18 of the Buzziest Reboots to Hit TV Screens This Year

By Andrea Reiher

Updated on 9/17/2018 at 9:40 AM

Reboots and revivals are all the rage right now. If the success of Will & Grace, Twin Peaks, and The X-Files is any indication, we're in for several years of trying out old shows and movies to see if they can be continued or reimagined for the present day. This year is seeing at least a dozen new TV reboots coming to the airwaves, with several others in production that may make it to air in 2018 or may be pushed to 2019. Either way, everything old is new again.

01

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Step Up: High Water

Based on: The five Step Up films.
The new premise: This TV series follows the faculty and students at High Water, a cutthroat performing arts school in Atlanta. Original Step Up stars Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan are executive producers, and it stars artist Ne-Yo and Glee alum Naya Rivera.
Where to watch: YouTube Red

02

Queer Eye — Netflix

Queer Eye

Based on: The makeover reality show Queer Eye For the Straight Guy that aired on Bravo from 2003 to 2007.
The new premise: Same idea — five gay men, each with their own area of expertise, make over a hapless man (or woman), helping to organize everything from their messy homes to their messy lives.
Where to watch: Netflix

03

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Heathers

Based on: The 1988 black comedy about a popular girl who longs to rid herself of the three Heathers she is now friends with — but things get out of control when she and an outcast boy, J.D., start killing popular kids.
The new premise: Same idea, except the Heathers went from being three straight, white girls to a more alternative leader, a black lesbian, and a Heather who is genderqueer. It was originally intended to be an anthology series, but due to the level of violence depicted and the ongoing rash of school shootings in America, the Paramount network ultimately decided to pull the plug.
Where to watch: Nowhere, for now.

04

American Idol — ABC

American Idol

Based on: The popular singing competition show that ran for 15 seasons on Fox.
The new premise: ABC brought back the show with a new batch of judges: Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. Maddie Poppe was this year's winner!
Where to watch: ABC

05

Roseanne and The Conners — ABC

Roseanne and The Conners

Based on: The ABC sitcom that ran from 1988 to 1997.
The new premise: The whole Conner family returned, only now Roseanne and Dan's kids were all grown up and had a few children of their own. The reboot was abruptly canceled after a series of racist tweets from Roseanne Barr but is coming back once again without her in the form of The Conners. The new take on the family will kill off matriarch Roseanne and continue with the rest of the kids.
Where to watch: Episodes of the reboot were pulled amid backlash, but The Conners will likely premiere in 2019.

06

Bug Juice — Everett Collection

Bug Juice

Based on: The Summer camp reality show that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons beginning in 1998.
The new premise: It's the same premise as the original Bug Juice, which follows a group of tween campers throughout one season of Summer camp. The revival heads back to Camp Waziyatah, the location of the first season of the series, though it's interesting to see what kids are like nowadays as compared to 1998 (when they didn't even have cell phones).
Where to watch: DisneyNOW mobile app and Disney VOD (Video On Demand)

07

Trading Spaces

Based on: The original home design show that ran for eight seasons beginning in 2000.
The new premise: The new premise is pretty much exactly like the old show, albeit with a bigger budget. One pair of connected people (husband-wife, father-son, sisters) trade a room in their house with another pair. Over the course of a weekend, they give each other's space a makeover, with the help of a carpenter, a designer, and a $2,000 budget. Host Paige Davis has returned, as well as designers Doug Wilson, Genevieve Gorder, Hildi Santo-Tomas, Vern Yip, Frank Bielic, Laurie Smith, and carpenter Ty Pennington. There are also new designers and carpenters in the mix.
Where to watch: TLC

08

Howards End — Starz

Howards End

Based on: The Oscar-winning 1992 British drama starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, and Helena Bonham Carter.
The new premise: It's a retelling of this story of British society in the early 20th century. Hayley Atwell steps into Thompson's shoes, and Matthew Macfadyen steps into Hopkins's. Theirs is the central romance of the book by E.M. Forster.
Where to watch: Amazon

