Any Bias in the Business Of Reboots?

[DramatistDreamer]

In the Soaps preview thread, I was just watching some heartwarming video of Bryton James and Telma Hopkins discussing Hopkins' appearance on Y&R and they were asked about the possibility of a Family Matters reunion and both seemed hopeful for a future reunion but clearly there was nothing in production or even pre-production, which made me wonder what were the last highly popular and we'll known sitcoms with a majority Black cast to get a reboot?

Some may cite The Game and House Of Payne, but to me, neither one achieved the type of mass appeal that A Different World or a Family Matters got. Neither have those shows been a part of the broadcast cultural lexicon in the way that a Living Single or A Girlfriends or an In Living Color has been. I'd even rank The Game and House Of Payne below Sister Sister.

 

On the other hand, we've seen Full House, Punky Brewster and other shows get the reboot treatment with expectation that Sex And The City is soon to follow. They could only get a Friends reunion special, when we all know they wanted a reboot, but the reunion has had a ton of promotion, which I completely understand. It just seems like there is a disparity between the shows that get offers to reboot versus those that do not.

Thoughts?

[dragonflies]

Well with FRIENDS the actor's didn't want a reboot, but yeah I see what you are saying.

 

I can't think of any shows with POC was hugely popular to get a reboot

[ReddFoxx]

Sanford is probably the first example of a successful black sitcom getting a reboot, but that didn't last long at all and failed to get the attention that Sanford and Son did. Then there was What's Happening Now!! and one could say that What's Happening!! was moderately successful. With that said both of those revivals where in the 80s so there really has been no successful black sitcom that has received a reboot in recent times.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant, that tptb wanted a reboot but had to settle for a reunion special because that was all they could get. For years, the actors turned down any and all offers that would be a reboot or a retrospective. I was surprised that they even said yes to a reunion this time around.

 

 

 

I probably should have been clearer about the time period because I definitely meant l, in the last three or four years. I strain to remember shows featuring a majority Black or POC cast that have gotten more than a video on Entertainment Weekly:s social media platform. I only just found out that House Of Payne got a reboot, then again, I have only ever watched one episode of that show.

[Faulkner]

Fresh Prince is the only one I can think of, with their recent reunion and a dramatic reboot (albeit not with the same cast, so a little different—a proper reboot as opposed to a revival)

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/fresh-prince-bel-air-drama-reboot-works-1306799/

 

 

[Liberty City]

I think of the TNT continuation of Dallas, which is less of a reboot, but was done so well and so short-lived. Roseanne (and now The Conners).

Edited May 31, 2021 by Liberty City

[Vee]

Living Single supposedly had a hold-up with one of the cast before they could get going, and Kim Coles said it "wasn't who people think". That's all I know there, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the networks also slow-walked it out of racial bias. NY Undercover almost had a big revival with Malik Yoba and Lauren Velez back, but the network passed.

 

OTOH, I think the only thing keeping A Different World off the revival slate is Cosby sadly refusing to relinquish an onscreen name credit.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Vee

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I have been thinking about ADW  in terms of why they have had no reboot despite massive public interest and I think it is likely because NBCU or the other producers don't want to go to court, if Cosby is indeed the issue. Bill Cosby, a convicted sex offender would have a tough time keeping control of ADW if other producers truly wanted to fight him in litigation. Harvey Weinstein legally had his company wrested away from him eventually, so if it came down to a court battle, Cosby would have a decent chance of losing. It seems like a lack of will on behalf of the other producers, who may not see it as worth the effort, as hard as it may seem to believe by the rest of us.

 

I often think of the fact that most of these sitcoms with minority majority casts had smaller budgets, less promotion and usually went off the air with little fanfare or media recognition. It reminded me of the time when Black movies were said to be unappealing to 'mainstream' audiences and therefore undeserving of larger budgets for production, promotion, etc. as they would only underperform--until they didn't, consistently.

 

I once had a screenwriter/professor tell me that a movie with two Black leads couldn't get greenlit because it was assumed that the movie wouldn't "sell".  I hope those days are over in the film business but I wouldn't be surprised if that bias still existed in network television.

Insecure is approaching its final season, so we'll see how that send-off happens. It could be an indicator of what, if anything has changed on the landscape.

[ReddFoxx]

Oh, ok, got it. Black shows have definitely not been a part of the reboot wave. House of Payne only got a reboot because Tyler Perry can shoot at his own studio and reduce the costs to BET.

 

There are fewer black sitcoms on the air now than there were in the past four decades so a degree of bias does still exist.

[Vee]

 

I believe another poster indicated Debbie Allen said as much in the ADW thread. I do hope it happens eventually. I believe Issa Rae was part of the push for a revival alongside Allen.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Vee

[Skin]

I think there is a plethora of material to pull from, it may just be the cast members who are holding them up (in addition to the perceived belief that there is a lack of demand for the properties itself). The top ones that come to mind to me are: 

 

• Fresh Prince of Bel Air 
• In The House 
• The Jaime Foxx Show 
• The Parent Hood
• Hanging with Mr. Cooper
• Smart Guy
• Martin
• The Wayan's Brothers
• Kenan & Kel
• The Steve Harvey Show
• The Parkers
• Moesha

In addition to the giants of Sister Sister, Living Single, and A Different World.

 

Part of the issue to me may be that the sitcoms in general are so heavily nested in one tv personality, and they may have other projects or may not want to return to the previous roles which basically takes the selling power away from the project (Brandy, Steve Harvey, Will Smith, etc.). 

 

I mean pretty much every single television series listed comes from a cult of personality comedian or actor that was central to the success of the series, and it's less of an ensemble and more of a showcase of that individuals specific talents, which launched them to future success.  It's a little like trying to cast a Mary-Kate and Ashley television series, when they no longer want to act anymore, because they are the reason for the built-in audience. Sex and the City 3 was halted for years because Kim Cattral refused to be Samantha anymore. I can imagine these properties would struggle in the same way given the weight of these characters and the impact to the series.

 

I think the main reason why some of these actors are less likely to do reboots is because they may see it as taking away from the new work, new business or new property that could extend their shelf-life in the business. For instance Will Smith and Jamie Foxx could likely land other shows, that would pay them for their name recognition. So they would want to focus on their new projects instead of retreading old properties. Instead of reinvesting their legacy shows, they instead want to branch out and establish new ones to keep a steady stream of work. I think the addition of streaming plays a role in this too. Actors have more opportunities than they used to with network or cable television productions. Now with streaming they have more work to audition for, so you can see them doing multi-modal forms of acting with television, film and streaming all at once. 

[DramatistDreamer]

I'd trade all of those listed above for a reboot of ADW tbh. It's easily the most relevant and impactful. 

Bryton expressed the hope that something could be done with Family Matters and from what I have read everyone else in the cast is also on board. I just don't think there are any takers, in terms of production and distribution outfits.

 

When you look at budget for many of these shows, the shows with minority majority casts were always expected to do more with less. Living Single, a frontrunner and inspiration for Friends, had a much smaller budget, less promotion and smaller salaries despite having Kim Fields and Queen Latifah who were well-known entities by then. So, if the actors don't want to return because the "money's funny", then I don't blame them. They got screwed before, they're not up for that again.

 

How Insecure ends will be even more of a litmus test, in terms of whether the industry really has evolved or not.

 

I have to amend what I said about FM, there don't seem to be takers so far