ABC Developing ‘Bewitched’ Reboot With Interracial Family

Another day, another reboot of a classic television series in the works! This time, it’s Bewitched that’s getting the updated iteration.

According to a new report from Deadline, ABC has ordered a pilot for a Bewitched reboot from black-ish creator Kenya Barris. The high-profile producer recently signed a deal with Netflix, but Bewitched will be his final project with ABC Studios. Barris’ deal with ABC was terminated on Aug. 15, just days after he sold his Bewitched project to the studio.

The premise of the new version of Bewitched will be based on the original 1960s sitcom, but comes with quite a few changes. The new series will be a single-camera sitcom that focuses on an interracial blended family.

Barris will create the series along with black-ish writer/co-producer Yamara Taylor. The project is being produced by ABC Studios, Sony Pictures TV, and the Sony-based Davis Entertainment.

This new Bewitched will center around Samantha, a Black, hardworking, single mother who marries a White man named Darren, who’s kind of a slacker. Little does Darren know, Samantha is actually a witch. The two will struggle to navigate their differences, including both race and magic, as the series goes on.

A reboot of Bewitched has been explored on multiple occasions over the past few years. CBS was developing a remake of the series in 2011-2012, but that fell through, as did ABC’s most recent attempt in 2014. The studio produced a pilot the second time around, which landed over at NBC, but was never picked up to series.

While a TV reboot has yet to work out, Bewitched was adapted into a live-action movie in 2005. Nicole Kidman starred as Samantha opposite Will Ferrell, but the movie didn’t perform as well as expected.

The original Bewitched series, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, ran for 254 episodes, from 1964 to 1972. A short-lived spinoff series based on Samantha’s daughter, Tabitha, aired in 1977.

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