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We’re in the era of reboot, rebirth, rebrand and remake. Studios want to make money without taking risks trying to determine what audiences might want to see. Reboots make the most sense. Take something that was already popular and re-do it.
All type of shows have received that treatment: “Saved By The Bell,” “Full House,” “That’s So Raven,” there’s talk of a “Fresh Prince” re-imagining. The list goes on and on. So it stands to reason that one of the most culturally significant sitcoms in the Black community would get this same treatment. Honestly, in terms of ratings, it would not fail. People would have to watch just to see what they did with their beloved show.
For years now, the cast members have been dropping hints that it was on the way. The show’s star, Martin Lawrence, even reunited with his once-estranged co-star and love interest Tisha Campbell after the two fell out over allegations of sexual assault.
I’m still not sure how they were able to get past that one.
But it seemed like there was nothing stopping the Martin reboot train.
But the reunion didn’t take into account that the cast was missing one integral part. Tommy Ford, who played Tommy on the show, passed in 2016 from an abdominal aneurysm.
So recently, during an interview with Tamron Hall, Tisha Campbel and Tichina Arnold confirmed that a reboot, in the way we might have hoped, is unlikely.
Tichina: I shoot from the hip. It’s something that we wanted to happen. It’s something that we tried very hard for it to happen. But the way it looks to me, realistically, it’s not going to happen, not unless it’s an animation. Tisha brought up the idea for it to be an animation of it. But I would say a show can never be rebooted without the original cast. We may be able to have a rebirth, maybe. But as far as a reboot, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Tommy’s no longer with us. The show is never going to be the same. And some things are best left alone.
You can watch their full interview, where Tisha talks about dating Lenny Kravitz and the advice Tichina gave her before she got married and after her divorce in the video below.
What do you think about this? Do you want a reboot or is it better that they leave a good thing alone?
