USA's mid-2000s sci-fi series The 4400 is getting a reboot at The CW, and honestly, it's a rare case of that idea being a decent one. Though it did run for four seasons, the original 4400 was never as appreciated in its day as it should have been, because people didn't really go to USA for sci-fi and everyone was caught up with Lost. But The 4400 (created by René Echevarria and Scott Peters) had a really interesting premise and a great cast -- it starred Mahershala Ali, Jacqueline McKenzie, Joel Gretsch, Laura Allen, Patrick Flueger, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Jenni Baird, Billy Campbell and Peter Coyote, alongside guest stars like Summer Glau and Garret Dillahunt -- and was a kind of superhero / X-Men-esque series before that became typical TV fodder.
The reboot comes from CBS studios, who produced the original series as CBS Paramount Network Television; the official logline reads:
Image via USA
Over the course of recent history, 4,400 young adults in their reproductive prime have gone missing all over the world — some disappearances happened as recently as a few weeks ago, while others date as far back as the infamous day the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957. One day in 2019, all 4,400 show up at the sites of their original abductions. None of them have aged a day; none have any memory of where they’ve been. The so called “4400” must grapple with their return to a changed and hostile world… and also contend with the reality that they’ve come back altered in ways that none of them yet understand.
It's the same as the original, just with an updated timeline (and CG). The reboot will be co-written by Craig Sweeny (Elementary) and Taylor Elmore (Justified), who collaborated on the CBS procedural Limitless. Sweeny, notably, also served as a writer on the original 4400 before moving into a supervisor producer role. Elmore is set to serve as showrunner if the project moves forward.
The CW has been rebooting plenty of series lately, from Charmed and Dynasty to upcoming series like L.A. Complex and Roswell, New Mexico. Your opinions may vary about which of these series warranted a reboot -- and how some of them are currently going -- but when it comes to The 4400, this could be an opportunity for The CW to add another supernatural series to its roster that is not another superhero series, but one that leans more into sci-fi. With plenty of drama, of course. I'm all for it!
For now, groove to the original's theme music below (the memories!), and let us know if you watched the original 4400 (which is currently available on Netflix).
