Some may question whether a reboot could ever be just as good or even better than the original, and while that’s still up for debate, The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of some series that did get reboots or sequels.
The list, by no means complete, focuses on a handful of scripted shows that scored two or more season renewals during their runs, including Hawaii Five-0, 90210, Bel-Air, Fuller House, Battlestar Galactica, Will & Grace, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, The Connors, iCarly and more.
Reboots are described as a rebranding of an entertainment project or universe that has previously been established, from the characters, storylines and fan base. In some cases, cast members from the original show will return for a sequel, and in other instances, a cast with all new actors and actresses is brought on for more of a reboot.
But, industrywide, studios have relied on TV show reboots for decades because of the existing intellectual property associated with the projects. Especially with foreign TV distributors, established franchises with a built-in audience typically reduce marketing and promotional costs from the start.
The CW, specifically, featured a number of reboots because its former owners, CBS Studios and Warner Bros. TV, wanted to profit from international and streaming sales of well-known titles. Shows like Dynasty, for example, were well-known around the world, making a reboot an easy, money-making move. (However, while the reboot of Dynasty ran for multiple seasons, it was always the lowest-rated show on all of broadcast during its run.)
Several other popular reboots did not make the list because they only ran for one season, such as Veronica Mars, The Comeback, Twin Peaks: The Return, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, 24: Legacy and Prison Break.
A number of reality television shows not on the list have also scored revivals throughout the years, including The Kardashians, Queer Eye, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Fixer Upper, American Idol, The Hills and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
As projects continue to make their return, THR is keeping an eye on reboots that are either currently in the works or just premiered, such as Party Down, That ‘90s Show, Perry Mason, Phineas and Ferb, Frasier and Daredevil: Born Again.
A list of 30 scripted TV shows that have gotten multi-season reboots or spinoffs follows.
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‘Hawaii Five-0’
Image Credit: Everett; Mario Perez/CBS via Getty Images Hawaii Five-0 returned in 2010 for a reboot of the original Jack Lord-led series, which ran from 1968 to 1980. Alex O’Loughlin starred as Steve McGarrett in the remake, alongside Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park and Chi McBride. The latter, which ran for 10 seasons before ending in 2020, followed O’Loughlin’s character as he returned to Oahu, Hawaii, and builds his own task force: Five-0. Peter M. Lenkov was the showrunner on the new series, which he developed with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci based on the original created by Leonard Freeman.
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‘Girl Meets World’
Image Credit: Everett (2) In Girl Meets World, the reboot of Boy Meets World, which ran from 1993 to 2000, Ben Savage’s Cory and Danielle Fishel’s Topanga are now married with two children, including Riley (Rowan Blanchard). The series, which debuted in 2014 and ran for three seasons, now follows Riley’s journey as she navigates school, relationships and friends. Michael Jacobs and April Kelly created both series, with Jacobs serving as showrunner.
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‘90210’
Image Credit: Everett (2) Rob Thomas, Gabe Sachs, and Jeff Judah were behind 90210, a reboot of the Darren Star-created Beverly Hills, 90210, one of many hit series in Aaron Spelling’s portfolio. The original series ran from 1990 to 2000 and starred Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling. Both shows followed a group of friends living in Beverly Hills, navigating their late teens and young adult lives. The 2008 show, which starred Shenae Grimes (now Shenae Grimes-Beech), Tristan Mack Wilds, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Stroup, Michael Steger, Jessica Lowndes and Matt Lanter, ran for five seasons. (It also spawned the one-season BH90210, in which the original stars played a heightened version of themselves.)
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‘Bel-Air’
Image Credit: Everett; Kwaku Alston/Peacock Bel-Air is a reboot of the classic ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which was created by Andy and Susan Borowitz, but set in the modern day and age. The new show, which debuted in 2021, was developed by Morgan Cooper, Malcolm Spellman, TJ Brady and Rasheed Newson based on a short fan film made by Cooper, and counted original star Will Smith among its executive producers, still follows Smith’s journey from West Philadelphia to one of Los Angeles’ wealthiest suburbs. The series was renewed for a third season and stars Jabari Banks, Cassandra Freeman, Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones, Akira Akbar, Simone Joy Jones, Jordan L. Jones and Adrian Holmes.
