9 Reboots and Revivals That Could Replace 'Roseanne' on ABC This Fall
Freaks and Geeks
Nearly two decades later, fans are still mourning the loss of this NBC dramedy, which launched the careers of James Franco, Seth Rogen, Busy Philipps, and Jason Segel, among others… and which made McKinley High our dream alma mater long before Glee.
My So-Called Life
Speaking of one-season-wonder teen dramas, this show is also ripe for rebooting. Granted, even Claire Danes and Jared Leto probably couldn’t play high schoolers at this point, so there’d have to be a new cast. But the social issues the show tackled — including school violence, substance abuse, and homophobia — are still just as relevant now as they were then, unfortunately.
Party Down
The all-star cast for this cater-waiter comedy included Lizzy Caplan, Jane Lynch, Adam Scott, Ken Marino, and Megan Mullally. Good thing they all had better acting career prospects than their characters — because Showtime canned the show after just 20 episodes. That was just an appetizer, really, so it’s high time for another course.
Pushing Daisies
Characters cheated death (and ate a lot of pie) in this fantastical, musical dramedy… but the show itself cheat cancellation after the 2008 Writers’ Strike. It’s about time ABC resurrected the Emmy-winning series, though, and creator Bryan Fuller is already eying
Roseanne’s old timeslot.
Firefly
No list of canceled-too-soon TV shows would be complete without this FOX space western starring a motley crew of misfits played by the likes of Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, and Morena Baccarin. Now that big-screen continuation Serenity aside is already 13 years old, it’s time to book another ticket to the farthest frontiers of the Whedonverse.
Chuck
A big box superstore employee becomes an unlikely spy in this dramedy that eked out five seasons before landing on NBC’s burn list. And star Zachary Levi has never given up trying to get fans one more reprise — or, should we say, one Buy More reprise?
Agent Carter
And while we’re talking spies, we gotta mention this recent ABC casualty. Thanks to Hayley Atwell’s moxie as the titular agent, this 1940s-set action drama was simply Marvel-ous, and fans really, really want it to take Roseanne’s spot.
Happy Endings
ABC could also bring back this beloved ensemble sitcom — focused on a tight-knit group of Chicagoan friends portrayed by Elisha Cuthbert, Casey Wilson, Damon Wayans, Jr., et al — the 2013 cancellation of which was deemed one of the worst TV decisions of that season.
Cougar Town
Meanwhile, if this ABC comedy got the revival and renaming it so desperately deserves, only its tiny but devoted legion of fans would know it isn’t a new show! We need all of the Cul-De-Sac Crew — including Courtney Cox, Christa Miller, and the aforementioned Busy Philipps — back on our screens pronto. In fact, let’s just call it The Cul-de-Sac Crew…
All of a sudden, ABC has a gaping void in its fall schedule now that Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet has gotten the Roseanne revival canceled.
Luckily for the network, countless canceled-too-soon TV shows are ready and rarin’ for a revival. Sure, the logistics might be tricky — and some of these contenders are hour-long shows — but this is a network with Disney money behind it, right? Is there any mountain Mickey Mouse can’t move?
With the assumption that all options are open, click through the gallery above for some shows — Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and more — we’d most want to see given a second chance!
See Also