The best TV reboots and revivals (original) (raw)

The bar for a well-executed reboot or revival is incredibly high on television, and yet, despite this challenge, artists are always willing to return to beloved characters and stories despite the high risk of failure. For every successful revival, there are even more titles like Get Smart (which only lasted seven episodes in its 1995 return), Melrose Place (one low-rated return season in 2009), and Singled Out (which wasn't even saved by Roku during Quibi's demise). This means the following series have beaten the odds and created something magical and rare on television, for these shows represent the best TV reboots and revivals. Beloved sci-fi adventures to reality TV stalwarts—and maybe a couple of animated series along the way—all make EW's list.

The Karate Kid trilogy (1984–1989) and Cobra Kai (2018–present)

Everett Collection; Netflix

You could mince words arguing the Netflix sensation is less of a revival than a small-screen continuation of a movie franchise. But one clever conceit in this upside-down legacy sequel is how Cobra Kai treats the Karate Kid movies like one ongoing story, incorporating all the cheesy-glamorous '80s melodrama into a generational story of San Fernando Valley karate dojo duels. Who knew '80s monster Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) was a wrecked-yet-striving hero for our time?

Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–2000), 90210 (2008–2013), and BH90210 (2019)

Everett Collection (3)

The CW revival in 2008 never achieved the supernova status of Fox's teen soap, but give the new kids credit for a decent five-season run. And never forget Fox's own unclassifiable meta-revival, with the original 90210 cast gamely playing themselves as desperate nostalgia victims.

Doctor Who (1963–1989) and Doctor Who (2005–present)

Everett Collection; James Pardon/BBC Studios/BBC America

The legendary British saga about a time-traveling adventurer stopped producing regular episodes in 1989. Sixteen years later, Russell T. Davies relaunched the series with a rueful new-millennium edge. The new Who honors the mythology even as it challenges it, with the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Doctors—the former being the franchise's first female doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and the latter being its first Black doctor (Ncuti Gatwa)—uncovering transformative secrets of Time Lord lore.

DuckTales (1987–1990) and DuckTales (2017–2021)

Everett Collection; Disney Channel

Nobody expected the talking-duck reboot to become a wildly compelling serialized saga. But showrunners Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones incorporated far-flung influences into their family cartoon, making this the rare Disney product to simultaneously justify comparisons to Community and Lost.

Twin Peaks (1990–1991) and Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)

Everett Collection; Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME

Creators Mark Frost and David Lynch turned the original Twin Peaks into a defining, if short-lived, phenomenon of the 1990s. Their revival radicalized the surrealist small-town mystery into a relentlessly trippy, surprisingly emotional, and merrily dimension-hopping portrait of a world gone mad.

Jersey Shore (2009–2012) and Jersey Shore: Family Vacation (2018–present)

MTV (2)

MTV's boozy club-hopping docusoap Jersey Shore was an outrageous phenomenon. Years later, the G.T.L. (Gym, Tan, Laundry) crew returned somewhat grown up: kids, marriages, divorces, the stray conviction for tax evasion. Against all odds, the revival has its own low-key appeal, as the gang takes occasional awkward vacations between social media spats. (Bonus points awarded for Vinny and Pauly D's Double Shot at Love spin-off, the rare dating competition that actually resulted in true wuv.)