For FanSided’s ‘Reboot Week’, we’re looking at popular TV shows that deserve a reboot. Every show on this list was gone too soon and deserve another shot.
TV shows come, and TV shows go, but some remain in the hearts of fans forever long after they’ve been canceled. For FanSided’s ‘Reboot Week,’ we look at five TV shows that deserve a reboot from after 2000, and after, each show was cut short but which deserve a reboot.
With the popularity of shows like Roswell, New Mexico proving how canceled shows can be given a new lease on life, we’re confident that the beloved shows on our list would have broad appeal if someone could just give them a second chance!
5. Dark Angel
A genetically enhanced super-soldier searches for her fellow soldiers while trying to hide from an organization hellbent on destroying all its experiments. Along the way, Max makes unlikely allies and friends and begins to discover more about herself.
Unlike several shows on this list, Dark Angel at least got a send-off when its two-season run was cut short. But that doesn’t mean it left fans satisfied—while the show was self-contained, there was plenty of cyberpunk history and world-building that was left to be explored.
And with its 20th anniversary coming up in 2020, now is the best time to start thinking of a reboot. Girl power stories have come a long way since the start of the 21st century—the often-monotonous Strong Female Characters™ have been replaced with nuanced, multi-dimensional women.
Why not reboot Dark Angel for a brand new audience, this time with a complex protagonist who is more than just a pair of fists with an attitude? Plus, the super-soldier spin has been far too male-oriented—a woman needs to be seen in this role! Dark Angel is just one of several TV shows that deserve a reboot.
4. Almost Human
In a dystopian future, humans and synthetics work side by side to stop alarmingly high rates of crime. Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban), a troubled man with a dislike for synthetics, is partnered with the almost human synthetic Dorian (Michael Ealy) to fight crime together—if they can get along, that is.
Almost Human was far more popular with viewers than it was with critics—which led to its cancellation after just one season in 2014. But it’s one of those shows that people still talk about fondly, not least because of the insane chemistry between lead actors, Urban and Ealy.
The concept of Almost Human was strong, but the show relied too heavily on exposition to relay its story. There were also a few too many ‘edgy’ elements that came across as clichéd, at best.
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All of which makes the show ripe for a reboot! We’ve learned from the mistakes of the past. A reboot can focus on world-building through actions, not words, and place the focus entirely on the relationship between the protagonists, rather than other elements.
And maybe take the queer route when defining the relationship instead of queer-baiting as the original show did.
Almost Human is available for purchase on iTunes and Google Play.
3. The Tomorrow People
A teenager learns he’s part of a small group of people who have jumped ahead on the evolution scale—known as the Tomorrow People. But enjoying his newfound powers will have to wait because there is an organization hunting down psionic beings—and they shoot to kill.
Itself a reboot of a classic British children’s show, the US version of The Tomorrow People only survived one season, another victim of the treacherous 2013-14 TV season. But in that short time, it packed in a ton of plot, captivating characters, and so much intrigue.
Tuning into this show every week, one never knew what would happen, which made the experience even more fun. The show’s premature cancelation was heartbreaking for fans, which heavily skewed towards YA audiences at a time when sci-fi and fantasy were geared for either very young fans or older viewers.
The appeal of The Tomorrow People was strong. However—most of the actors have gone on to have substantial careers in genre fiction, which only makes the loss of the show even harder for fans.
Now is an excellent time for a reboot—superpowers are all the rage in film and television, and The CW is killing it with the Arrowverse, the Roswell remake, and YA-oriented shows like Riverdale and Nancy Drew. The Tomorrow People earns its place among the many TV shows that deserve a reboot.
2. Heroes
Around the world, people achieve superpowers, but what they do with them could change the fate of the planet and impact everyone’s futures.
The show that started so well but became oh, so bad! Heroes was all the rage when it first launched—you could barely turn a corner without hearing someone yell, “Save the cheerleader, save the world!” Heroes also launched the careers of many well-known faces—Masi Oka, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Hayden Panettiere, Santiago Cabrera, and Zachary Quinto have all become household names thanks to this show. If only Heroes had managed to continue in the same vein as its first season.
To say Heroes was canceled is an understatement—the first installment was a massive success, followed by a slower second season, and two more seasons that were so awful, they ruined the whole show.
People no longer talk of Heroes with the sense of awe that they used to in 2006—it’s considered more of a joke now. Even a short-lived revival in 2015 couldn’t save the image of the show.
That’s why we need a complete reboot of Heroes right now—as we said, superpowers are in, and people can’t get enough of shows about them. Plus, the extensive cast of characters will ensure that audiences are never bored.
However, we suggest avoiding the flaws of the original—make it into an anthology series focusing on different sets of characters and their own trajectories, a la True Detective and The Sinner. Make this happen, world! Heroes may have already had a “revival,” but we feel it is one of the most obvious TV shows that deserve a reboot.
You can stream Heroes on Amazon Prime Video.
1. Firefly
In a dystopian future, a ship of smugglers tries to make their way in space while harboring a fugitive who could prove that everything in the galaxy is a lie.
No list of modern TV shows would be complete without Firefly. A favorite for geeks in the 21st century, Firefly was praised for its unique concepts and unusual characters. However, on closer inspection—and rising skepticism from feminists—Firefly was found to be disturbingly misogynistic, appropriative, and filled to the brim with tropes.
It didn’t help that Joss Whedon, creator and purported feminist, turned out to be exactly the kind of man that the #MeToo movement would pivot on years later.
Plus, despite Firefly’s cancellation, the show got its farewell in a film, Serenity, in 2005, that wrapped up the primary storyline—and killed off some fan-favorite characters in the process.
Despite Serenity’s success with fans, Firefly continues to be on everyone’s revival lists—hence it’s on ours. But it’s high time to move away from the problematic origins of the show, and its creator—a reboot of Firefly would have to start with a clean slate.
For one, no more appropriation of Asian language and culture while completely ignoring the Asian community—the cast would need to be much more diverse. The misogynistic language would definitely have to go—it didn’t work in 2002, it definitely won’t work now. Some of the concepts, such as the Companions, need serious revision. And no more waifus!
The aesthetics, ethos, and general tone of the show would translate well. Still, for Firefly to work in 2020, it needs to be updated for a more diverse audience by adding marginalized people in front of and behind the camera. Firefly is one of the top TV shows that deserve a reboot.
Firefly is available for purchase on iTunes and Google Play.
Which popular TV shows that deserve a reboot which you like to see most? Tell us in the comments below.