TV Reboots ‘Scrubs,’ ‘Buffy’ and ‘Malcolm,’ Fueled by Millennial Nostalgia

Just when you thought there was nothing left to reboot, remake, or revive, TV experiences a new wave of nostalgia. And this time there’s a turn-of-the-century twist.

Shows from the late 1990s and early 2000s are back: “Scrubs,” which ran from 2001 to 2010, will be relaunched Feb. 25 on ABC with new and returning cast members. Sarah Michelle Gellar returns as part of Chloé Zhao’s sequel series “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003), expected to premiere on Hulu in 2026. And Disney+ is behind the limited reunion of “Malcolm in the Middle” (2000-2006), due in the spring and starring Bryan Cranston, Frankie Muniz and the rest of the original cast.

That’s just the top of the list of reboots and revivals in the works. Hulu just ordered a series of a new version of “Prison Break” (2005-09, with a repeat in 2017), from Elgin James and starring Emily Browning. At Onyx Collective, Kerry Washington is developing a new take on ‘Desperate Housewives’ called ‘Wisteria Lane’. The teams behind ‘blue sky’ series such as ‘White Collar’ and ‘Royal Pains’ are also trying to revive their shows. And Peacock has greenlit a “Community” film, though scheduling conflicts have held up production.

These projects all join recent entries, including a double-shot from TV mega-producer Greg Daniels, whose revamped version of “King of the Hill” (starring Mike Judge) earned critical acclaim — and was just renewed for two more seasons — while his “The Office” offshoot, “The Paper” (made with Michael Koman) did well for Peacock and premieres linearly on NBC on Monday.

What’s partially driving this trend are demographic shifts: As millennials reach middle age, they’re more interested in nostalgia for the shows of their youth. And their Gen Z kids, who have treated them to streaming, are intrigued too.

“Millennials are getting to that age where they’re watching things because they want to pass a lot of it on to their kids, and they have a lot more influence as a consumer group because of their size, but they also just have nostalgia for these things,” says former The WB president Jordan Levin, who was instrumental in programming for that age group when they were teenagers.

Reboots, remakes and revivals have been part of the TV landscape since the beginning (think the many iterations of ‘The Romantic People’, ‘Dragnet’ or later, ‘The Brady Bunch’). The idea of ​​”getting the band back together” became more powerful in the multichannel era, when programmers relied on well-known titles because their built-in consciousness made them easier to market in a cluttered landscape.

Streaming in its early days was built on the backs of revivals: “Arrested Development,” “Fuller.”
House” and “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” were early Netflix entries, while Hulu boosted its slate with reruns of “Veronica Mars” and “Animaniacs,” Peacock launched with “Punky Brewster,” “Saved by the Bell” and “Bel-Air” and Paramount+ came out of the gate with “The Real World” reunion seasons, new “Rugrats,” a return to “iCarly” and a new take on “The Twilight Zone.”

But recapturing the magic of the original isn’t easy – which is why most of these revivals don’t last more than a handful of seasons. The return of ‘Will & Grace’ opened big in 2017, but quickly fizzled out, as did attempts to bring back ‘Murphy Brown’ and ‘Mad About You’. “Punky Brewster” and “Saved by the Bell” quickly disappeared, and more recently “Frasier,” “That ’90s Show” and “Night Court” couldn’t go as far. (CBS Studios tried to acquire “Frasier” on other platforms after the show was canceled at Paramount+, but had no luck.)

“They’re never that good, and you can’t help but compare it to the original,” says a TV showrunner who opted not to reboot his show.

Series that have been successfully revived include “Roseanne,” which continued as “The Conners” for seven seasons even after Roseanne Barr was fired. On the animation front, in addition to the roaring return of ‘King of the Hill’, the new seasons of ‘Futurama’ and ‘Phineas and Ferb’ have also made a splash in their comebacks.

Because there’s so much stigma about trying to revive long-dormant shows, some stars and showrunners would rather get together for a reunion special. ‘Friends’ did one on HBO Max in 2021, while CBS just recorded a 30th anniversary ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ event that will air on November 24. And in January, the cast of “Married … With Children” will reunite onstage in Los Angeles for a non-televised reunion. Then there are the countless rewatch podcasts hosted by former stars of fan-favorite shows.

Perhaps there is a lesson somewhere that not everything needs revival. “It basically comes down to: Is there a reason why it’s artistic?” says Levin. “Is there a purpose? Is there a catalyst for that beyond just economics, marketing and awareness? We’ve certainly seen the underlying intellectual property being rebooted in a new way because someone takes it and makes it their own.”