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‘Gossip Girl’
Image Credit: Everett; HBO Gossip Girl made their first online post in 2007 and continued wreaking havoc on the lives of privileged teens living on the Upper East Side of New York City until 2012. The initial series, based on the books by Cecily von Ziegesar, starred Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford. Gossip Girl then returned in 2021 and ran for two seasons, with Jordan Alexander, Whitney Peak, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Emily Alyn Lind and Evan Mock. Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who created the original series, returned to executive produce the new show along with creator Josh Safran.
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‘Doctor Who’
Image Credit: Everett (2) The Doctor, a Time Lord, made its return in 2005 for a Russell T Davies-led reboot of Sydney Newman’s popular series Doctor Who, which initially ran from 1963 to 1989. David Tennant played the Tenth Doctor when the series returned, and is now set to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the show in November 2023. Ncuti Gatwa was tapped to play the Fifteenth Doctor in the next season that’s expected to hit screens in 2024.
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‘Fuller House’
Image Credit: Everett; Netflix The Tanner family came back home to an even fuller house in the reboot of Full House. The first show ran from 1987 to 1995 and starred Bob Saget, John Stamos, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Lori Loughlin and Andrea Barber. Then in 2016, Fuller House made its debut on Netflix and followed D.J. Fuller, a mother of three and a recent widow, as she raises her boys with the help of her sister Stephanie, her best friend Kimmy and Kimmy’s teenage daughter. Cameron Bure, Sweetin and Barber all returned to reprise their roles in the series that ran for five seasons. The original team of creator Jeff Franklin along with Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett returned to executive produce the new series.
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‘The Conners’
Image Credit: Everett; ABC The Conners is a remake of the hit series Roseanne, which ran from 1988 to 1997 and followed an American working-class family. Matt Williams created the series based on a character created by star Roseanne Barr, with Barr, Tom Werner and Marcy Carsey among the executive producers. A reboot of the sitcom with the same namesake as the original initially premiered in 2018, but after a controversy surrounding the show’s lead, it continued without Barr and was changed to The Conners. John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Fishman, Alicia Goranson and Sara Gilbert all reprised their roles in the series, which has been renewed for a sixth season. Bruce Helford, a writer and executive producer on the original, returned for the new series as showrunner.
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‘Battlestar Galactica’
Image Credit: Everett (2) The 2004 reboot of Battlestar Galactica, based on Glen A. Larson’s original 1978 series of the same name, follows a conflict between the last surviving humans from Earth and the Cylons that have evolved to look like humans. The new series ran for four seasons and starred Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan and Katee Sackhoff. Ronald D. Moore was behind the new series and served as the showrunner; he also executive produced David Eick.
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‘And Just Like That…’
Image Credit: Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max; Everett Collection And Just Like That… is a sequel to the hit series Sex and the City, which ran from 1998 to 2004. Darren Star created SATC based on Candace Bushnell’s newspaper column and book of the same name, with Michael Patrick King also executive producing alongside Star and returning as showrunner for And Just Like That… . Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis all reprised their roles as Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte in the show, which debuted in 2021. Although Kim Cattrall initially opted out of returning as Samantha Jones, it was recently revealed that she does make a cameo in the show’s second season, which aired in June. The sequel follows the trio as they continue to navigate love and friendship in New York City, but now in their 50s. The success of Sex and the City also led to two films and 2013’s spinoff The Carrie Diaries, starring AnnaSophia Robb and Austin Butler and hailing from creator Amy B. Harris along with Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz.
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‘The Flash’
Image Credit: Everett (2) The Flash first launched in 1990 for one season, with John Wesley Shipp starring as the lead superhero. Grant Gustin then first debuted his Flash on The CW’s Arrow in 2013 before the reboot, The Flash, kicked off the following year. Gustin’s character then went on to fight crime in Central City for nine seasons before ending in 2023. Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns created the series based on the DC Comics superhero.
