I'm Begging: No More Spinoffs, Reboots, or Revivals

Jun 14, 2021

No more spinoffs. No more reboots. No more Shari’s dirty looks.

Okay, that rhyme doesn’t quite work. But I can’t help but scowl every time a teen drama star — or writer or producer — floats the idea of a spinoff, reboot, or revival. And yes, I say that only weeks away from the premiere of the “Gossip Girl” spinoff.

I’ve already gone into detail about my problem with “90210” and my problem with “BH90210.” Now imagine my reaction upon seeing this headline recently: “‘90210’s AnnaLynne McCord & Shenae Grimes Beech Reveal If They Would Do A Spin-Off Of The CW Series.” It wasn’t pretty. My mood only worsened upon reading the HollywoodLife article.

Grimes told the site, “If I am writing or directing, I will absolutely do it!” She then had the nerve to say, “I feel like there’s been so many spin offs and reboots of the ‘90210’ franchise, right? I can’t imagine that people can differentiate who we are from all of the different ones that have come out. If they can, that’s actually really, really appreciated.”

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

The idea that fans can’t “differentiate” between the series?!

ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME.

Sure, there are multiple “Beverly Hills, 90210” spinoffs and there have now been three shows in the universe with “90210” in the title. But I can’t imagine anyone confusing them. And to lament that there’s so many, as if that’s a problem, when you contributed to the creation of that problem is incredibly galling. And yet… you’re willing to do another! But only if you get to write it or direct it, of course.

Um, why should you? And no, McCord, we don’t need “a film or something” either.

Perhaps the best reasons why there shouldn’t be spinoffs, reboots, or revivals was recently elucidated in connection with the “Friends” reunion special. Not only did Lisa Kudrow explain in a great soundbite during the program why she wouldn’t want to revive the show — you don’t undo happy endings — but the show’s creators and executive producer also perfectly explained why themselves in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

I’m going to quote them at length because they are SO spot-on.

Co-creator Marta Kauffman: “Isn’t it better to end on a good note, then do something just because people want to see them? If it can’t be excellent, why do it?… Absolutely not. Nope. No. There’s no reason to. It’s never going to be the six of them, it’s a whole different show and it’s not a show I’m particularly interested in doing. And if it’s not fantastic, or as good as ‘Friends,’ it’s going to just piss people off.”

Co-creator David Crane: “I’d like to believe they all ended up happy, which is also one of the reasons why we always resisted the idea of doing a follow-up or a reboot. Because you’re going to do a show where if you’re going to keep their stories going, you need conflict. I don’t want to see the episode where characters are getting divorced or, God forbid, they all come back to Central Perk for someone’s funeral. Everybody ended up well… If people want ‘Friends,’ it’s available on HBO Max and on cable. And that’s the best version of the show. I don’t know that the show is well-served by going back and revisiting it… Because inevitably, if you do something like that, you’re competing with the original show and why do that? We were so blessed. We managed to get lightning in a bottle with the perfect cast and it all came together so well. The odds of that happening again are really slim. It’s like if you won the lottery, stop buying tickets.”

Executive producer Kevin Bright: “We don’t want to look at the show as a brand that you just spin it off into another generation. If we were going to do it, we want to do something maybe with the six characters, but we don’t want to do that because as Crane says, ‘We’d have to undo everything we did to make another show happen.’ And we’re not interested in doing it. It was a perfect ending; don’t touch it. Maybe someday somebody will come up with a great idea and present to us how they envision making a movie. But doing the ‘Friends’ movie with this cast — older ‘Friends’ — it’s not the same show. All the energy from the show wasn’t just the chemistry of the actors, but it was driven by youth. That, ‘What’s my job? Who am I going to be in love with? What am I going to do for the rest of my life?’ That’s what drove the show. Imagining divorce issues and other things? None of it is appealing. If you’re going to do a truthful version of what would have happened to them, they can’t all still be married and together.”

I really couldn’t put it any better. So, no, Grimes and McCord, we don’t need a nu90210 spinoff or movie. No, Mary-Margaret Humes, we don’t need a “Dawson’s Creek” reboot. No, Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke, we don’t need an “O.C.” reboot either. And no, Chad Michael Murray, we also don’t need a “One Tree Hill” reboot. Respect what you already did by leaving it alone.

But we are getting a “Gossip Girl” spinoff, quite imminently, whether I like it or not. And I’m learning toward “not.” I expressed my relatively open mind last December and I didn’t hate the teaser trailer that dropped last month. But the full trailer that came out a few days ago? Well, I was disappointed, to be honest (and you know I’m never anything but honest).

Unlike with the teaser, the visual aesthetics, music, and narration in the trailer felt off to me. Nothing plot or character-wise, from the little we were shown, drew me in. Is it just because I don’t know these characters yet? Perhaps. But I don’t know the characters in other TV and movie trailers. That doesn’t stop them from piquing my interest. This didn’t.

And because of my fears for the legacy of the original, I just wish this new show wasn’t happening.

But a “Friends”-style cast reunion? Now that I’d take in a New York minute.