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NBC is rebooting Saved by the Bell, Battlestar Galactica and Punky Brewster
Remind us what year it is again?
As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. Well, it appears that the year 2020 is going to be all hindsight. A slew of new reboots is on tap, reviving hits of the 1970s, '80s and '90s.
The streaming wars are about to flare up. Apple, Disney+, HBO Max and others are joining the fray with Netflix, Hulu, CBS All Access and Amazon Prime. Every big media company wants its own streaming service. Good thing broadcast television is still free.
Another one in the mix, NBCUniversal announced the name of its upcoming streaming service. It's amusingly called Peacock, in tribute to NBC's iconic logo. Along with the new branding, NBCUniversal confirmed a handful of fresh — well, freshly recycled — programming that reboots favorites from across the decades.
We had previously reported a Punky Brewster reboot with Soleil Moon Frye reprising her role and serving as executive producer. We know a little more after today. Mike Schur (The Good Place) will be the showrunner for the new Punky series. It is one of the originals scheduled to be available when Peacock launches in April 2020.
Meanwhile, Sam Esmail, the brainy creator behind Mr. Robot and the Julia Roberts Amazon series Homecoming, will helm a reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Get ready for shots of Starbuck with lots of headroom (the cinematography joke makes sense if you watch his other shows). Not much is known about the new Galactica, and whether it will hew to the 1978 original or the previous 2004 reboot. Deadline has more showbiz details.
Oh, and MeTV's own Saved by the Bell is making a comeback! Writer Tracey Wigfield, who has worked on Tina Fey projects 30 Rock and Great News, is overseeing the return of Slater and Jessie. Yes, Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley are returning to their roles, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Peacock is reportedly in talks with Mark-Paul Gosselaar to reprise his role, as well, but nothing is set on the Zack front. Seems like he's a key part of the plot, however, which is summarized as thus:
"California Gov. Zack Morris (Gosselaar) gets into hot water for closing too many low-income high schools and proposes the affected students be sent to the highest-performing schools in the state — including Bayside High."
How much do you want to bet that Slater is a coach at Bayside?
We'll find out more when these reboots launch in 2020. Until then, "it's all right," cuz we'll stick with the original…
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15 Comments
Using the original Punky Brewster star is a MUST & I'm glad that NBC went that route vs. replacing her & trying to run a newer, young version of Punky. Not totally sold on the Battlestar Galactica just yet, but it might be good. As for Saved by the Bell, that show has so many spin offs that I'm all spun out! LOL However, if you recreate the show & bringing back key members of the original cast, you'll probably catch the eyes of younger & older viewers, which I'm sure is the goal, & it's a pretty wise strategy. Best of luck to all of these reboots!
said no true T.V. fan ever
Most of those trashy rap "songs" on the radio now are a prime example - they "sample" earlier, more enjoyable, and *much better* hits I grew up with (I was born in 1962) and play those pieces of said oldies under obscene lyrics delivered by no-talents. Absolutely *no* originality.
Any wonder I quit listening to Top 40 radio in 2002? (But by then, I was 40 and just couldn't "get into it" anymore. One sign of growing older.)
