With a wave of remakes and reboots taking over the entertainment industry, TV revivals are gaining increasing popularity. Audiences who grew up watching these shows love the opportunity to see what happened to their favorite characters after all these years. However, as much as it is nice to revisit familiar faces and beloved scenarios, TV shows can't survive on nostalgic value alone: it's important to have a good story to tell.
2026 will be a year packed with TV reboots and sequels streaming on Hulu. Whether they will succeed or fail remains to be seen, but fans are keeping high hopes for these three promising TV revivals releasing this year.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale
The long-anticipated Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival will see the return of Sarah Michelle Gellar as one of the greatest TV icons of the '90s: Buffy Summers, a Chosen One gifted with the strength and skills to save the world from vampires and demonic forces. After much speculation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale is finally coming out in 2026. Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao will serve as the director, and Gellar will act as executive producer
New Sunnydale will center on a new Slayer, a 16-year-old described as "very smart and a bit of a loner" (via TVLine). Gellar will reprise her role as Buffy, who will act as a mentor to the new Slayer. The revival is expected to return to the franchise’s family-friendly roots, similar to the first season of the original series. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale will be centered mostly around new characters and a new story, although the chances of fan-favorite characters like Spike and Willow making an appearance are highly likely.
Scrubs
The Scrubs revival is just around the corner! Premiering on February 25 on ABC and streaming on Hulu the following day, the medical sitcom will return for a nine-episode season featuring many familiar faces from the original show, including Zach Braff as J.D. and Donald Faison as his best friend, Chris Turk. The first episode will be directed by Braff himself, which already feels like a welcoming nod to the golden days of Scrubs.
Bringing Scrubs back 17 years after the show's ending seems like an attempt to make up for a disastrous final season. The revival will take place in Sacred Heart Hospital, introducing new characters, while checking in on what the veteran cast has been up to all these years. Fans can expect Scrubs' signature blend of absurd comedy and emotional notes, especially if Scrubs season 10 is supposed to be a new definitive ending to the beloved sitcom.
Malcolm in the Middle
Though most people know Bryan Cranston for his Emmy-winning role as Walter White in Breaking Bad, he rose to prominence thanks to his natural talent for comedy, most distinctly for his performance in Malcolm in the Middle. The sitcom is centered around the titular Malcolm, a prodigy child, and his chaotic relationship with his dysfunctional family.
The Malcolm in the Middle revival will premiere on April 10, 2026, on Hulu. It will follow Malcolm, now leading a peaceful life with his girlfriend and their daughter, as he is forced to reconnect with his family for his parents' 40th wedding anniversary celebration. With only four episodes, Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair feels like a fun and carefree reunion to celebrate the legacy of the show 20 years after it ended.