Childhood is far behind us, and our parents are starting to probe us about when our own little bundles of joy might be coming into the world. (STOP IT, MOM. THE DOG CAN BE YOUR GRANDKID, OKAY?)
So yeah. We’re adults. We have mature, responsible lives (in theory). But have you ever considered what might have happened to your favorite kids’ TV characters when they hit adulthood too? Would Angelica Pickles become the CEO she was clearly born to be? What happened to Zack and Cody after their Suite Life ended? Did Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable end up together forever? Well, there’s only one way to find out: REBOOT! TV networks seem to love trawling through their old shows and rebooting them for old times’ sake (Will and Grace, Gilmore Girls, we’re looking at you here). Why shouldn’t Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel do the same? Here are some shows of our childhood that we definitely think deserve a grown-up reboot.
1. Rugrats
Remember when the makers of Rugrats created that series All Grown Up, which followed the babies’ antics in their pre-teen years? Well, we definitely need another reboot in which the kids are ACTUALLY grown-ups. There are so many questions about their lives that need answering! Did Angelica fulfill her boss lady destiny and end up becoming a big-time CEO? Did Susie become the musical superstar she dreamed of being? How long did Tommy Pickles manage to keep his hair for before he inevitably descended back into baldness? WE NEED ANSWERS, NICKELODEON! We also need the enjoyment of seeing Lil take after her mom and become a punk-rock feminist. It was always on the cards.
2. Even Stevens
Before Shia LaBeouf went a little bit weird and had his big public breakdown, he got his big acting break in the incredibly popular Disney Channel show Even Stevens. The entire show was pretty entertaining. The antics of warring siblings Ren and Louis were pretty relatable to anyone who had a kid brother, and Louis’s BFFs Twitty and Tawny provided the perfect comic relief. We’d love to catch up with the Stevens family 15 years on from the events of the show! Did the uptight Ren ever manage to chill the hell out? Are Louis and Tawny still dating? We hope so… Those two were pretty perfect for each other. Most importantly, we need to know if Twitty is still his adorkable surfer-dude self!
3. Scooby-Doo
Yes, I know the Scooby-Doo franchise has had reboot after reboot after reboot. Yes, I realize that the live-action movies (which are utter masterpieces, by the way) gave us a glimpse into the adult lives of Mystery Inc. But we need more, dammit! We need to know if Fred and Daphne got married and had lots of perfect babies! There needs to be justice for Velma, who definitely deserved to be working for NASA and not solving second-rate mysteries. Did Shaggy ever make anything of his life, or did he remain a lovable, dog-biscuit-eating stoner for the rest of his days? The only problem with this reboot would be the fact that old Scoobert Doobert might well be in doggy heaven all these years on. However would Shaggy cope?
4. Hey Arnold!
Ah, remember everyone’s favorite football-headed schoolkid? Hey Arnold! was a staple after-school viewing for any child of the ’90s. While the original series ended back in 2004, Nickelodeon recently released a follow-up movie that followed Arnold and the gang’s adventures in the summer before they start sixth grade. Now that Arnold is back in the public eye, why not go one step further and give us a glimpse into his adult life? We’d love to find out if he ended up staying with his long-time frenemy/eventual girlfriend Gertrude. Plus, did Arnold’s BFF and class president Gerald make the transition into a real-life political career? That kid definitely could’ve become the President of the United States.
5. Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Don’t tell me you haven’t hoped for a reboot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Sabrina actress Melissa Joan Hart is now a married mom of three, and we’d love to revisit her character in a similar stage of life. The last time we saw our favorite young witch, she was riding off into the sunset with high-school love Harvey. But what happened next? Did the two get married and have a whole host of magical children? What about Sabrina’s journalism career – did that take off? How’s Salem getting on these days? All are very important questions that just need to be answered.
6. Recess
Recess was a pretty iconic Toon Disney show. Who didn’t want to be like the badass Ashley Spinelli when they were growing up, or as smart and talented as Gretchen? We’d love to see what that group of kids is up to now. We’re pretty sure Gretchen is some kind of science whizz… Or is an international yo-yo champion. But what about the others? Did T.J. and Spinelli ever admit that they had a secret crush on each other? Did Vince put his athletic skills to good use and become a pro sportsman? Those kids had so much potential… We need to find out what they did with their lives!
7. The Wild Thornberrys
Eliza Thornberry was absolute goals for every single science-loving young girl out there. She proved that it was totally cool for girls to be intelligent and book-smart, and was a general feminist role model for all of us. We really need to check in on her life a decade on and find out just how much of a badass boss woman she’s become. She’s probably working for CERN or something and has four or five PhDs. We need animated confirmation of this! We’d also like to see how her feral adopted brother Donnie turned out… Did he ever manage to fully adjust to living with humans again? We hope so!
8. The Suite Life of Zack and Cody/ The Suite Life on Deck
Back when Cole and Dylan Sprouse were adorable, innocent little children, their Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody was a smash hit. We want this series to come back not just because its stars are all grown up (and pretty cute, let’s be real), but because we want to know what happened to all of the wonderful supporting characters. We can just imagine Mr. Moseby still yelling at people for running in lobbies! More pressing issues include whether Cody and Bailey stayed together, how the latter got on at Yale, and how London’s getting on in the adult world. We need to know! Make this reunion happen, Disney!