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‘One Day at a Time’
Image Credit: Everett; Netflix Norman Lear rebooted his own CBS sitcom, One Day at a Time, which initially ran from 1975 to 1984. Then in 2017, the series returned for four seasons and followed three generations of the same Cuban-American family, a single mother, two children and her old-school mom, living in the same house. The reboot starred Justina Machado, Todd Grinnell, Isabella Gomez, Marcel Ruiz, Rita Moreno and Stephen Tobolowsky, with Gloria Calderón Kellett serving as showrunner.
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‘The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder’
Image Credit: The Disney Channel, Disney+/Courtesy of Everett Collection The Proud Family returned in 2020 on Disney+ for a reboot of the original animated series that ran from 2001 to 2005. The new show, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, also follows Penny Proud as she navigates growing up in a rambunctious house. The remake was renewed for a third season in June 2023.
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‘iCarly’
Image Credit: Everett; Amy Lombard/Paramount+ iCarly, created by Dan Schneider, made its return in 2021, only this time Miranda Cosgrove’s character is grown up and creates a new web show as a young adult, alongside her friends Nathan Kress, Laci Mosley and brother Jerry Trainor. The original series ran from 2007 to 2012 and also starred Jennette McCurdy. The third season of the new show premiered in June 2023.
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‘The X-Files’
Image Credit: Everett (2) When Chris Carter’s The X-Files returned in 2016, so did David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson to reprise their characters, FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The duo came back to investigate more cases dealing with unexplained paranormal phenomena for two more seasons after the original show ended in 2002 following a nine-season run.
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‘The Twilight Zone’
Image Credit: Everett In 2019, Jordan Peele brought Rod Serling’s cult classic show, The Twilight Zone, into the 21st century. The reboot, based on the original series that ran from 1959 to 1964, saw a modern take on the various tales of science fiction, mystery and horror. The new show got a two-season run and was also narrated by Peele.
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‘Dynasty’
Image Credit: Everett (2) In Dynasty, the feud between two of America’s wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, continued into the 21st century. In the 2017 reboot of Aaron Spelling’s nighttime soap, which ran from 1981 to 1989, the families are still fighting for control over their fortune and their children. The show — which hailed from Sallie Patrick, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage — had a five-season run and starred Elizabeth Gillies, Rafael de la Fuente, Robert Christopher Riley, Sam Adegoke and Grant Show.
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‘Lost in Space’
Image Credit: Everett (2) Lost in Space scored a reboot decades after Irwin Allen-created original series, which ran from 1965 to 1968. The show, which follows a family that crash-lands on an alien planet and must fight for their life, debuted in 2019 and ran for three seasons. The remake, led by showrunner Zack Estrin, stars Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins, Taylor Russell, Mina Sundwall, Ignacio Serricchio and Parker Posey.
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‘Raven’s Home’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Everett Collection (2) In Raven’s Home, Raven Baxter, played by Raven-Symoné, is all grown up and now living with her best friend and fellow divorced single mother Chelsea. The original series, That’s So Raven, which ran from 2003 to 2007 and was created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman, followed Raven as she navigated being a teen, but with psychic visions. In the new show, which hails from Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, Raven’s son has inherited the same psychic abilities in the 2017 reboot. Anneliese van der Pol and Rondell Sheridan also reprised their roles in the reboot, which aired its sixth season in 2023.
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‘DuckTales’
Image Credit: Everett (2) Scrooge McDuck and his nephews made their return for more adventures in 2017, years after the original animated 1987 show, based on the Uncle Scrooge comic books by Carl Banks. The reboot ran for three seasons and included the voices of David Tennant, Ben Schwartz, Danny Pudi, Bobby Moynihan and Kate Micucci. While Jymn Magon was behind the original series, the reboot hailed from Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones.
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‘Charmed’
Image Credit: Everett (2) The sister witches returned in 2018 for a reboot of another hit Aaron Spelling series, Charmed, which initially ran from 1998 to 2006. The original show, created by Constance M. Burge, starred Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano. The four-season remake, developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, Jessica O’Toole and Amy Rardin, saw Melonie Diaz, Sarah Jeffery and Madeleine Mantock as they discover they’re a powerful trio of good witches who are destined to protect people from dark forces.
