In a world where Fuller House does spectacularly for Netflix and MacGyver has been a solid player on CBS' Fall schedule, it's not surprising that TV networks are going back to their archives to find old properties that they can dig up and make new again. In some cases like Girl Meets World, it's in the form of a sequel series featuring some of the other cast; in others like Hawaii Five-0 we're seeing an old favorite "re-envisioned" in a new form.
The fourth season of Arrested Development seemed to be one of the recent catalysts that got this revival phase going; there is already talk after a successful election-related tie-in that Will and Grace may even be getting some more episodes soon. Disney Channel has announced a That's So Raven sequel. Over on NBC, we may be seeing the adventures of Magnum P.I.'s daughter at some point in the future. Dynasty, of all things, is in development at The CW! And, of course, Twin Peaks is back at Showtime next year after decades away.
Although they have seen some success in the recent past, reboots and revivals don't always work. NBC's Ironside update came and went faster than you could say "Raymond Burr." The heavily promoted Heroes Reborn fizzled. FOX's new X-Files episodes did very well in the ratings, but most of TNT's Dallas didn't bring out the same power that the original 1980s incarnation did.
Obviously, though, the networks realize they have this intellectual property and it's an easy sell. All one has to say is the name of an old title and, for better or for worse, people know what you're talking about without spending a dime on advertising.
With that said, there are some shows out there that, for better or for worse, will probably be back on TV or a streaming service within the next fifteen years. Here are a few. This isn't a list of "should" so much as a "probably will." So, sorry folks: Firefly is absent. Enjoy:
Quantum Leap
A Quantum Leap reboot has been talked about several times over the last decade or so, with many of the potential ideas involving a female lead. Since it's a well-known concept and property for NBCUniversal, it'll surely be back at one point... but, of course, Scott Bakula is a bit busy with NCIS: New Orleans over at CBS.
The only thing that might prevent Quantum Leap from being revived anytime soon is that we have so much time travel-related content on television right now, between Timeless, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Making History, Time after Time, Frequency, and more. When there's an opening, though, don't be surprised if this is the reboot that we hear about next.
Veronica Mars
Yes, Kristen Bell is busy with her own NBC show right now. Yes, creator Rob Thomas has iZombie and The CW's upcoming Lost Boys movie revival happening. But also, yes, the Veronica Mars movie was fantastic, and Thomas has been known to give his earlier projects second tries before.
If Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is a success -- and who are we kidding, it's definitely going to be -- more shows of that era are sure to be looked into. And if Bell, Thomas, and key players are willing, wouldn't at least a short-run Veronica Mars season be fun?
If that doesn't happen, perhaps the concept could be completely revived in this social media era where it might get more attention from the very beginning. The problem, however, is that any successor to the Veronica role might pale in comparison to the original Kristen Bell recipe.
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown creator Diane English has (as recently as this past week) talked about how she wished her show was still on the air, if only to have a place for commentary on Donald Trump. The original Murphy Brown was topical -- so topical that that factor might be why we haven't seen the show too much in reruns after its popular 1990s CBS run.
Provided lead actress Candice Bergen would return, a modern-day Murphy Brown would be really interesting, especially as real-life journalists like Diane Sawyer are defying a media culture who expects women to disappear after a certain age. Who would still be at FYI? Would Murphy even be there? Isn't it crazy that Murphy's kid would be over 25 now? A Murphy Brown update would be fantastic -- and, it might revive the demand to get all of the classic episodes on a streaming service.
Freaks and Geeks
With such creative talents as Judd Apatow and Paul Feig at the helm, and boasting big names like James Franco and Seth Rogen in its cast, Freaks and Geeks was simply ahead of its time. With Apatow producing things for Netflix already, and Franco seemingly willing to do anything he's asked to do, it might be fun to see where the "kids" of McKinley High ended up decades later as a revival a la Gilmore. As a bonus: They'd probably be somewhere around 1999, when the actual show started.
Mayberry
It would probably be the worst idea in the world, but with CBS/Paramount owning the rights to The Andy Griffith Show and almost all of the original show's players being deceased, eventually someone is going to want to dig up this TV classic. In a strange way, Mayberry re-envisioned as a Twin Peaks-ish hourlong drama could be somewhat interesting, if not derivative of what The CW is doing with Archie Comics characters over on Riverdale. It's still a safe bet, though, that unless there's something contractual that would keep it from happening, we will be seeing Sheriff Andy Taylor, Opie, and that small town again -- whether we like it or not.
