White Collar revival hits minor snag, but there's still an exciting update

Since first being talked about as something that could actually happen, the White Collar revival has been long-teased and slowly developing. But the revival series of the USA Network hit started to take shape, and it's closer than ever. However, the most recent update throws a bit of a wrench in Neal Caffrey's comeback plans, but there's still a path for the blue sky procedural to return.

Deadline reported that even though the Disney-owned 20th Television is producing the revival project, the Disney-owned streamer Hulu passed on picking up the revival. Honestly, that's a pretty unexpected turn of events. White Collar might not be as popular on Hulu as it is on Netflix, but Disney tends to prefer to keep its content in-house. Putting a library title like this on the market is a surprise.

While Hulu won't be the home of the White Collar revival, which is said to be titled White Collar Renaissance, Deadline notes that this isn't stopping Eastin or 20th Television from moving forward with finding the series a home. The outlet name-checks only Netflix as a viable option for a destination to scoop it up, and that's basically what I'd bank on, too. Max and Paramount+ aren't a logical fit, Prime Video could be an option, and Peacock should be in the running as the original aired on the NBCUniversal-owned USA Network. Maybe it could even return to USA or land on NBC!

Eastin's said to be expanding the pitch to additional streamers in the coming weeks after he and Matt Bomer had their first pitch meeting on Feb. 20, which happened to fall on late cast member Willie Garson's birthday. The creator has been keeping fans updated on the development of the revival every step of the way, which has been an eye-opening experience to track. We don't usually receive communication quite like this from creators, but Eastin has been open and honest.

Chatter about the revival first begin during the pandemic, when many casts of nostalgic television shows were getting back together to raise money and spread joy. Talks of reboots emerged for multiple shows, but few actually got off the ground the same way as White Collar. The show's addition to post-Suits Netflix in April 2024 gave the show the extra push it needed to see its revival through.

By June 2024, Eastin announced that the revival was officially in the works and in the writing process. The main cast — Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, and Tiffani Thiessen — are on board and each have reacted to the script written by Eastin. The foursome appeared at Variety's TV Fest last year and teased some details about their hopes for the revival and how it honors Garson.

Tim DeKay said: "It’s a fantastic script and it answers all the questions that one would have if you watch the show, and it would introduce the show to those who haven’t seen it as well. Both edges of the sword are honed. It honors Willie, too, in a profound way."

Tiffani Thiessen followed her TV husband: "With such sensitivity and such heart. I told Jeff after I finished it, I literally was so excited, but at the same time had tears in my eyes — for good reason. You captured the suspense, the thrill, the characters and the love in that reboot."

Most recently, Thiessen shared some teases with People about the forthcoming revival and said that the team hopes "it turns around pretty fast," meaning that they hope they can begin filming and prepping the release sooner rather than later. Well, fans hope for that, too. Now that the show his hit the slightest snag and will search beyond the hallowed halls of Disney for a place to land, we'll have to keep waiting and hoping for some good news.

Stay tuned to Show Snob for more streaming news and updates!