Every day more and more sitcoms from the late 1990s to the early 2000s are being rebooted into newer versions of the same shows. Some of these shows – produced by Nickelodeon and Disney – include Raven’s Home, Icarly, and Girl Meets World. When first released, these popular sitcoms centered around teens trying to survive high school. They were entertaining because they were funny, relatable, and jam packed full of drama. Growing up, I personally knew there was no better way to spend a Saturday morning than in front of the TV watching a sitcom about highschoolers getting into trouble. These early 2000s sitcoms typically came to an end in the season finale when the characters graduated high school and were forced to attend different colleges. These were probably the saddest moments in sitcom history – the characters were moving on with their lives which meant we as viewers had to do the same.

However, reboots bring back the same beloved characters as they try to figure out how to be fully functioning adults and raise a family. Reboots offer fans the chance to see what their favorite characters are up to later in their lives. I think this allows loyal fans to grow with their favorite characters. When the shows originally premiered, audience members were going through high school along with these characters. Now that same audience can watch those characters navigate adult life at the same time as they are entering into theirs.

 However, some of the reboots produced by Peter M. Lenkov, a Canadian television film writer and producer,  star completely new actors, playing the exact same characters who go on similar adventures as the old stars. Some of these shows include Magnum P.I., MacGyver, and Hawaii Five-O. These companies and producers tend to use old ideas to create something different, but similar to draw fans back into the same shows they used to love as young adults. To be totally honest, I have never seen the 1990s versions of any of the shows listed above; though, I have seen the reboots of all three due to their appearances on NBC. Having not seen the originals, I love the reboots because they star actors that I know and love from other tv shows and movies. If reproducing an old idea in a similar fashion creates a great, semi brand new show, then I am all in. 

I wholeheartedly support Hollywood’s idea to take old shows and create either a new or similar universe. I’m not saying Hollywood should not also produce new ideas, but from what I have seen being produced recently, they should still focus on some of the classics.

Some people may wonder why Hollywood is always shying away from new ideas and reverting back to old ones. This could be for many reasons; firstly, they feel that since the show turned great profit in the past, they will produce the same result in the future. This is true, except with the advent of social media advertising, old shows have the potential to be more widely viewed. People tend to be more hesitant to start a new show they have never heard of, whereas, when a familiar title crosses the screen they are more likely to click on it. However, in doing so some people believe Hollywood is ruining perfect endings by continuing with reboots. Reboots can feel the same as when a company produces too many seasons of one show. As the shows continue with more seasons being released they tend to take a turn. Sometimes the shift in direction is good, but most of the time the shows get old and fans grow tired of watching “the same story or problems over and over again.”

I believe producing too many seasons of one show is a completely different problem than reboots. Reboots give the opportunity for fans to enjoy the shows they used to love as kids, without the repetitiveness of watching the same episodes or reruns. Reboots of older sitcoms originally produced for tweens and teens have now been altered for those same tweens and teens as adults. Even though reboots are technically not “fresh” ideas, they are still different enough that I think they’re worth producing.