Reboots are an important part of the TV landscape that give shows that were canceled before their time a second chance. Star Trek created an entire franchise out of reboots, and the Doctor Who revival was equally successful, while in the world of procedural TV, reboots of Matlock and Law & Order have both exceeded expectations.
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Unfortunately, not all reboots are so successful. Some never even make it to pilot or don’t get the go-ahead after the pilot is made. It is devastating for fans when a planned reboot falls through, especially for a beloved show with a big fanbase.
5) Sliders
Sliders was an innovative science fiction series that never got a proper ending. Quinn melded with an alternate universe self, and it wasn’t clear if the hybrid could survive a slide, and the other sliders jumped into a wormhole after having been blocked from going home earlier in the episode, but their fate is also unknown.
Thus, when NBC announced a Sliders reboot in 2019, fans were extremely excited. Unfortunately, that reboot never made it to the schedule, leaving the characters in limbo yet again and pulling the rug out from under the devoted audience almost two decades after the original had been canceled.
4) New York Undercover
New York Undercover was an underrated cop show that came from Dick Wolf, who is best known for the Law & Order and One Chicago franchises. This show followed the personal and professional lives of two undercover detectives. It was one of the earliest cop dramas to tackle social issues like racism and featured a Puerto Rican and a Black detective.
Although the final season replaced the original detectives, the show still had a devoted fanbase. It ended in 1999, but in 2018, ABC announced they were moving ahead with a reboot. It’s disappointing that it fell through.
The social issues the series tackled had gotten worse by 2018, so a show that gave voice to them was desperately needed. Additionally, long-time fans would have been able to catch up with their favorite characters and learn what they were doing now.
3) L.A. Law
L.A. Law was a groundbreaking legal drama back in the early 1980s that launched Jimmy Smits’ career and introduced the idea of law firms wrestling with ethical dilemmas. While there have been many such legal dramas following the series’ end in 1992, none compares to the original.
In 2021, ABC ordered a pilot for a reboot. This new show would have featured Blair Underwood, who was a member of the original cast, and introduced his character’s son and other new characters to create a new generation of LA Law. Sadly, ABC passed on the sequel series to LA Law, so fans will never get to meet this next generation of lawyers or experience what made the original such a worthwhile show.
2) Star Trek Phase II
In 1977, Gene Roddenberry and NBC were in talks to reboot Star Trek: The Original Series as Star Trek: Phase II. Roddenberry had gotten the original cast on board; he was also hoping to add more female characters in positions of authority. However, the project never went beyond the pilot stage, and instead, that pilot was used to create Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Of course, Star Trek now has a huge franchise with many spinoffs, and the Star Trek: The Next Generation reboot was wildly successful. However, it’s still disappointing that Roddenberry wasn’t able to execute his original vision for a reboot, and we will never know how the franchise would have developed differently had it been given this opportunity.
1) NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue constantly pushed the envelope when it originally aired on ABC, often choosing gritty realism over respecting taboos. It was a huge hit that ran for 12 seasons on ABC, and the idea of rebooting it was exciting.
In 2019, ABC ordered a pilot for a reboot in which Andy Sipowicz’s son, Theo, became a cop and was trying to solve his dad’s murder. ABC’s decision not to move forward with this show was infuriating for many reasons, not the least of which was that executives admitted the pilot was high quality and would have been picked up if they hadn’t had the original NYPD Blue to compare it to.
What reboots would you put on this list? Leave a comment and join the conversation at the ComicBook Forum.
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