As streaming services are continuing to replace cable TV, more and more iconic TV shows are returning for a reboot on platforms such as Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount +, etc. The CW’s Gossip Girl (2007) was well known for its boujee Upper East Side, New York City ambiance, including their well admired cast, starring Blake Lively and Leighton Meester. The show ran for 6 years, and was considerably successful. Because of the show’s worldwide popularity, HBO Max premiered a Gossip Girl reboot in 2021. Although some TV reboots revisit the show with the original actors and characters, this Gossip Girl reboot features an entire new cast. The revival centers around a modern take on a new generation of New Yorkers attending a private school where gossip is spread through social media. The reboot surely became a success, as it was renewed for a second season, which will premiere on HBO Max in December of 2022.
Alongside HBO Max, Paramount + has also risen to great achievement. It was formerly known as CBS All Access, which was first launched in 2014. In 2021, Paramount + was permitted heaps of subscriptions as the platform promoted a brand new revival of iCarly, a popular TV sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon during the late 2000s. Having a target audience of children during 2007-2012, the creator of the revival planned to base their audience on the same people who tuned in to the original iCarly. The reboot grew with its audience, and centered around a more PG-13 version of the original characters from the 2007 sitcom and even stars most of the original cast, including Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress, and Jerry Trainor. Although, the revival series does feature some new actors as well. This reboot has received tons of praise and has its third season in the works.
Airing in 1998 on the Fox channel, That 70’s Show remains one of the most popular American television sitcoms. The series ran from ‘98 to 2006, and contained 8 seasons total. It focused on the lives of 6 teenagers growing up in the 1970’s, despite airing in the 90’s. Around 20 years later from the show’s screening, Netflix plans to release a rebooted That 70’s Show titled That 90’s Show. The revival has remotely the same centricity of the original sitcom, except it takes place 20 years later, and features the original main character’s children and their friends. However, the reboot does star two of That 70’s Show’s most beloved cast members, Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp (Red and Kitty Forman). Netflix released a teaser trailer for That 90’s Show on November 29, 2022. The revival is set to air on Netflix in January of 2023.
A tactic that these streaming services use to either promote their various TV show revivals or their platform in general is to stream the original series of the rebooted shows. For example, when HBO Max aired its first season of the Gossip Girl reboot, they added the original 2007-2012 Gossip Girl to their streaming platform, so that fans are able to stream the original series, as well as the revival. Paramount + used this same strategy, as the original Nickelodeon iCarly series is featured on their platform. However, That 70’s Show is still yet to stream on Netflix, but would serve as a great marketing tool to promote the new revival releasing in January.