Revenge Reboot Cancelled by ABC

ABC has passed on a reboot of Revenge. The original series, which aired between 2011 and 2015 on the network, starred Captain America: The Winter Soldier star Emily VanCamp as a young woman who came to the Hamptons to exact revenge on the wealthy family that betrayed her and her father. According to TV Line, the reboot would follow a Latina immigrant arriving in Malibu to get her revenge on a pharmaceutical dynasty responsible for “the murder of her biochemist mother, the destruction of her family, and a global epidemic.”

Had it gone forward the Revenge reboot would have featured an unnamed fan-favorite character from the original — rumored to be Gabriel Mann‘s Nolan Ross. The series was being developed by original Revenge creator Mike Kelley who also wrote the first and second season of the series, though exited the series after season two.

Inspired by the Alexandre Dumas novel The Count of Monte Cristo, the original revenge was a breakout hit for ABC in 2011, though the drama’s ratings began to taper off after the second season. Still, the series had a devoted fan following and even got a tie-in graphic novel from Marvel that explored the origin of the series’ main character, VanCamp’s Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke. The series ultimately ran for four seasons on the network.

It’s unclear why ABC opted to pass on the Revenge reboot, though the COVID-19 pandemic may be a factor. The pandemic prompted industry-wide production shutdowns earlier this year and has left plans for the 2020-2021 television season a bit in flux with many networks opting to lean on non-scripted programming or delay the start of new seasons altogether — as has been the case with The CW. What is clear is that the Revenge reboot isn’t the only pilot that ABC has passed on. On Tuesday it was announced that ABC had passed on the thirtysomething sequel thirtysomething(else) which was set to star Supergirl alums Chris Wood and Odette Annable, the Jason Lee-led comedy Valley Trash, and The Brides, a modern take on the Dracula mythos from Riverdale‘s Greg Berlanti and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.

In addition to passing on the Revenge reboot and other pilots, ABC also recently cancelled several series, including the sci-fi mystery thriller Emergence which was cancelled after just one season.

Are you disappointed that the Revenge reboot isn’t going forward? Were you a fan of the original series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.