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‘Will & Grace’
Image Credit: Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank; Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes all returned in 2017 for the revival of Will & Grace after 11 years off the air. The hit sitcom, which initially ran for eight seasons, returned for three seasons and followed Grace and Will, now both in their late 40s, divorced, living together again and trying to navigate the new dating world. Creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick as well as James Burrows all returned to executive produce the revival.
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‘Star Trek: Discovery’
Image Credit: Everett; Paramount+ Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek franchise hasn’t just received one TV show reboot but several, with characters making appearances in more than one series. After the original series aired from 1966 to 1969, Star Trek: The Next Generation, set a century after Captain James T. Kirk’s five-year mission, was the next series to make its way to small screens in 1987. The second show ran for seven seasons. Then in 2017, Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman’s Star Trek: Discovery made its debut, with the fifth and final season set to arrive in 2024. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, created by Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman and Jenny Lumet, debuted last year.
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‘MacGyver’
Image Credit: Everett; Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images After the original MacGyver, with Richard Dean Anderson starring as the lead, went off the air following a seven-season run from 1985 to 1992, the show returned in 2016. Lucas Till starred as the lead, a secret agent who uses his resourcefulness and extensive knowledge to save lives, in the reboot that ran for five seasons. Lee David Zlotoff created the series, with Peter M. Lenkov responsible for bringing it back decades later.
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‘Saved by the Bell’
Image Credit: Everett (2) A new year and a new group of friends take on Bayside High in the reboot of the Sam Bobrick-created Saved by the Bell. A follow-up series of the hit ’90s sitcom sees a group of low-income students in California navigating the new wealthy high school in Pacific Palisades. Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley returned for the remake, which saw Tracey Wigfield serving as showrunner, that received two seasons.
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‘Arrested Development’
Image Credit: Everett (2) The full cast reunited on the screen in the reboot of Mitchell Hurwitz’s popular comedy series Arrested Development. After the original show went off the air in 2006, Netflix brought it back in for a fifth and sixth season in 2013 and 2018. The series followed Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman, as he tries to keep the family business from collapsing after his father is sent to prison. At the same time, he’s also trying to find a balance with his spoiled and dysfunctional family.
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‘V’
Image Credit: Everett (2) The sci-fi drama V returned in 2009 for a reboot of the original series that ran for one season from 1984 to 1985. The new series, which follows an extraterrestrial race disguised as humans who arrive on Earth to take over the planet, scored two seasons at ABC. The show starred Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Logan Huffman, Laura Vandervoort, Morena Baccarin, Laura Vandervoort and Morena Baccarin. Kenneth Johnson created the original series, while Scott Peters was behind the updated version.
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‘Roswell, New Mexico’
Image Credit: Everett (2) Roswell, New Mexico is a reboot of the late ’90s show Roswell that ran for three seasons. The 2019 series centered around a town where aliens with unearthly abilities live in secret among humans, but a violent attack threatens to expose them. Jeanine Mason, Nathan Parsons, Michael Vlamis, Lily Cowles, Tyler Blackburn, Heather Hemmens, Michael Trevino and Amber Midthunder starred in the remake that scored four seasons. Jason Katims created the original, while Carina Adly Mackenzie was behind the new series.
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‘Dallas’
Image Credit: Everett (2) Dallas returned in 2012 for three seasons with the next generation of the Ewing family, as they continued to clash over the family’s oil business and fortune. The original series with the same namesake aired from 1978 to 1991. Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray also reprised their roles in the reboot. David Jacobs created the series, with Cynthia Cidre responsible for the revival.
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‘Magnum P.I’
Magnum, P.I., which was created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, ran for eight seasons, from 1980 to 1988. It starred Tom Selleck as the title character, a private investigator living in Hawaii. Magnum P.I. the reboot (no comma in this title), from Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim, stars Jay Hernandez in the title role. It premiered in 2018 on CBS and aired for four seasons before the network canceled it; the show was subsequently picked up by NBC for 20 episodes, to be split over two seasons, with the fifth season also set to be the final season.
Kimberly Nordyke contributed to this story.
Source: Hollywood
