The good thing about well-written, brilliantly acted TV shows is that we love them and eagerly wait for a new episode to drop. They end up earning special spots in popular culture, and when they end, we sometimes cry sad tears.
As sad as we are to see our favorite shows finish, we know that it’s usually for the best. We want something to go out in its prime (or when it’s still semi-decent) instead of seeing it drag out and die a slow, painful TV death filled with cast exists, absurd plot lines and the tangible desperation. (We’re not naming shows.) On the other hand, we also don’t want to see a popular show go out on a high and then have it brought back later… and not be as good.
While the show might hold some promise, it often lacks most of the magic that made the original so great. It’s often just seen as a sad attempt for TV networks to try to cash in on something that was previously successful as opposed to trying to come out with some new content. It’s the same deal with taking a classic movie and turning into a series filled with questionable sequels.
Without further ado, check out 18 TV reboots that nobody wanted or asked for, but we got anyways.
1. Full House
You probably grew up watching Full House (or the reruns) so you probably don’t need us to tell you how awesome it was. When Danny Tanner‘s (Bob Saget) wife dies, he gets new roommates and a new family dynamic that we all loved. The show aired from 1987 to 1995 before it was brought back by Netflix in 2016 as Fuller House.
Did we ask for it? Not exactly. Did we have worries? Yes. It’s still on, but if they couldn’t get the complete cast to commit to coming back (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen declined) then we didn’t want it at all. Plus, the fact that the premise is that DJ Tanner is living in her same childhood home and this time it was her husband who died leaving her with three kids to raise with the help of her sister and BFF just seems a little… fishy. Like, at least think of a new concept for the reboot!
2. Golden Girls
You may or may not have been around when Golden Girls originally aired from 1985 to 1992. While you have probably caught up with the hilarious show about four pensioners, what you may not know is that the show actually had a reboot. It’s not talked about as much as Golden Girls, of course, but it was called The Golden Palace. It aired for a year and featured three of the characters buying a small hotel. (We won’t spoil it and tell you which Golden Girl wasn’t involved.)
Because one reboot isn’t enough, there’s also a version called Silver Foxes, featuring four older guys who are gay. The show was apparently written by the original Golden Girls writers and had a cast, but there have been delays and questions whether it will make it to the air.
3. Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks was a cult favorite show, but did it really need to get rebooted? The answer to this, along with all of the other shows on the list, is probably a no. We know that the original series from the 1990 only had 18 episodes, but bringing something back 27 years later? Hmmmmmm. In Hollywood time, that’s like bringing something back 540 years later. Luckily, the TV reboot seemed to have fared better than the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me film from 1992, which was a prequel to the original TV series and had a few notable casting changes.
4. Knight Rider
Remaking a show starring David Hasselhoff probably has a lot of people confused. However, the original Knight Rider was actually a success despite the fact it featured a talking car and the backstory about how David was Michael Knight, a billionaire who got a new face/identity after being shot. The show was on from 1982 to 1986, but like all old things, they decided to bring it back in 2008. If you don’t remember the new version, it starred Justin Bruening as Mike Knight, the son of Michael. It lasted for 17 episodes.
If you still want more of the talking car, KITT, David did confirm in that another Knight Rider reboot should be coming to a TV screen near you. WHY?!
5. Riverdale/Sabrina the Teenage Witch
So, Riverdale only just came out in January 2017. The second season hasn’t even aired yet, but we already have a Riverdale spin-off apparently in the works. For those who are finding it hard to keep track, Riverdale is inspired by the characters of Archie Comics and the new series will focus on a Sabrina the Teenage Witch plot. If you’re hoping that it will be like the fun version of Sabrina starring Melissa Joan Hart that aired from 1996 to 2000, you can think again. They’re describing the remake as “dark drama/horror project.”
Also, we wanted Sabrina on the Archie show — not an entirely new series!
6. The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman was a TV show about a woman named Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) who almost died in a skydiving accident. So, she was “rebuilt bionically” with the help of her former fiance. It may sound like a questionable plot line, but the show was a hit and it was on from 1976 to 1978. Trying to bring it into modern times, there was a 2007 reboot. This time around, it focused on Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan), a bartender who survived a near-fatal car accident and was rebuilt by her boyfriend. It lasted eight episodes because… yeah, nobody cared.
7. Wonder Woman
You’re going to have to think back before the 2017 Wonder Woman movie for this one. We should know that people love to produce as many sequels to superhero stuff as possible, so it shouldn’t be that surprising that we have so many Wonder Womans. If we just focus on the TV shows, we had the successful series starring Lynda Carter from 1975 to 1979 which gave us the iconic Wonder Woman costume. Then in 2011, there was news that it was getting a reboot. The series starred Adrianne Palicki and had a new version of the costume featuring pants. The show was doomed from the start because NBC decided not to buy the series so it never aired. Ouch.
8. Friends
Friends was one of the most popular TV shows of the last few decades, nay, the history of TV, so you knew that everyone wanted to cash in on it. It was so popular that we’ve all heard how the actors were getting $1 million per episode during the last season. Wanting to ride on that high, we got a spin-off of the show featuring Joey (Matt LeBlanc) called Joey. It was on from 2004 to 2006.
