http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/norman-lear-all-in-the-family-jeffersons-reboots-1201944546/

Norman Lear Sitcoms ‘All in the Family,’ ‘The Jeffersons’ Being Eyed by Sony for Reboots (EXCLUSIVE)


Senior TV Reporter
Daniel Holloway
Senior TV Reporter @gdanielholloway

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Rob Reiner All in the Family
Everett/REX Shutterstock
December 16, 2016 | 07:00PM PT

Sony Pictures Television is in very early stages of rebooting several classic sitcoms from TV legend Norman Lear as miniseries — including “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” and “Good Times” — Variety has learned exclusively.

The idea currently being discussed by Lear and Sony executives would be to have new actors recreate classic episodes of the shows, working from the original scripts, and package them as short, six-episode anthologies. The scripts would be treated similar to plays being mounted in new productions.

“There is some talk about doing some of the original shows, redoing them with today’s stars,” Lear told Variety. “There is a possibility that we’ll do ‘All in the Family,’ ‘Maude,’ ‘The Jeffersons,’ “Good Times.'”

Discussions about remaking more of Lear’s catalogue come as Sony gears up for the premiere of the new “One Day at a Time,” which re-imagines Lear’s ’80s sitcom about a single mother raising two children. The new series, which premieres on Netflix Jan. 6, focuses on a Latino family with a female Army veteran at its center.

Lear serves as executive producer on the new “One Day at a Time,” with original scripts coming from the show’s writing staff and showrunners Gloria Calderon-Kellett and Mike Royce, with contributions from Lear.

Sony has been in discussions with Lear about the miniseries-reboot concept since before development began on “One Day at a Time.” That series was developed specifically for Netflix, and was never shopped to other buyers. No network or streaming service is yet attached to the miniseries projects.

The miniseries project is a separate idea from the possible “All in the Family” reboot that Lear discussed two years ago at a Paley Center event, which would have seen the show revived with new characters, possibly Latino. That idea was set aside in favor of the new “One Day at a Time.”

“We’re exploring it,” Glenn Adilman, executive vice president of comedy development for Sony told Variety. “It’s sort of tricky to figure out what the business of that is and what that would be and how it would work. But its something we’re trying to figure out.”

Adilman added, “It’s tricky for a lot of reasons, and it’s something we’re exploring.”

Sony controls most of Lear’s TV library through its 1985 acquisition of the producer’s Embassy Communications.
Filed Under:

Norman LearSony Pictures Television

I was a fan of AITF but looking back at Lear's obvious agenda pushing, I can only imagine what they would do today. They should not remake any true classic TV show anyway. Carrol O'Connor was Archie, Sherman Hemsley was George. Nobody should even try to fill their shoes. No originality seems to exist these days.

I hope this fails and fails hard.

No more reboots!!! Please!! Can someone in Hollywood please come up with an original idea!!

Like you guys I found this news to be utterly depressing. Those shows were great ( to varying levels) but they are over with. Yes, you could use them for inspiration for new shows (their acting, writing, and realism were excellent) but to remake the whole series and then go so far as to use old scripts...it just boggles the mind.

It seriously is as if Hollywood has just thrown up their hands and said "We give up. We are officially out of ideas."

And people wonder why I'm about to unplug the satellite!

The actors were a major reason those shows worked. Leave it alone.

It honestly doesn't sound that bad, IMO. The article says it'll be more like a play than anything, not an all-out remake. Reminds me of the NBC live musicals.

I'd actually watch an episode or two...

Horrible, just plain horrible idea.

There is only one Archie Bunker and one George Jefferson.

If they do go through with a reboot, I hope it flops big time.

The actors were a major reason those shows worked. Leave it alone.
This!

Enough is enough, stop ruining good old shows. :mad:

I was a fan of AITF but looking back at Lear's obvious agenda pushing, I can only imagine what they would do today. They should not remake any true classic TV show anyway. Carrol O'Connor was Archie, Sherman Hemsley was George. Nobody should even try to fill their shoes. No originality seems to exist these days.

I hope this fails and fails hard.


They would try the same thing but even more so.

White, male, conservative bad.

Black, hispanic, arab/moslem, female, gay, liberal good.

Who gives a ****?

This is an bad idea, i dont think ether show would fly today due the the utra-pc of hollywood. The fun of these shows was the lovable bigot, but today bigots got to be evil. Archie and George will be played as bad people today, but on the original shows they won't. They were just products of the times they lived.

