TV Revivals / Sequel Series that were Scrapped

[JamesG.]

Blair Underwood was supposed to reprise his "L.A. Law" character Jonathan Rollins in a new series. Stephen Bocho was working on it before he passed away.

Corbin Bernsen was also supposed to reprise Arnie Becker. ABC recently passed on it.

[filmbuffTX]

In 2007 ABC produced a U.S. version of the British drama series Footballers Wives, called Football Wives. Bryan Singer directed the pilot that starred Eddie Cibrian, James Van Der Beek, Lucy Lawless, Gabrielle Union, and Ving Rhames among others. ABC decided not to go forward with the series. Some speculate it may have been partly to do with their relationship with the NFL and not wanting to offend them. A few years earlier its sister network ESPN had a scripted drama series called Playmakers about a fictitious pro football team and league. It was well produced and popular, but ESPN decided not to renew the show for a second season because a few active NFL players spoke negatively and the league wasn't too happy with it overall.

[JamesG.]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

Blair Underwood was supposed to reprise his "L.A. Law" character Jonathan Rollins in a new series. Stephen Bocho was working on it before he passed away.

Corbin Bernsen was also supposed to reprise Arnie Becker. ABC recently passed on it.

I met Corbin Bernsen at Hallmark's Christmas Con over the weekend and asked him about the 2022 "L.A. Law" reboot that didn't go forward. He said, "It was bad, that's putting it mildly. Terrible."

I asked him if anything was filmed and he said, "Oh yeah, we filmed it. Then the footage got destroyed." I don't know if he was serious or joking.

[Samus Aran]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

I met Corbin Bernsen at Hallmark's Christmas Con over the weekend and asked him about the 2022 "L.A. Law" reboot that didn't go forward. He said, "It was bad, that's putting it mildly. Terrible."

I asked him if anything was filmed and he said, "Oh yeah, we filmed it. Then the footage got destroyed." I don't know if he was serious or joking.

How bad must it be for Corbin Bernsen to say it's bad?

I think the NYPD Blue pilot that never got picked up was doomed from the start. How do you base your entire revival around the off-screen killing of the heart and soul of the original series?

Do backdoor pilots happen anymore? Where an episode of a TV show is suddenly about characters you've never seen before or the focus is entirely on a supporting character as the lead (but it feels like a completely different show)?