The best TV reboots to put on your watch list

The best TV reboots to put on your watch list

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Thursday, 26th August 2021
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (Credit: Netflix), Queer Eye (Credit: Netflix) Weakest Link (Credit: BBC), Gossip Girl (Credit: HBO Max)
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (Credit: Netflix), Queer Eye (Credit: Netflix) Weakest Link (Credit: BBC), Gossip Girl (Credit: HBO Max)

TV reboots have had a recent resurgence, with a new generation experiencing classic shows with a new modern twist, from Queer Eye to Gossip Girl.

Here are some of our favourites. 

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life 

Netflix 

The original comedy drama was well known for its witty dialogue between the main characters, young mother Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and her teenage daughter Rory (Alex Bledel). 

The cult classic focused on the mother-daughter dynamic and the highs and lows of growing up.

The reboot sees a post-college Rory living as a freelance journalist and navigating a complicated love life, while Lorelai is grieving the loss of her father and questioning if she wants to get married and have more children.

The series follows the Gilmore women through four seasons of change as they navigate love, loss and life.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 

Netflix 

Based on the Archie Comics, the original series called Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a light-hearted, funny look at the life of Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart), a girl who discovered she was a witch on her 16th birthday. 

The reboot takes a darker supernatural take on the comic book series.

As a half-witch half-mortal, Sabrina, now played by Kiernan Shipka, is faced with an ultimatum to pledge her allegiance to the Dark Lord Satan and honour her family legacy or choose her friends and mortal side. 

With the potential to become the most powerful witch of her generation, Sabrina must balance her dark education with life as a teenager. 

The Twilight Zone 

Amazon Prime

The Twilight Zone initially aired in 1959 and was known for tackling all types of genres from horror, to the supernatural, to sci-fi, with each episode featuring an unexpected twist or moral.

The most recent reboot was inspired by the original series and each episode tackles topics such as fake news, immigration, racism, the supernatural and alien invasions. 

Some of the more notable episodes include a woman who discovers her camcorder can turn back time, a hotel manager who finds out everyone around her is standing still and an anthropologist who studies a strange gun. 

The reboot includes big names like Adam Scott, Taissa Farmiga, Chris O’Dowd, Billy Porter and Topher Grace.

Will and Grace 

Amazon Prime

Set in New York City, the cult sitcom follows the friendship between best friends Will (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace (Debra Messing), a straight interior designer. 

They are frequently joined by their friends Karen (Megan Mullally), an alcoholic socialite who is known for her vicious tongue, and Jack (Sean Hayes), a flamboyant and free-spirited gay actor. 

When the series initially aired in 1999, it was praised for introducing a mainstream American audience to gay culture, but has also faced criticism for stereotypical portrayals of gay characters. 

The show returned in 2017 and saw the group start families, move on with their careers and continue to love and support each other.

Veronica Mars 

Amazon Prime 

Noir mystery drama Veronica Mars follows Mars (Kristen Bell), a high school student and talented part-time private detective.

After learning the trade from her father, Mars frequently helps out friends and solves local crimes and scandals. 

However, when her best friend is murdered, Mars decides to solve the mystery herself, along with the help of her friends.

The show was cancelled after three series, but fans were so desperate to see the story continue, they raised over five million dollars to help finance the production of a film.

The film sees Mars investigate the murder of a former classmate, allegedly by Mars' ex-boyfriend. 

A final series, set five years after the film, sees Mars return to her hometown, now under siege by a mystery bomber. 

Poldark 

BBC iPlayer

Based on the novels of the same name by Winston Graham, Poldark initially aired in 1975, before a reboot was created in 2015. 

The series is set in the 18th century and follows Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner), who returns home to Cornwall after fighting in the American War of Independence. 

Once home, Poldark discovers his father has died, his estate is in ruins and his childhood sweetheart is engaged to his cousin. 

His luck begins to turn when he meets a young woman called Demelza (Elanor Tomlinson), who becomes his scullery maid and eventually his wife.

Over the years, Poldark and those around him deal with loss, love, war, politics and morality.

