‘Friends,’ ‘Seinfeld’ or ‘Cheers’ Won’t Get Revivals, Says NBC
If Will & Grace didn’t kick in the TV revival door, Roseanne certainly blew it off the hinges. There’s still a few major TV revivals to ponder, but NBC brass now say Seinfeld or Friends will never happen.
That’s coming from NBC boss Bob Greenblatt, who just the other week approved a third revival season for Will & Grace. One would assume that ABC’s success with Roseanne might kick off a revival arms race, but Greenblatt told The Hollywood Reporter at Wednesday’s “Power Lawyers” breakfast that – despite what Jerry Seinfeld would have you believe – at least two of NBC’s heaviest hitters aren’t likely to ever return. Cheers, on the other hand? Perhaps:
Friends, for example, he says will never happen. Seinfeld is also virtually guaranteed to never be rebooted. Asked specifically if he’d revive Cheers, Greenblatt suggested it may be beyond the point that would make sense to revive the Ted Danson comedy. ‘I’d love to have the Cheers reboot if it were 20 years ago,’ Greenblatt said.
For what it’s worth, most everyone on the Friends side agrees a revival would be “sad,” though Seinfeld seems slightly re-energized in the wake of Jerry’s comments and creator Larry David’s willingness to revisit older shows. Greenblatt was keener on the possibility of reviving The Office or The West Wing, though the latter’s creator is “busy doing 10 other extraordinary things.”
Time will tell if any upcoming revival can outdo the success of Roseanne, but what other shows should be next?
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