TV Revivals / Sequel Series that were Scrapped

[JamesG.]

I have done threads on scrapped movie sequels and TV spin-offs, now here's where we can discuss revivals/sequel series that never happened.



- NBC scrapped their plans to bring back "Coach" in 2015 due to "creative differences".

Craig T. Nelson and Bill Fagerbakke were set to reprise their roles and Shelley Fabares could not be a part of it due to health issues. Her character was going to be killed off.

Coach Hayden Fox (Nelson) — now retired from coaching — is called back to become assistant coach to his grown son Tim (Andrew Ridings), who is the new head coach at an Ivy league school in Pennsylvania that is just starting up a new team.





- ABC was going to do a new "NYPD Blue" series focusing on Andy Sipowicz' (Dennis Franz) son, Theo. Fabien Frankel was cast in the role and he was going to be investigating his father's murder.

Franchise vets Kim Delaney and Bill Brochtrup were also going to be coming back.

The pilot was made but ABC did not pick it up around May 2019 because they felt that "the bar was too high" and they were working on retooling the series.





- "Lizzie McGuire" was set to come back on Disney+ with most of the original cast (except for Lalaine), but the plug was pulled after two episodes had been filmed.

Reportedly, Hilary wanted to do the series "more adult" and Disney wanted it to be in the same tone as the original. The creator left the series due to "creative differences" and Hilary tried unsuccessfully to get another streaming service, like Hulu, to pick it up.

[DWeickerSr]

I don't have the specific details, but these are some that I am aware of (all canceled)

Red Dwarf - US version of the UK show. Pilot made with Craig Bierko, but never aired - 1992
Rockford Files - Dermot Mulroney was going to star - 2010
Dark Shadows - CW - 2019

[JamesG.]

Originally Posted by DWeickerSr

Dark Shadows - CW - 2019

There was also a pilot made in 2004 for The WB that the network passed on. It featured Jessica Chastain, Alec Newman, Martin Donovan, Ivana Miličević, Kelly Hu, Jenna Dewan, Blair Brown, Matt Czuchry.

It never aired, but it did screen at several Dark Shadows fan conventions.

[JamesG.]

Patrick Duffy announced in 2012 that he wanted to bring back his short-lived 70s series "Man From Atlantis".

At the time he said that he had completed the first draft of a novel, which picks up 15 years after the series and explains the never-before-known origins of Mark Harris.

He said that he wanted to write a trilogy and perhaps see the story adapted for the screen. The book came out in 2016 but the screen revival never happened.

[JamesOttoSweetHeart]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

Patrick Duffy announced in 2012 that he wanted to bring back his short-lived 70s series "Man From Atlantis".

At the time he said that he had completed the first draft of a novel, which picks up 15 years after the series and explains the never-before-known origins of Mark Harris.

He said that he wanted to write a trilogy and perhaps see the story adapted for the screen. The book came out in 2016 but the screen revival never happened.

I love watching him during his appearance on Reba's show in 2004 I believe it was.

God bless you and him and Reba always!!!

Holly

P.S. Couples' Therapy is the name of the episode and Patrick plays Brock and Barbra Jean's marriage counselor.

[oddbox83]

Oh crap, Dark Shadows scrapped?

I was hoping we might get a decent reboot that lasted (90s series was great but cancelled early, a failed pilot early 00s, and a 2012 movie that missed the mark...)

[kevin87]

There was a spinoff for The Middle centered around Sue in development at ABC, but wasn't picked up and never landed anywhere else. Probably because it'd follow her after the "current" timeline ended on The Middle, despite the finale's flashforwards to show them in the future. Why have a series when we know what's going to happen?

[JamesG.]

Originally Posted by kevin87

There was a spinoff for The Middle centered around Sue in development at ABC, but wasn't picked up and never landed anywhere else. Probably because it'd follow her after the "current" timeline ended on The Middle, despite the finale's flashforwards to show them in the future. Why have a series when we know what's going to happen?

Spin-offs are not what I am referring to here. These are shows that had ended (or were cancelled) and were then later brought back.

Some examples that happened are the new episodes of Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Will & Grace.

[kevin87]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

Spin-offs are not what I am referring to here. These are shows that had ended (or were cancelled) and were then later brought back.

Some examples that happened are the new episodes of Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Will & Grace.

Might be a spinoff, but it'd a sequel series for the character after the main show ended.

[JamesOttoSweetHeart]

I hate that the Coach show never happened and now Jerry Van Dyke is gone.

God bless you and the remaining cast always!!!

Holly

P.S. To me, if any of the show was filmed at all, it should be shown somehow due to Jerry's absence. Why not show what could've been?

[Samus Aran]

There was talk about a limited event series for Law & Order with actors from the show's history but nothing ever came of it.... but now NBC has revived the show for a 21st season!

[critterdvd]

Throughout the years numerous Buffy Spin-Off's were "ordered" or "Greenlit" that never saw the light of day (pun intended). The think the two that got closest was "Buffy the Animated Slayer" which had several test pilots and "Watcher" which I believe the some footage was actually shot, but not a formal pilot a few years after the original series ended...

[Samus Aran]

Supernatural had two backdoor pilots that never even got to pilot stage.

[Josep5349]

Star Trek Phase II

[WonkaBedknobs83]

"The Lisa Whelchel Show," a sequel to the Facts of Life in which Blair Warner is headmistress of the now-coed Eastland Academy, was all set to air on NBC, but she got married and decided to be a wife and mother instead so what was to be a two-part backdoor pilot for a new show turned into a finale.

Likewise, Pat Harrington, Jr. was supposed to get a sequel to the original One Day at a Time where Schneider took care of his dead brother's children.

And after the reboot of What's Happening!! took off, there was also talk in the 1980s of bringing back That's My Mama!; Clifton Davis had already committed to Amen so he was unavailable, but Ted Lange, fresh off The Love Boat, came back. It never got past the pilot stage.

And here's the kicker: the two Simpsons spinoffs we could have gotten but didn't. One was a live-action Krusty the Klown show, the other a show that would have been basically vignettes of the supporting characters with the Simpsons themselves as background characters.

[SilverFox84]

Originally Posted by WonkaBedknobs83

One was a live-action Krusty the Klown show

Geez, that would have been amazing in the right hands! Especially if they keep his dark sense of humor!

[JamesG.]

Paramount+ was looking into bringing back "Criminal Minds" as a limited series a year after it had ended on CBS.

Nothing official has been released, but actress Paget Brewster said it was "most likely dead" when a fan on Twitter asked her about it.

[JamesG.]

There was a pilot made for a new "The Saint" series that wasn't picked up by Fox in 2013. It sat unreleased until it was put out direct-to-DVD in July 2017.

It starred Adam Rayner as Simon Templar and Eliza Dushku as Patricia Holm. Original series star Sir Roger Moore appeared, as well as Ian Ogilvy from "Return of the Saint".

[JamesG.]

Howie Mandel announced in May 2018 that he was working on a new "Bobby's World" series.

Never happened.

[Gretiem]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

There was a pilot made for a new "The Saint" series that wasn't picked up by Fox in 2013. It sat unreleased until it was put out direct-to-DVD in July 2017.

It starred Adam Rayner as Simon Templar and Eliza Dushku as Patricia Holm. Original series star Sir Roger Moore appeared, as well as Ian Ogilvy from "Return of the Saint".

Isn't this a movie ?