They don’t make them like they used to. Or so the saying goes. TV executives are quickly catching on to the fact that we miss the great retro shows that used to grace our TVs, or perhaps they are running out of original ideas. The result is a flurry of remakes which are set to hit our screens soon. Here are some of the remakes you can look forward to in the next few months.
Xena Warrior Princess
An early proponent of girl power before the Spice Girls brought it into the mainstream, Xena was a super popular show in its day. The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the show’s makers were looking to make a revival, and seeking a writer to bring Xena into the present day. Since Lucy Lawless met her end in the series finale, the remake will obviously star new acting talent. We’ll have to wait and see what unfolds for Xena in the coming months. Lawless tweeted that the remake is simply a rumour that is “still in the wishful thinking stage”.
Ducktales
With all these great sitcoms and dramas being remade, it’s easy to forget the retro kids’ cartoons (how many can you remember?) that today’s parents grew up watching. Ducktails is just one of these that is being remade by Disney XD, bringing our favourite beaked heroes Huey, Dewey and Louie back onto our screens where they belong. Oh, and don’t forget the real stars of the cartoon: Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck. You’d be quackers to miss it!
The Muppets
One more for the little ones. Millions of worldwide fans of The Muppets can breathe a sigh of relief because the show is being remade for ABC, 19 years after it ended in 1996. A pilot has apparently been ordered and team members who worked on the original show are being lined up to work on the remake. Admit it, there’s a kid inside you that’s silently cheering right now.
X Files
Here’s one retro show that you can truly get excited about, because it will thankfully feature the same great actors that made the show so popular to begin with. That’s right, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be back on Fox early in 2016. The X Files will return with a six episode miniseries with Mulder and Scully solving our favourite paranormal mysteries. The premiere date has been set for January and some other familiar faces will be back on the show, too, including Mitch Pileggi, who plays Walter Skinner and William B. Davis, who plays The Smoking Man. Watch a very brief teaser in the video below:
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Nineties kids, it’s time to celebrate! Rumour has it that Will Smith, star of the hugely popular series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, is working on a remake of the series, which launched his career all those years ago. Smith will be behind the camera this time as producer of the show, which will have a similar fish-out-of-water storyline but with a contemporary update. The show is only in the very early stages at the moment, so anything could happen.