5 Comedy Shows That Have Absolutely No Chance of Being Rebooted
We’re in the middle of a comedy reboot-aissance. Fuller House, Bel-Air, iCarly, One Day at a Time, The Wonder Years, Night Court — if a TV comedy was moderately popular in the past, there’s a network executive somewhere wondering how they can breathe new life into it. But could virtually any sitcom succeed in its second life?
Here are five TV comedies that we think have absolutely zero chance of getting a 2023 update…
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Mulaney
John Mulaney is probably as popular as he’s ever been, so another TV comedy is certainly on the table. But if Mulaney ever decides to return to the small screen, you can bet that it won’t be in a reboot of Mulaney, the Seinfeld-lite sitcom that critic Ed Bark called “a messy disposable diaper of a comedy series.” There will be other sitcoms about stand-up comics, but a new version of Mulaney won’t be one of them. (Mulaney’s original concept about a guy getting out of rehab, however …)
Joanie Loves Chachi
In what world would Netflix or Hulu greenlight a remake of a failed series that starred the seventh and eighth leads from a nostalgia-com about the 1950s? Joanie Loves Chachi featured two lead actors with terrible singing voices playing characters trying to make it as professional musicians. So terrible for so many reasons, many of which are Scott Baio. And this dirge of a theme song.
Hogan’s Heroes
A lot of mediocre yet popular sitcoms might be remade ironically — sure, Family Matters was corny but we’d be down for a postmodern reimagining of Urkel. But there’s no ironic way to pull off a new version of Hogan’s Heroes, a situation comedy set inside a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp (despite nostalgic fans who insist that those Nazis got off some real knee-slappers). Take away the patently offensive concept and you’re still left with a pretty dim-witted show about smart Allies pulling one over on those dumb Germans. Hard to imagine a 2023 version that could successfully write around all the pesky genocide.
S#*! My Dad Says
Turns out that a moderately funny series of tweets doesn’t necessarily make for great television comedy. And this was back in the days when Twitter was actually fun. Given the current cesspool known as X, there’s little that could be turned into comedy without starting a toxic culture war. That said, William Shatner would likely be down for a reprise, provided that producers let him phone in it from home like they do on Stars on Mars.
Dilbert
Okay, we’re jinxing this. As soon as we say the disgraced Dilbert could never come back to life, Elon Musk will announce he’s found a lead-in for Roseanne’s new show. Don’t get any bright ideas, Scott Adams.
