More proof that Hollywood is creatively spent comes in a report I read online earlier this morning.
Sometime next year, CBS plans on bringing back The Brady Bunch, updated for the 21st century. It's being billed as a reboot, but based on what I've read, I don't think it really is. Rather, it may be a continuation of the decades-long saga that began all the way back in 1969. Plus, it's the first Brady project without the supervision of series creator Sherwood Schwartz, who passed away several months back.
Linked to the new Brady Bunch, at least from a creative standpoint, is actor Vince Vaughn, currently in "The Watch" with Ben Stiller. However, it isn't Vaughn's first go as a TV producer. He currently has a series airing on TBS, Sullivan & Son, which has gotten off to a good start. Former child actor Peter Billingsley ("A Christmas Story") is also attached as a producer, along with Lloyd Schwartz, Sherwood's son and former producing partner.
The idea here is that youngest son Bobby would now be the focus of the show, divorced, remarried, and with 3 kids of his own. The remaining question is whether or not the new series does indeed carry over from 1990's The Bradys, which saw Bobby (Mike Lookinland) become paralyzed after a racing accident. When that series ended, he was making strides toward walking again and casting aside his wheelchair. We'll just have to wait and see how that all plays. CBS was home to The Bradys for its all-too-brief 5-week run in February & March 1990, and since CBS, having absorbed Paramount's television division, owns the rights to the Brady franchise, well, it makes sense for the new show to air there. The only question is what the right date would be. The Bradys aired on Fridays, as the original series did, but bombed. A different night would help, under the right circumstances.
Later this month, I'll be taking a look back through Brady history, though the animated Brady Kids has already been dealt with over on my other blog, Saturday Morning Archives. Maybe by then, we'll all learn more about the new Bunch.
4 comments:
Just like the upcoming "Munsters" reboot, I don't think it's a good idea to revisit The Bradys. Remember "The Brady Brides"??
As for Bobby, I do wonder if they would get Mike Lookinland again. I wouldn't be suprised if they decided to go for a different actor since Lookinland did move on to other things away from the camera since the 90s. If they do, it may automatically work against the producers.
I also thought about that soapy plotline about Bobby having been paralyzed and whether or not it would still be part of the new show's continuity. Since TV execs do what they want, It wouldn't suprise me if they pretended the events of the 90s series didn't happen at all.
You know that if this series makes it to air, viewers will be expecting the inevitable reunion of the other Bradys (and acknowledge the passing of patriarch Mike Brady of course).
I've also heard that Bobby and his new wife would have one child together as well as their children from their respective marriages (which was also what the producers of the original series wanted to do, but TPTB decided against Carol having another child). I wonder if they'll get away from the happily blended family the original Bradys were and show actual issues created with divorce, remarriage, and new children.
I might tune in for the first ep just for the curiosity factor, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.
I'm not getting my hopes up, either.
Let's acknowledge one thing. Vince Vaughn is on board perhaps because he is a fan of the original series franchise, and wants to keep it going. Whether that means continuing from before or starting anew, with Bobby as the touchstone instead of Mike---and I have no doubt it'll be with an all-new cast, a la the two feature films with Shelley Long & Gary Cole---as long as some of the original gang gets in somewhere along the way.
This could be the "Tabitha" for a new generation!
Considering that Tabitha ended up a failure, despite the talent involved, I wouldn't want to wish that on the new Brady Bunch.
Let's just wait and see how it develops.
Post a Comment