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Odds for Potential Reboot and Sequel Series
Posted by Billy on Oct 28th 2016 at 1:30 pm
Klasky Csupo
Muppet Babies and Will & Grace are just the two latest reboots announced this year. It used to be that reboot and remake series were expected to fail. 1991’s Land of the Lost ran for just two seasons, and even as recently as 2011, a rehash of ThunderCats couldn’t even make it to thirty episodes. More recently, though, reboots and sequel series have become more profitable, and everyone is jumping on board. The X-Files, Powerpuff Girls, and Fuller House have all found audiences in the year 2016, and new Lost in Space, Hey Arnold, Twin Peaks, and Gilmore Girls are in production. One thing is for sure: more reboots are on the way.
Let’s take a look at possible reboot candidates and come up with some odds for their respective revivals.
Seinfeld
There is one practical hurdle that is often insurmountable when it comes to doing a reboot or a sequel: the cast and creators are just too busy. Such is the case for Seinfeld, the 90s hit about nothing. Creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David are currently tied up with Comedians in Cars Getting Coffe and Curb Your Enthusiasm respectively, while Julie Louis-Dreyfus, who played Elaine, is headlining HBO’s Veep. Although Jerry has previously turned down at least two big-dollar offers to revive the series, he has never discounted a comeback completely. On top of that, there was a Seinfeld reunion episode (entitled “Seinfeldâ€) inside of a seventh-season Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, so it isn’t like Jerry and company are now allergic to their old characters or anything.
Odds: 10-1
Are You Afraid of the Dark
As the new, Netflix-produced season of Black Mirror takes the Internet by storm, it is clear that horror-sci-fi anthology isn’t dead. Even Tales from the Crypt is making a comeback, courtesy of none other than M. Night Shyamalan. Given the Splat’s willingness to go back to its catalogue, a reboot of Are You Afraid of the Dark seems like a very good bet, as long as the upcoming Legends of the Hidden Temple movie pulls in at least middling ratings.
Odds: 3-2
Doug
While Billy West, who voiced the titular character on Nickelodeon’s version of Doug has expressed interest in returning to the role, the series is stuck in a precarious ownership situation dating back to the first reboot, which was kick-started when Disney acquired the rights in 1996. Even before that, however, Nickeloden had passed on producing more episodes of Doug, claiming that the production budget was too high for them. Between 1999 and 2002, Disney produced Doug's 1st Movie, Doug Live! at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Doug's Big Game on Game Boy Color, but since then, nothing. Because Disney would in a way be providing free advertising to their rival Nickelodeon should they do anything with the property, it seems unlikely that we’ll be revisiting Bluffington anytime soon.
Odds: 50-1
Ed, Edd n Eddy
Until The Powerpuff Girls made their comeback this year, Cartoon Network seemed content to leave their 90s classics in the 90s. As that reboot moves into a second season, however, that trend would seem to have been bucked. All of the Cartoon Cartoons are fair game now: Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and of course, Ed, Edd n Eddy. A Dexter’s Laboratory movie is due out in 2017, and because Ed, Edd n Eddy is the longest-running of Cartoon Network’s original series, it would be high on the list of candidates for a reboot or a sequel.
Odds: 5-1
Friends
The Friends “reunion†earlier this year was a total bust, series co-creator Marta Kauffman has said a reboot / sequel would never happen, and all six of the main cast members have moved on to other projects. Despite all of these factors, new Friends content in the form of a movie (think Sex and the City) or a miniseries (think The X-Files) does still seem possible, just because of the sheer, enduring popularity of the show.
Odds: 10-1
The Twilight Zone
Scooby-Doo and Star Trek are both shows that have been made in perpetuity since their original runs during the 60s, endlessly rebooted and remade. While The Twilight Zone is not quite as prolific as either of these franchises, it has stuck around in a big way, three series, a blockbuster movie, and a Disneyworld ride to its name. It is likely just a matter of time until we see a new iteration.
Odds: 3-2
The Sopranos
When the star of a show dies, the odds of a sequel or a reboot go way down, and this is especially true when that star’s death is an untimely one, as James Gandolfini’s was. Aside from an upcoming miniseries on HBO, however, series creator David Chase has not committed to anything since The Sopranos famously ended on a fade-to-black in 2007. Thus, as unlikely as any new Sopranos content is, it isn’t exactly an impossibility.
Odds: 25-1
Freaks and Geeks
An inordinate number of the cast members from this short-lived cult classic went on to superstardom or at least sustainable careers in Hollywood. Seth Rogen, Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Busy Philipps, John Francis Daley, and Samm Levine are all well-known actors today, and the creator himself, Judd Apatow, is a household name. Still, Freaks and Geeks retains major love among fans and the cast members, so if schedules aligned, a reunion could happen.
Odds: 8-1
King of the Hill
Mike Judge, who both created King of the Hill and voiced main character Hank Hill, is currently busy running his show Silicon Valley, and for that reason alone, any new King of the Hill content is some years in the distance. Take one look at the r/KingOfTheHill subreddit, however, and it is clear that fans are clamoring for more. Fox axed the series unceremoniously in 2010, after shuffling it around in the schedule during its last couple of seasons, and a final movie or miniseries could serve to tie up some loose ends.
Odds: 15-1
Futurama
Matt Groening’s sci-fi-comedy is the show that won’t die. After three cancellations, it is still one of the first series to come up in any discussion of future Netflix revivals. The fans are rabid, they are many, and they will follow the crew of Planet Express anywhere.
Odds: 3-1
How long does it take to watch every episode of Seinfeld?
How long does it take to watch every episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990)?
How long does it take to watch every episode of Doug?
How long does it take to watch every episode of Ed, Edd n' Eddy?
How long does it take to watch every episode of Friends (1994)?
How long does it take to watch every episode of The Twilight Zone (1959)?
How long does it take to watch every episode of The Sopranos?
How long does it take to watch every episode of Freaks and Geeks?
How long does it take to watch every episode of King of the Hill?
How long does it take to watch every episode of Futurama?