Rebooting classic sitcoms (or even any noteworthy TV series) has become a staple of television strategy in recent years, more so than even just a decade ago. One Day At A Time, Will & Grace, Boy Meets World, Roseanne, and Murphy Brown have all been released in the past three years alone as either revivals or complete reboots. There are still some beloved sitcoms from years past that haven’t been given the reboot treatment (yet at least), one of which is the quirky mid-90s sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun, the series that saw John Lithgow win three Primetime Emmy Awards and starred a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Could it happpen? And would the cast be interested?
“As soon as I’m available,” Lithgow told Deadline when the idea of rebooting the series (specifically for the big screen) was brought up. The actor said that the series was the thing he was recognized the most for by fans and people on the street.
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“Yes, I would say (that), which suits me just fine. I just loved 3rd Rock From the Sun. It’s amazing how often when I’m asked to do something that couldn’t be more different, the director or the writer will cross reference my performances in 3rd Rock from the Sun, because I went flying in all directions in that role. It was an alien trying out different ways of being a human, trying to figure things out.”
Lithgow’s comments about returning are similar, but perhaps a little more agreeable, than what he told told BuzzFeed’s AM to DM earlier this year.
“I would never say no to anything,” Lithgow previously said. “My only hesitation is that it was the perfect experience, and I’m a little wary of returning to anything and having it be less than what it was. It was a perfectly wonderful six years.”
3rd Rock From the Sun was created by That ’70s Show‘s Bonnie and Terry Turner and ran for six seasons and 139 episodes on NBC from 1996 to 2001. Though the original series is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video, one place where a revival or reboot of the series could find success is on NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming service Peacock. The new service will launch in April of 2020 and be the exclusive streaming home for hits like The Office, and as NBC works to populare their service with new original content, there’s a sitcom waiting to be rebooted as the Solomon family likely have new lessons to learn about Earth.
