Think you’ve seen this on TV before? You have
NEW YORK—As broadcast networks rolled out their plans for next season this past week, those watching could be forgiven for pulling out phones and checking the calendar.
There’s the cast of NBC’s “Will & Grace,” ready to return. The folks at “Roseanne” are back on the couch. “Dynasty” and “S.W.A.T.” are coming back with new actors, the latter settling in to a CBS lineup that already boasts “Hawaii Five-0” and “Macgyver.” Just a year after its farewell season, “American Idol” will live again.
With cable and streaming services enticing viewers with bold work like “Game of Thrones,” ”Stranger Things” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” broadcasters entered a time machine in a quest to find something appealing.
The reboot of “Roseanne,” ABC’s hit 1988-97 comedy about a working-class family led by Roseanne Barr, was that network’s big surprise.
“The Conners’ joys and struggles are as relevant and hilarious today as they were then, and there’s really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne,” ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said.
CW President Mark Pedowitz said it was a “no-brainer” to order a remake of the primetime soap “Dynasty.” Much of the network’s target audience hadn’t been born when onscreen divas Linda Evans and Joan Collins engaged in catfights.
Networks hope the reheated comfort food will appeal to those who remember the original shows as well as newcomers unaware they’re not seeing an original concept.
CBS Corp. Chairman Leslie Moonves, who called the “Roseanne” comeback a “stunt” in admiring fashion, suggested too much was being made of the trend. “When you look at the totality of what’s out there, it’s really a small part,” he said.