Queer Eye 

Netflix

Initially called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, each episode saw a team of gay men help makeover the life of a straight man, revamping their wardrobe, home and lifestyle and offering advice on grooming and food.

A reboot, simply called Queer Eye, was created 11 years after the original ended and features a brand new line-up, nicknamed the Fab Five. 

Antoni Porowski is the food and wine expert, Tan France is the fashion expert, Karamo Brown is the culture expert, Bobby Berk is the design expert and Jonathan Van Ness is the grooming expert. 

The Fab Five have helped men and women all over America, from Georgia, to Texas, to Kansas and Missouri. 

Roots 

Amazon Prime 

The original seventies television mini-series told a dramatized account of author Alex Haley’s family line, from his ancestor Kunta Kinte, who was sold into slavery to his descendant’s liberation. 

The reboot in 2016 sees Malachi Kirby play Kinte and starts with his abduction from his home in West Africa and sale to the owner of a tobacco plantation in Virginia. 

Over the years, Kinte has various failed attempts to escape before being forced to accept his fate, that he will never be free again. 

The brutality and heartbreak of an imprisoned life is explored as multiple generations of Kinte’s descendants are subjugated to a life in slavery. 

Reboots coming in 2021

Weakest Link 

BBC Two

Weakest Link originally debuted in 2000 and was hosted by the formidable Anne Robinson, who would regularly put contestants on the spot with her acerbic presenting style. 

The last version of the show was a Children In Need special, which aired in 2017.

The new reboot will be hosted by comedian Romesh Ranganathan and will once again put celebrities’ minds to the test in a quick-fire general knowledge quiz. 

Ranganathan will be taking his own unique presenting style and put the celebrities under pressure, as they attempt to avoid being eliminated and win money for their chosen charity. 

Gossip Girl 

BBC iPlayer 

A new generation of rich and famous prep school teens find themselves the subject of the famous gossip website that exposes the secrets of New York’s young elite.

Set eight years after the original website went dark, the new series will address how much social media and New York has changed during those years. 

Kirsten Bell will return to provide narration, but with a completely new more diverse cast, the show will reflect how the world looks now. 

Although the new characters will reference the old characters from the original series they will not appear in the reboot. 

Sex and the City

HBO Max

Cult 90’s TV series Sex and the City introduced the world to a close-knit group of four smart, confident women in their thirties and forties, navigating life together as single women in New York. 

Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is the narrator and main protagonist, a columnist who writes about sex and dating and is a member of the New York elite. 

Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) is a classic overachiever and perfectionist who works in an art gallery and is a hopeless romantic. 

Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) owns her own PR company and is very sexually confident and prefers sex without any emotion but purely for physical gratification.

Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) is a career focused lawyer who is initially distrustful of men and has little time for them. 

The reboot will see the main cast return, except for Kim Cattrall, and will explore the women’s lives and friendship now they are in their fifties.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks 

Sky

The music-based panel show, known for its dry humour and scathing attacks, is returning with a new host and team captains.

The original series aired from 1996 to 2015 and was first hosted by Mark Lamarr and later Simon Amstell. 

The new eight-part series will see Greg Davies asking the questions as the host, Daisy May Cooper and Noel Fielding as team captains and Jamali Maddix as a regular guest panellist. 

Each week, a new set of famous faces from the world of music and comedy will compete against each other, featuring much loved challenges from the original series and some new surprises.

Dexter 

Sky Atlantic 

The American crime drama set in Miami follows forensic technician Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), who secretly acts as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have evaded the traditional justice system. 

The series ended in 2013, but a new limited series called Dexter: New Blood has been announced, with Hall reprising his role as Dexter. 

The new series takes place ten years later and sees Dexter living in the fictional town of Iron Lake, New York, as a shopkeeper trying to live a normal life. 

But when a series of incidents occur which concern Dexter, he once again begins to struggle keeping his homicidal urges under control.

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TV reboots have had a recent resurgence, with a new generation experiencing classic shows with a new modern twist, from Queer Eye to Gossip Girl.