Married... with Children
As mentioned before, FOX saw some success with doing a limited number of new episodes of The X-Files earlier this year. There's another show in FOX history, however, that happened to be one of the network's first big hits... and the cast has lamented not getting to wrap it all up.
So... could we see the Bundys of Married... with Children again?
The show was an international success, and of course Ed O'Neill (Al) is busy at the moment at the head of Modern Family, but once that's done, and assuming all of the actors are willing, catching up with the trashy Bundy family, even for a short time, might be worth something worth seeing.
Heroes
Didn't I say up above that Heroes Reborn was pretty much a failure?
Yes. But it's also very valuable property in the NBC/Comcast/Universal arsenal, and the power and strong memories of that first season back in 2006 still endure. With that said, it would not be shocking if NBC tries it again, perhaps with a complete reboot of the concept and maybe even different creators. While one may argue that Reborn and the later seasons of the original series kind of killed it, there is still some goodwill there that could bring NBC success if nurtured well.
Glee
Glee itself seemed to reboot 3 or 4 times throughout its own six-season run, but again, it's a franchise that did very well for FOX. FOX also seems to love to be in the Ryan Murphy business. If and when Murphy feels the mood to bring it back, they'd probably welcome a new show with open arms -- even though an update of Popular would probably be so much better.
The Golden Girls
File this one under "really bad idea to revive but it'll probably happen anyway." The Golden Girls was a popular institution with a devoted following, but let's be realistic: No one can match the chemistry of the original four series leads, three of whom have since passed. While it'd be fun to see four new older women in 21st century Florida -- and that's probably what would end up being done -- they'd be unfairly compared to Betty White, Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, and Rue McClanahan. Maybe four old guys instead?
Sliders
Like with Quantum Leap, this is another one that might be held back by the overabundance of time travel TV right now. It's a popular property, however, that at some point, someone will want to exploit. Sliders also seemed to skew younger than Quantum Leap, and creator Tracy Torme would surely enjoy the opportunity to give the show another try with today's effects and on his own terms.
21 Jump Street
Another of FOX's early shows, 21 Jump Street has, of course, spawned a popular series of movies, but once Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum don't want to do it anymore, it's possible that such a concept could be revived for television. 25 year olds pretending to be 15? That reminds us of classic WB-CW television right there. It all really depends on the future of the movie franchise, but eventually, somebody is going to want to bring 21 Jump Street back to television.
Fame
The best time for an updated TV Fame might have been when Glee and Smash were big; the concept is still well known as a movie, a play, and a long-running TV series from the 1980s. (There was also a movie that is best left forgotten). In the modern TV world, themes that were not touched in the original show could get better attention, but most importantly, a new group of TV idols could come to the forefront. As a bonus, ancillary revenues from music and other such things could just flow in.
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows was a phenomenon during its original TV daytime run. While it would be fascinating to see a daytime series rebooted as a daytime series, the visual effects and attention needed for Dark Shadows really only would lend itself decently to a weekly TV series. With creator Dan Curtis now having passed away, ensuring that the next Dark Shadows won't just be a remake of the 1991 version, and the Tim Burton movie hopefully forgotten, some TV network is going to want to bring back Barnabas and company again, and hopefully the vampire will be the only part of that which sucks.
The Love Boat
UPN attempted this in the late 1990's with Love Boat: The Next Wave, but they were missing a key ingredient in most of their episodes: Having stars that people actually cared about, or at least, once cared about. Watching the original Love Boat, you'd see people who were very famous at the times those episodes aired.
Like Hawaii Five-0, The Love Boat is a concept that is known by two major things: The boat and that theme song. The popularity of series like Dancing with the Stars shows that people love to see their favorite celebrities doing anything, even if it's dancing. As a bonus, nostalgia is key, and if you had, say, a themed episode with child stars of the 1980s or something, it would be money in the bank. Someone's going to try this, and it's probably one of the most likely on this entire list.
Chuck
Since the conclusion of Chuck in 2012, fans have wondered what happened next for Chuck and Sarah, and there have occasionally been rumblings of an update. In this world of short-run "extra seasons," could Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski tell Chuck's next tale?
Possibly. It'd surely be better than the last TV show reboot Zachary Levi played a part in ...
Movie Bonus: Community
Weren't we promised six seasons and a movie? We still haven't gotten six seasons and a movie. So, whenever creator Dan Harmon and the series stars are free, a direct-to-somewhere movie is an inevitable thing. It's all a matter of "when."