9. Drake and Josh
Ah, the on-and-off-screen saga of Drake and Josh. The original show was a firm favorite of Disney Channel viewers, chronicling the hilarious antics of two hapless stepbrothers (who eventually just call each other ‘brother’ – n’aww!). The original series ended in 2008 with a made-for-Christmas TV movie, but the drama surrounding these two flared up as recently as this year. When Drake Bell discovered that he hadn’t been invited to Josh Peck’s wedding back in June, he fired off some pretty scathing tweets about his former ‘brother.’ The animosity between the two remained strong over the summer before the two finally set aside their differences and reconciled. What better way to celebrate the actors’ reunion than to revisit the adult lives of their characters? We’d totally be down for it.
10. Dexter’s Laboratory
Has anyone else ever wondered what became of young Dexter and his laboratory? I mean, sure, the kid was clever, but he also displayed some worrying evil genius-type tendencies. We’d feel much more reassured if a grown-up reboot occurred that showed him just living a normal, science-loving life. Also, we’d like to see Dexter’s sister, Dee Dee, grow up to be something other than every single female stereotype ever. Like, it was embarrassing just how much that show conformed to gender norms. Oh, and if Mandark could also be shown to have stopped his obsessive stalking of Dee Dee, that would be fab. Essentially, we just want to know that these kids didn’t end up being totally messed up in adulthood.
11. Kim Possible
Kim Possible was one of the most badass female characters that the Disney Channel gave us. She wasn’t afraid to kick some serious butt, but somehow also lived a totally happy, normal life alongside her spying activities. She was constantly saving her sidekick (and future boyfriend) Ron Stoppable on top of saving the entire world. But what happened to her and Ron post-graduation? Did they go to college? Were they destined to be together forever? Most importantly, is Kim still a totally awesome feminist super-spy? I mean, she’d better be, or Disney Channel is going to have a lot of disgruntled fans. Either way, we need a reboot, and we need it NOW!
12. Kenan and Kel
Okay, there’s one major reason for Kenan and Kel getting a reboot: we need to find out if Kel still loves orange soda. Let’s face it, he loves orange soda more than he loves life… But did he have too much of a good thing? Has he moved on to a different type of soda?!
More seriously, this show was a pretty amazing teen sitcom that definitely deserves more attention. Kenan and Kel were such endearing and goofy characters, and we want to find out how they got on in the real world! Do they have good jobs and happy families? Most importantly, are they still besties?! They’d better be.
13. Zoey 101
Zoey 101 was cut awkwardly short when lead actress Jamie Lynn Spears got pregnant back in 2007. It was such an amazing show with genuinely engaging characters, and we’re pretty devastated it had to end when it did. However, the show was briefly revived for a tenth anniversary short that ended on a pretty frustrating cliffhanger. It showed Zoey’s childhood sweetheart, Chase, realizing that he still loves her and leaving his girlfriend to find her. But what happened next? Did the two reunite? Did Zoey reciprocate Chase’s feelings? We need a full-blown reboot to answer this question! Please, Nickelodeon! Why would you tease us in this way?
14. Arthur
Oh man, wasn’t Arthur just the best show ever? Well, I say ‘was’: it’s actually still going! Despite this, I think it’s a solid candidate for a grown-up special, if not a reboot. We need to know what happened to all of those kids/animals (what do you even call them??). Grown-up D.W. would clearly just be the sassiest boss on the block. Francine obviously went on to be a sporting superstar, and Muffy probably owns her own fashion empire by this point. She was a savvy business back as a kid – can you imagine what she’d be like as a fully-fledged CEO? We need to see this. It’s essential viewing.
15. Rocket Power
This Nickelodeon show about a group of extreme sports-loving kids captured the imaginations of every daredevil out there back in the day. We’d love to take a trip back to Ocean Shores, California and see what Reggie, Otto, Sam, and Twister are up to now. I mean, Reggie would clearly still be a badass feminist in adulthood – that’s a given. But are the gang still into their extreme sports? We can’t imagine them settling for desk jobs and a traditional lifestyle… but we’d also be a bit surprised if no one in the reckless bunch had experienced some sort of stunt-related injury! Whatever their fates, we hope that this foursome remains friends as adults. They went through too many hijinks together to be separated!
16. Lizzie McGuire
If you didn’t absolutely adore Lizzie McGuire when you were a pre-teen, you’re either wrong or lying. This Hilary Duff-led sitcom was iconic in a number of ways. You had little animated Lizzie giving her insight into her live-action self’s antics – it was so neat! You had Lizzie and Gordo’s will-they-won’t-they situation, which FINALLY turned into “they will!” in The Lizzie McGuire movie. Oh, and speaking of the movie, “sing to me, Paolo” will forever be one of the best lines in cinema history. The gang was supposed to return for an ABC series focussing on their high school years, but since that never materialized, we think there needs to be a grown-up reboot instead.