to the role that made her a star, only this time she’s a single mother of three kids who meets a young girl who reminds her a lot of her childhood self. Freddie Prinze Jr. will play Punky’s ex-husband. NBC confirmed the revival will consist of a ten-episode first season.
The Ren and Stimpy Show
Nickelodeon’s hilariously grotesque cartoon creations Ren and Stimpy remain one of the benchmarks for the network’s success and identity, even as the show created endless controversies over its dark humor, adult content, and shock value. To this day, The Ren and Stimpy Show commands a loyal cult fan-base, although an adult-only spin-off from 2003 failed to ignite interest. On August 5, Comedy Central announced that they had greenlit a revival of the series. It will be produced without the involvement of creator John Kricfalusi, who was accused of sexually harassing underage girls in 2018.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies
Over 40 years since its release, the movie adaptation of the hit musical Grease remains an enduring audience favorite. Famously, the makers of the film had hoped to create a long-running franchise for Grease, with sequels following new generations of T-Birds and Pink Ladies. That came to an end when the second movie flopped (although it now has its own cult fandom.) Now, HBO Max is set to revive the concept with their own series, Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies. The show will be written and executive-produced by Annabel Oakes, who previously worked on Netflix’s Atypical.
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica remains a key series in the history of science-fiction television, thanks to both the highly influential original series and the SYFY remake that reimagined the concept for a new era. This time around, Sam Esmail, the showrunner behind Homecoming and Mr. Robot, is the new man in charge for Peacock’s latest reboot. Little is known about what this series will look like, although Esmail did take to Twitter to reassure fans that his version won’t be a remake of the SYFY show. Instead, it will “explore a new story within the mythology while staying true to the spirit of Battlestar.”
Gossip Girl
HBO Max is producing a sequel-slash-soft reboot of The CW’s Gossip Girl. The same people who brought the original to life are all on board for this revamp, including creators Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, and Joshua Safran. The series will be set eight years after the original show’s conclusion and follow a new batch of bratty rich kids getting up to scandalous things. Now, the show will be more diverse, with BIPOC-inclusive leads and LGBTQ+ characters. Filming was set to begin in March 2020 but was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the release date was pushed back to 2021.
Clueless
Amy Heckerling’s Clueless defined an era of rich girl cool and reinvented Jane Austen for the masses. The movie’s following remains strong and Clueless has received all manner of spin-offs, from a television series that lasted three seasons to a line of books to a stage musical. CBS had initially announced plans to adapt the film into a new series in 2019, but this month, it was revealed that the show will move to Peacock. Deadline describes the show as a “baby pink and bisexual blue-tinted, tiny sunglasses-wearing, oat milk latte and Adderall-fueled look at what happens when the high school queen bee Cher disappears and her lifelong number two Dionne steps into Cher’s vacant Air Jordans.”
G4 TV
In December 2014, the network G4 ended all operations after 12 years on the air. The channel was marketed originally as a video game-focused platform for young male viewers but expanded into a more geek culture-style entertainment format, with series like Attack of the Show! helping to define its ethos. On July 24, 2020, the Twitter accounts of G4TV and G4’s Attack of the Show! and X-Play reactivated to post a teaser video of a G4 revival slated for some time in 2021. Actress Olivia Munn, who rose to prominence via Attack of the Show! is reportedly in talks to return to the network in a multi-year deal.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Another NBC nostalgic favorite, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a ’90s darling as well as the launching pad that sent Will Smith into the stratosphere of worldwide fame. As the theme music handily explains, the series follows a Philly kid who moves in with his wealthy aunt and uncle in Bel-Air after getting into a fight in his hometown. The culture-clash comedy was always ripe for parody, but it was a 2019 fan film that caught producers’ eyes. Bel-Air, written and directed by Morgan Cooper, reimagined the light-hearted series as a Ryan Coogler-style gritty drama. Will Smith loved the short so much that he’s thrown his immense clout behind a full TV reboot in this style, acting as an executive producer for the series. Bel-Air is currently being shopped to the major streaming services.
Queer as Folk
Queer as Folk remains one of the true pioneers of LGBTQ+ entertainment in both its British original series and the American remake. It only makes sense to reboot the show for 2020 given how major the shift for LGBTQ+ rights has been in the interim period. Initially developed for Bravo, the new era of Queer as Folk will now be exclusive to Peacock, with writer/director Stephen Dunn in charge.
MacGruber
Will Forte’s most famous Saturday Night Live character MacGruber – an extended parody of MacGyver – has maintained a surprising afterlife given that the actor hasn’t been on SNL for close to a decade. A film based on the character was released in 2010 to little acclaim but now MacGruber is returning to the small screen courtesy of Peacock. MacGruber has a full series order and is expected to premiere in 2021.
The Boondocks
Aaron McGruder’s long-running comic strip The Boondocks received the small-screen treatment from Adult Swim for four seasons to mixed acclaim. McGruder famously left the series in its final season, wherein a noticeable decline in quality was noted by die-hard fans. Now, the showrunner is returning to the helm with a two-season order for HBO Max. It is unknown whether any of the original voice cast, including Oscar-winner Regina King, will return to their roles or if the series will be a totally new take on the comic strip.