Those shows worked because it was a product of the times back then. Even though we're still dealing with those same racial, political, and socio-economic issues, a lot has changed and what they got away with in the 70's won't wash today. And you'll never find a cast as good. Sony just needs to let it be and develop original content.

I will not watch any!!!

PURE GARBAGE..... Especially ALL IN THE FAMILY which was awesome in the 70s!!


I REALLY HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE WORLD TODAY..Nothing but unpure trash!!


NOTHING WOULD BE GOOD ABOUT ANY OF THOSE SHOWS USING THE BRAINDEAD MASSES OF TODAY!!

Guys...the article says they're basically redoing the original scripts and presenting them as a six-part anthology. It sounds a lot like the musicals NBC does every year. They're not completely remaking the show the way they did with The Odd Couple. I can't stand remakes, but I think this is a bit different.

The idea currently being discussed by Lear and Sony executives would be to have new actors recreate classic episodes of the shows, working from the original scripts, and package them as short, six-episode anthologies. The scripts would be treated similar to plays being mounted in new productions.

I understand no one can ever replicate the roles Carroll O'Connor or Sherman Hemsley gave us, and I know that the forum thinks anything made after 1987 is trash, but I don't think this is as egregious as you all are making it out to be.

I think today's TV in general from the main networks (CBS, NBC etc) is at crossroads, and a lot of it is self-inflicted.

I am a classic TV fan and probably couldn't name you 10 shows of today. But I do know from reading various message boards that in the past decade or more, new shows were being cancelled without being given a chance to find an audience. A lot of the classic TV we see were either not hits right away, or at all. If the networks in the past weren't so quick to cancel new shows, maybe some of them would have become hits.

Daytime TV is a major mess. The 4 remaining soaps suck, but I don't think any replacement programming would do better. How many talk shows do you need? I'm wondering if the networks now regret cancelling their other soaps.

And up until this year, the NFL was a sure thing rating wise. Now there is major panic about rapidly declining ratings.

I take it reality TV is dead.

good luck

Can Sony just die already. Their movies are bad enough already.

I think today's TV in general from the main networks (CBS, NBC etc) is at crossroads, and a lot of it is self-inflicted.

I am a classic TV fan and probably couldn't name you 10 shows of today. But I do know from reading various message boards that in the past decade or more, new shows were being cancelled without being given a chance to find an audience. A lot of the classic TV we see were either not hits right away, or at all. If the networks in the past weren't so quick to cancel new shows, maybe some of them would have become hits.

Daytime TV is a major mess. The 4 remaining soaps suck, but I don't think any replacement programming would do better. How many talk shows do you need? I'm wondering if the networks now regret cancelling their other soaps.

And up until this year, the NFL was a sure thing rating wise. Now there is major panic about rapidly declining ratings.

I take it reality TV is dead.

TV is dead! If AITF and the Norman Lear sitcoms are remade... There's nothing sacred!

What next, remake "I Love Lucy", "Andy Griffith Show", or "Dick van Dyke Show"?

I think today's TV in general from the main networks (CBS, NBC etc) is at crossroads, and a lot of it is self-inflicted.

I am a classic TV fan and probably couldn't name you 10 shows of today. But I do know from reading various message boards that in the past decade or more, new shows were being cancelled without being given a chance to find an audience. A lot of the classic TV we see were either not hits right away, or at all. If the networks in the past weren't so quick to cancel new shows, maybe some of them would have become hits.

Daytime TV is a major mess. The 4 remaining soaps suck, but I don't think any replacement programming would do better. How many talk shows do you need? I'm wondering if the networks now regret cancelling their other soaps.

And up until this year, the NFL was a sure thing rating wise. Now there is major panic about rapidly declining ratings.

I take it reality TV is dead.

I"m with you.

One of the saddest things about the developments you listed is the trend toward the more quality shows being on paid cable, HBO, Showtime, etc. There was a time when you could have access to quality programming just by dialing up one of the three major TV networks. Not so today. And while I don't necessarily agree that all the cable darlings as QUITE as wonderful as the media would have us believe, it does seem like that's where the better writing is today.

The issue here is that, once again, those at the bottom of the economic ladder are being marginalized. There's no more "free lunch" when to comes to quality TV access. You get what you pay for now, and if you only can pay for the basic channels, what you get is pretty darned poor. :(