7 TV Shows We'd Hate to See Rebooted or Revived, Nostalgia Notwithstanding
Sex and the City
Would we buy a movie ticket to Sex and the City 3 in the event Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall settle their feud? Abso-f**king-lutely. But even if we’re left with just the two existing movies, at least they serve as decent epilogues for New York City’s four most frequent brunchers. And if the HBO comedy comes back for anything longer than a two-hour movie, we wouldn’t help but wonder if the cast and crew were just in it for the Manolos.
Lost
Over the course of six seasons, ABC’s mystery-riddled castaway drama went from zeitgeist phenomenon to cult classic as the writers shifted the focus from the island’s physical threats to its metaphysical properties — and, unfortunately, alienated viewers amid all the flash-forwards and flash-sideways. Still, Lost’s resident physicist would remind us that “whatever happened, happened,” and ABC execs should view the show as a bold experiment that can’t be replicated.
The Golden Girls
There’s no way to recapture the “pal and confidante” chemistry that Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, and Betty White so winningly displayed in this 1980s-era NBC sitcom. (TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland, also starring White, valiantly tried.) But if you’re yearning for another TV comedy featuring mismatched bachelorette roommates in their golden years, look no further than Netflix’s Grace and Frankie.
The Office
Unlike its U.K. counterpart, this NBC mockumentary sitcom didn’t leave viewers wanting more. If anything, it left viewers wanting less. Despite comedic heroics from stalwart stars John Krasinski, Jenna Fisher, Rainn Wilson — as well as the supporting cast — the show never recovered from losing Steve Carell in Season 7, and Mindy Kaling and Ellie Kemper’s Season 8 departures didn’t help either. If we want more Dunder Mifflin antics, we can rewatch the first few seasons. (And that’s what we said.)
Breaking Bad
AMC’s drug lord drama boasted one of the most coherent story arcs of any TV show we’d ever seen — all because creator Vince Gilligan and his writing staff knew when and how they would end Walter White and Jesse Pinkman’s travails. Sure, AMC is capitalizing on Breaking Bad’s success with spinoff Better Call Saul, but that critically-acclaimed drama has forged its own identity by focusing on a charismatic supporting character in a totally different time period.
Mad Men
Speaking of AMC dramas, this period piece had such prestige, other TV networks hastily (and thirstily) trotted out their own 1960s-set dramas. Think The Playboy Club, Pan Am, Vegas, Magic City, and The Astronaut Wives Club… and let their failures dissuade producers from trying to revive or reboot Mad Men, even if they can concoct a Don Draper-worthy marketing campaign.
Friends
OK, hear us out before you @ us. We’re hoping for a revival with the ‘90s NBC sitcom’s original cast just as much as you are, but we’d hate to see a reboot. Think about all the shows that have tried and fail to replicate the comedic formula brewed at Central Perk: For every Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, there’s a Coupling, a Roommates, a Friends With Better Lives. (And let’s just purge Joey from our collective memory.)
Reboots and revivals have taken the American TV dial for quite a spin in recent years. Roseanne is getting huge ratings on ABC, Will & Grace has NBC laughing all the way to the bank, The X-Files has Fox viewers spooked all over again, and Netflix is riding high on its Full House and Gilmore Girls revivals… and that’s just a cross-section of the “everything old is new again” trend.
But amid this “reboot fever,” which TV shows of yesteryear should be held sacred? Which series’ legacies should stand untouched?
Click through the gallery above for our picks for the television titles that should be viewed as un-revivable and un-reboot-able.
