Faced with fighting the 21st century streaming wars, CBS is rebooting a 67-year-old sitcom.
CBS Studios is developing a new version of the iconic working class comedy The Honeymooners for the network.
Only this iteration is described as “a bold, female-driven reboot” from executive producer Damon Wayans Jr. (New Girl) and showrunner Lindsay Shockley (Black-ish).
The story is described as centered around a “new wife, Ruth, and her husband, Alex, who are determined to have a marriage where they are true equals in every way. But what happens when a marriage has two heads of the household? Are they co-heads? Or no head at all?”
Kameron Tarlow (Grimm) is also an executive producer and Kelly Park (Alexa & Katie) is executive producer and director.
The Honeymooners began as a comedy sketch on star Jackie Gleason’s variety show and aired on CBS for one season from 1955-56. The show followed New York City bus driver Ralph Kramden (Gleason), his wife Alice (Audrey Meadows), Ralph’s best friend Ed Norton (Art Carney) and Ed’s wife Trixie (Joyce Randolph).
Rebooting the show from a different cultural perspective has actually been done before. There was a 2005 The Honeymooners feature film from Paramount Pictures with a largely Black cast, including Cedric the Entertainer, Gabrielle Union, Mike Epps and Regina Hall.
And in 2016, CBS previously developed a reboot with writer Bob Kushell (3rd Rock from the Sun) and producers Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Eric & Kim Tannenbaum and Jeff Greenstein, but a series wasn’t produced.
Source: Hollywood
