5 Sitcoms Reboots That Failed Miserably (& 5 That Actually Worked)

Rebooting a previous television success is seen by many critics as a lazy way to make television. But entertainment is a business, and the financial aspect of it must always be taken into consideration. Bringing back to life a fan-favorite can be a brilliant move, as many examples have proven. However, if the reboot fails, it can even affect the legacy left by the original.

A lot of old but gold shows have been revisited in the past years. Some reboots get a new cast and adaptations to fit in a new world and marketplace, but some continue from where they left off. Some work out; some really don’t.

10 Failed: Roseanne

Roseanne was a successful show in the late 80s, early 90s. Considered by many as the most realistic portrayal of the American working-class, the show even reached the number 1 position in the Nielsen ratings during its second season. It’s no surprise ABC decided the reboot the show in 2018.

The new Roseanne premiered in March 2018 to a large viewership. Its success even led ABC to renew it for an extra season. However, 2 months after the announcement, everything changed due to a tweet. ABC reversed its decision after show creator and star Roseanne Barr made racist remarks on Twitter.

9 Worked: The Conners

After Barr’s racist remarks and followed backlash, ABC decided to give Roseanne’s reboot a new reboot, without Roseanne. The Conners more or less follows where the original show left off (the showrunners decided to ignore a few storylines in the spinoff) but after the death of the show’s previous lead, Roseanne.

The working-class family didn’t struggle to find its way into the fan’s grace with its original heartfelt and comedic realism. The show has been surfing a good viewers’ response wave, keeping the ratings high and steady, and its renewal is considered a sure bet.

8 Failed: Fuller House

From 1987 to 1995, Full House brought to the viewers’ home a warm sweet view of a family in reconstruction after the father becomes widowed. Even though it was never critically acclaimed, the show had a large fanbase that kept it on the Nielson Top 30 for many years. In 2016, Netflix decided to give the show a reboot.

The new version, Fuller House, goes back to the Tanners 21 years after the original show ended. The new version had a 5-year run before it got canceled due to poor viewership. Even though it lasted for a while, it received harsh criticism from old fans and critics. The overall opinion was the show tried to recycle the same idea and repeated jokes without bringing enough new elements. Harsher critics even claimed the reboot threatened to stain the good memories left in the older generation. Its Rotten Tomatoes critic score was 42%.

7 Worked: One Day At A Time

One Day At A Time was a 1975 successful sitcom about a divorced mother raising two teenage daughters airing on CBS. Even though the show was successful, the network’s poor management made it move its time slot 11 times until the show’s viewership dropped too much, and it got canceled.

But in 2017, it got reimagined with a Latino family, and it premiered on Netflix. Four seasons later, however, it got strangely canceled. Netflix claimed low ratings, but many questioned the explanation because the platform doesn’t share its numbers. Thankfully, the show was picked by Pop TV for the fifth season.

6 Failed: Will & Grace

Will & Grace first aired in 1998, and it opened the door and paved the way for gay characters and protagonists on TV. The original show had a good run of 8 seasons at NBC, it was critically acclaimed, and won over a dedicated fanbase. And that’s probably what the creators, Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, had in mind when they decided to reboot the series in 2017.

The new version went on for three years, during which it suffered a lot of criticism for being stuck in anti-Trump jokes, and its viewership dropped so much it eventually got canceled. Rumors of a feud between stars Debra Messing and Megan Mullally began to circulate too, and overall it seems like the reboot didn’t add much to the legacy, and we didn’t really need it in the first place.

5 Worked: The Tick

The Tick started as a British comic book, became a Fox Network’s Animated TV series between 1994 and 1996, and it got its first live-action reboot in 2001 when Fox decided to give the show a new chance. However, due to harsh competition in the show’s time slot and allegedly lack of promotion from the network, which didn’t own the series’ rights, it got canceled before it aired all the nine episodes produced. But everything changed in 2016 when the show was again rebooted.

The third time was a charm, and the new reboot found critical praise, with the second season reaching a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

4 Failed: Arrested Development

FOX’s Arrested Development has a unique path within the TV landscape. From when it first aired in 2003 to it being canceled in 2006, it never really got much of the audience’s attention. After it stopped being aired, the show slowly found its way into the grace of a very loyal and big fanbase. The show became so acclaimed it prompted Netflix to give it a second chance in 2013.

But after great expectations, the reboot did not deliver, frustrating old and new fans with its fourth and fifth season, which came 5 years after, in 2018. The world also changed, a new president took office, and the Bluth family became uncomfortably familiar with real life. The final season of the reboot was finally canceled, and it left behind disappointment. Not only did the show’s writers not reach the peak they once had, but the unavailability of the now-famous cast left fans disappointed.

3 Worked: The Office

We all know that Steve Carrel’s The Office is the American version of Ricky Gervais’ show of the same name. But it is an example of a reboot that went a long way past the original. The Office UK ran for two seasons, and it’s a success of its own, praised still today by many critics and fans.

However, the American reboot developed a personality of its own, and it’s considered one of the best sitcoms in history. The key difference happened between seasons 1 and 2 when Michael Scott’s character was drastically changed into a clueless but well-intentioned boss. This gave The Office US fuel to run for 9 seasons as one of NBC’s highest rating shows.

2 Failed: The IT Crowd

The IT Crowd was originally a British workplace sitcom that became critically acclaimed and generated a stable cult fanbase. It ran for four series and a one-off episode that concluded the show in 2013. Its early success prompted NBC to create an American version in 2007, but even though it was advertised to air in 2008, it failed to get produced because it didn’t sit well with NBC chairman Ben Silverman.

In 2014, NBC again announced a remake, but the second attempt never aired either. After two failed reboots, NBC decided to give the cult comedy yet another chance, and a third reboot is on the way. Will it fail again?

1 Worked: Girls Meets World

Girl Meets World is a good example of a reboot that wasn’t afraid to change to keep its originality. The ’90s children’s ABC original was called Boy Meets World, and it centered around the teenage couple Cory and Topanga.

Its new version was aired on Disney Channel for three seasons, and it revolved around Cory and Topanga’s daughter, Riley. For the three years that it was on, the show was critically praised for bringing a sweet nostalgia while delivering a positive message of good values.

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