While it still had some laughs and lasted a bit longer than some reboots, it didn’t have that Friends magic. Of course, there have been constant rumors about a proper Friends reboot since the series wrapped in 2004…
9. Dallas
Dallas was a TV show that followed the Ewing family and their oil empire in Dallas. Duh. The show was on from 1978 to 1991 and was known for its sassy plots, surprising twists and for capturing all of the OTT glamour of the 1980s.
For some reason, they thought that some of the 80’s glamour should be brought into more modern times because a Dallas reboot happened in 2012 starring Josh Henderson, Jesse Metcalfe and Jordana Brewster. It focused on the Ewing family and their business in cattle and oil. We got three seasons out of it, but it didn’t have any the juicy drama or the iconic moments as the original so it didn’t quite live up to its legacy.
10. Will & Grace
If you’re wondering why or why not there isn’t a full-on Friends reboot, you can use the Will & Grace one to argue either side. Will & Grace was a pioneering, hilarious, award-winning show from 1998 to 2006. Then it has made a reappearance in 2017. Oh, and we already have a second season of the reboot commissioned. Sure, it’s doing pretty good, but do we want to ruin the magic that was the original with some new material? With only one episode having premiered so far, many felt that it tried too hard to feel current and wound up making some pretty problematic errors.
Even so, it looks like we’ll see how the show fares in the rest of season one and the entirety of season two.
11. Charlie’s Angels
Y’all know about the Charlies Angels TV show that was on from 1976 to 1981. It was an iconic TV show that gave us more than Farrah Fawcett‘s feathered hair. It featured three badass females and it was action-packed but still fun. We all know about how it was made into a successful movie franchise in the 2000’s, but there was also a TV show.
Sadly, the TV reboot didn’t do as well. It starred Minka Kelly, Annie Ilonzeh and Rachael Taylor, and lasted a mere eight episodes.
12. Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 was basically the equivalent of The O.C. in the 1990s. The show was on from 1990 and 2000 and it was a hit thanks to all the dramz and the cute cast. Not so long after it ended, we got 90210. It still took place in the same zip code, but centered around a family relocating to Beverly Hills from Kansas. The cast included Shenae Grimes, AnnaLynne McCord and Jessica Lowndes and it lasted from 2008 to 2013. While it had a good run, it could never match the original.
13. Heroes
Heroes was a surprising hit from the 2000s. It starred Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia and focused on a group of ordinary people who realize that they have some pretty special powers. It aired from 2006 to 2010.
As with other previously successful things, they decided to reboot the show with the new name Heroes: Reborn in 2015. Unfortunately, the show wasn’t powerful enough and it got canceled.
14. The Odd Couple
If you love classic TV shows, you probably have The Odd Couple on your must-watch list. The show focused on Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. Both of them were divorced and living together in an apartment in Manhattan which resulted in some hilarious incidents. The show ran from 1970 to 1975.
In 2015, it was brought back. This time, it starred Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon. It actually got three seasons, so it didn’t do too badly. However, the reboot came after other attempts including a 1975 Saturday morning cartoon, a 1982 reboot, The Odd Couple: Together Again TV film reunion and two films.
15. Get Smart
Remember what we said about classic TV shows getting remade? This also happened with Get Smart. The original aired from 1965 to 1970. It starred Don Addams as the spectacularly named Maxwell Smart and Barbara Feldon as Agent 99. It involved the secret agents and lots of fancy gadgets trying to do their jobs.
You might remember the Get Smart movie from 2008 featuring Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell, but there was also a 1995 TV reboot starring the original cast. It was only on for seven episodes.
16. Black-ish
If you watch Black-ish, you don’t need us to explain to you what a funny show it is. The comedy has a hilarious cast and it has earned plenty of praise. Therefore, the networks clearly want to capitalize on this with a spin-off. In August 2017, it was reported that Black-ish is going to get a spin-off called Grown-ish. ~*SPOILER ALERT:*~ It will follow Yara Shahidi’s character Zoey as she attends college. It was originally called College-ish, but clearly Grown-ish sounds better. We love Yara so we hope it does well, but given the track record of spin-offs we’re keeping our expectations in check.
17. Melrose Place
Melrose Place was another Aaron Spelling drama that focused on the lives of beautiful, young things living in an apartment complex in Los Angeles and it was technically already a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210. This show starred Heather Locklear and was on from 1992 to 1999. In the middle of this series’ airing, we got a spin-off called Models Inc., which only ran for one season as fans already had another two shows in this universe to be watching at the time.
In 2009, we got a new set of beautiful, young things living in that apartment complex with the Melrose Place reboot. This time it was Katie Cassidy, Stephany Jacobsen and Ashlee Simpson leading the way. Unfortunately, this Melrose Place only lasted 18 episodes.
18. Pretty Little Liars
If you’re a Pretty Little Liars fan, you will know that the show pretty much just went off the air. And even before the series finale in June 2017, there were already rumors that there was going to be a spin-off. You might have initially thought that it was a ploy to get even more people to watch the last episode, but it seems that it’s going to happen.
The show will apparently be called The Perfectionists and star Janel Parrish and Sasha Pieterse, reprising their roles as Mona Vanderwaal and Alison DiLaurentis, respectively. It will still be based off the PLL books and even directed by the original director. Most original PLL fans thought that the show itself had gone on just a little too long — making this spin-off feel totally unnecessary.