Sigh. America’s entertainment business is not always known for its ingenuity. It’s pretty much a begrudgingly accepted fact at this point that the big-budget film industry is much more interested in investing in projects that are either continuations of current big-bucks franchises or built off of what was once long-ago a big-bucks franchise. Some of these are pretty good; some are terrible. This is also true, to a somewhat lesser extent, when it comes to the world of television. Case in point: The Brady Bunch–that mind-blowingly wholesome epic saga of mixing families and hosting variety shows–might splash back into our world sometime soon.
Running from 1969 through 1974, The Brady Bunch focused on Mark Mike and Carol Brady (Florence Henderson and Robert Reed), single parents who get married and merge their families into one happy, wacky bunch, hijinks and all. The show reached iconic–some might even say cult–status, with one of the most recognizable and oft-parodied theme songs of all time.
And now they might be back. Not as some Arrested Development arrangement following the kids through their mid-life crises; as a reboot by CBS, brought to you by Mike Mariano, a former producer for My Name is Earl and current co-executive producer for Fox family sitcom Raising Hope.
Here’s Deadline’s summary of the pitch for the reboot:
A divorced Bobby Brady, with children of his own, is remarried to a woman who also has kids, and together they also share a child. In addition, their ex-spouses are still part of their lives. The new setup reflects the evolution of family dynamics over the past four decades. Back in 1969, Schwartz wanted Carol to be a divorcée but the network refused, so the end of her first marriage was never addressed.
The idea was reportedly first pitched to Mariano by actor Vince Vaughn, who would also executive-produce the project, although there’s no word on whether he’d want to shelve his film career to star on the show as well.
We have to admit, we groaned when we first read that this show was up for a possible reboot, but it makes a lot of sense. There are a whole lot of revivals of old series floating around (or about to be) television, including Hawaii Five-O, 90210, and Beauty and the Beast. This doesn’t even take into account the age of the average CBS viewer, which by our (admittedly extremely unscientific) calculations is around 135.
Family comedies are also not doing so bad these days: Modern Family‘s still going strong after essentially applying the resuscitator to the genre, plus there’s the upcoming Ben & Kate, and the aforementioned Raising Hope.
Both Hope and My Name is Earl were shows written with both a certain edge and an undeniable amount of heart, and if they’re seeking to bring back this particular show then it’s probably wise to stick with that formula. If America wants the bell-bottomed Bradys back, they should at least be able to make fun of themselves.
(via Deadline)