09

Lost in Space — Netflix

Lost in Space

Based on: The 1965 sci-fi series that ran for three seasons on CBS.
The new premise: Considering this was made over 50 years later and by Netflix instead of a broadcast network, the reboot resembles the original in name and very basic plot details only. In this version, Toby Stephens and Molly Parker head up the Robinson family, who, along with a group of other colonists, wind up stranded on an unknown planet light years from their intended destination. Parker Posey also stars.
Where to watch: Netflix

10

Muppet Babies — Everett Collection

Muppet Babies

Based on: The cartoon that aired from 1984 to 1991 on CBS.
The new premise: Disney Junior is bringing back this beloved children's series. It airs two 11-minute stories within each half-hour episode, encouraging children ages 4 to 7 to use their imagination when they play.
Where to watch: Disney Junior

11

Condor — AT&T

Condor

Based on: The 1976 political thriller Three Days of the Condor, which is based on the 1974 novel Six Days of the Condor by James Grady.
The new premise: Max Irons plays a CIA analyst who returns from a lunch run to find everyone assassinated, a role played by Robert Redford in the film. Mira Sorvino plays the lead investigator in the assassinations.
Where to watch: AT&T/DirecTV

12

Jersey Shore: Family Vacation

Based on: The reality show that ran from 2009 to 2012 on MTV.
The new premise: The original cast (minus Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola) filmed a reunion series that's in the midst of its second season already.
Where to watch: MTV

13

Murphy Brown — Everett Collection

Murphy Brown

Based on: The CBS sitcom set at a news station that ran from 1988 to 1998.
The new premise: CBS ordered it straight to series with a 13-episode order, so it's on the docket for a 2018 launch. Candice Bergen, the titular news anchor, is reprising her role, and original executive producer Diane English is also involved as a writer and EP. There aren't a lot of other details yet, but the CBS announcement says that Brown will return to "a world of cable news, social media, fake news and a very different political and cultural climate."
Where to watch: Thursday, Sept. 27, on CBS

14

Magnum P.I. — CBS

Magnum P.I.

Based on: The 1980s crime series that followed the adventures of Hawaii-based private investigator Tom Selleck (and his unforgettable mustache).
The new premise: CBS has updated a few things, but overall the show seems to be sticking fairly closely to the premise of the original. Jay Hernandez is playing the lead, an ex-Navy SEAL who begins working as a private investigator in Hawaii.
Where to watch: Monday, Sept. 24, on CBS

15

Picnic at Hanging Rock — Everett Collection

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Based on: The Australian mystery drama film of the same name that came out in 1975.
The new premise: This chilling miniseries travels back to the 1900s to tell the story of a girls' boarding school in Australia. During a Valentine's Day picnic in the great outdoors, three schoolgirls and their governesses mysteriously disappear. The series stars Natalie Dormer and Lola Bessis.
Where to watch: Amazon

16

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Jack Ryan

Based on: Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels and subsequent film adaptations starring Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and more.
The new premise: John Krasinski stars in this political action thriller about a CIA analyst who gets roped into a dangerous real-world assignment away from the safety of his desk, leading to brushes with an international terrorist cell and more than a few threats to his life.
Where to watch: Friday, Aug. 31, on Amazon

17

Charmed — The CW

Charmed

Based on: The WB supernatural series about three witch sisters that aired between 1998 and 2006.
The new premise: The new version of the series has been written by Jessica O'Toole and Amy Rardin (Jane the Virgin), and will have a "feminist" twist as "three brand new sisters in a college town discover they are witches" and juggle "vanquishing supernatural demons, tearing down the patriarchy, and maintaining familial bonds."
Where to watch: Sunday, Oct. 14, on The CW

18

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina — Netflix

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Based on: A graphic novel of the same name that's based on the 1990s sitcom that's based on a character in the Archie comics.
The new premise: You'll recognize familiar characters like Sabrina, a teenage witch (Kiernan Shipka); her two magical aunts; her boyfriend, Harvey; and even her cat, Salem. But this twist on the beloved comedy hails from the creative forces behind Riverdale, so you can expect grim storylines, murder, and plenty of atmospheric mist.
Where to watch: Friday, Oct. 26, on Netflix