8 Dated TV Shows Nobody Wants To See Rebooted

Published Nov 7, 2026, 8:30 PM EST Dani Kessel Odom (they/them) is an autistic lead writer and TV critic who covers sci-fi shows like Doctor Who and Pluribus, fantasy shows like The Magicians and Percy Jackson, and horror of all kinds. They also cover Marvel and DC TV shows and movies, with a robust knowledge of comic books. Their TV reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes. Dani is also part of ScreenRant's books team, using their fiction writing and literature studies as the backbone for their book analyses. They have covered events, such as the Denver Fan Expo. Professionals in the field, such as Damien Leone and Lucy Hale, have shared their articles. Their review of Ponies was quoted in the show's TV trailer. In university, they majored in English Writing with a minor in psychology. They have always had a passion for analyzing TV and movies, even taking filmography and scriptwriting classes in university. They also studied and participated in onstage and onscreen acting extensively from the ages of 7 to 18. Aside from working at Screen Rant, Dani has worked as a freelance editor and writer over the past decade, often in a ghostwriting capacity. This article includes discussions of misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, racism, black face, yellow face, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and suicide. Reboots are risky business, and numerous dated series are better left untouched. Some TV shows should never be rebooted for positive reasons. I Love Lucy and Cheers are two of the most iconic sitcoms of all time, and they may have outdated elements, but they still hold up surprisingly well. Great series like Community and The Golden Girls are lightning in a bottle because of the chemistry among their ensemble casts, and it would be nearly impossible to replicate. Similarly, The Wire is a timeless masterpiece, and virtually everyone involved in making it agrees with fans that it should never be rebooted. Not every show should stay untouched for good reasons, though. Many TV shows that were deemed acceptable in the past are downright offensive and hard to rewatch now, while others are still deeply enjoyable but dated. Occasionally, they can be modernized. For instance, The Odd Couple was successfully modernized in its reboot, which was surprisingly good despite lasting only two seasons. However, rebooting these eight TV shows, in particular, would be extremely ill-advised, and there doesn’t seem to be much enthusiasm for the idea, regardless. Entourage Entourage was wildly popular when it came out, and it lasted an impressive eight seasons and a movie. It had the same widespread appeal as Sex and the City, except it catered towards men. Audiences could escape into the world of the rich A-list “cool kids club” and laugh at their hijinks. However, the show simply wouldn’t work if rebooted today. For one thing, it relies on a “boys will be boys” fraternity vibe and features casual misogyny and aggressive outbursts. Softening it would alienate fans, but keeping it as-is would cause backlash. On top of that, Hollywood's landscape has drastically changed. Plot elements like the movie star mystique and the opening weekend panic aren’t nearly as prevalent in the era of influencers and streaming. Ultimately, to make a reboot work, they would have to change so much that it would no longer be Entourage except in the loosest sense. The most they could do is a revival, but it would still have to look extremely different. The Dukes Of Hazzard From a purely storyline perspective, The Dukes of Hazzard is a lighthearted, predictable show that’s cheesy but entertaining. Sure, Daisy Dukes could’ve been better written, and the show has thin Southern stereotypes. But both would theoretically be fixable. However, a reboot is untenable because the show’s identifying symbol is General Lee, an orange car with a Confederate flag on top, named after a Confederate general. Today, the flag is recognized as a deeply racist symbol that’s frequently adopted by white supremacists. Even Southern states voted to stop displaying it. Folks have also moved away from naming things after Confederate politicians and military leaders. A reboot would have two choices. They could remove the rebel flag, fundamentally altering the car's recognizable design, and change the name, angering fans. Alternatively, they could keep it and face nonstop backlash for displaying a hate symbol and keeping a problematic name. There’s simply no good way forward, so it shouldn’t happen at all. Besides, it already had a disastrous 2005 reboot movie, and fans don't want a repeat of that. The Honeymooners Image via MovieStillsDB One of the most painful relics of 1950s comedy is the jokes about domestic abuse. For the record, I Love Lucy’s spanking isn’t exempt from criticism, though it luckily appears in only a few episodes. The Honeymooners is a completely different story. The show’s lasting influence on the sitcom genre is undeniable. However, in most episodes, it also has verbal abuse and threats of physical abuse. "That's not an astronaut; it's a TV comedian. And he was just using space travel as a metaphor for beating his wife." —Phillip Fry from Futurama commenting on Ralph's catchphrase in The Honeymooners The best-known quotes are “Bang, zoom,” “One of these days, Alice, pow, straight in the kisser,” and “Straight to the moon, Alice.” He says them while clenching his fist like he’s going to hit her. At that time, it was an acceptable joke. Now, it’s not okay. I don’t really care that he doesn’t hit her and she doesn’t flinch or back down. Other issues include Alice's rampant fatphobic jokes and the latent sexism. If nothing else, the overwhelmingly negative reaction to The Honeymooners reboot announcement, and the fact that the show's description doesn’t bear a passing resemblance to the original, is proof the show doesn’t work today. Little Britain In Little Britain, co-creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams performed in blackface and yellowface. Their show mocked trans women repeatedly. It punched down at virtually every minority community. Little Britain is packed with problematic elements, and they’re so baked into the story that rebooting it would require changing virtually everything. The jokes are so bad that Matt Lucas has repeatedly apologized for the blackface, yellowface, and transphobia. In 2017, he told Big Issue he wouldn’t make Little Britain today because it was “mean” and “cruel.” Another problem with a reboot is that the show wouldn’t be the same without creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Lucas already said he wouldn’t make the show again. Meanwhile, David Walliams has faced allegations of sexual harassment of coworkers and paying hush money to cover it up. With neither comedian on board, even fans who still find it funny wouldn’t want a reboot. 7th Heaven Image via MovieStillsDB A 7th Heaven reboot is a disastrous idea, and almost everyone has responded negatively to Jessica Biel’s 7th Heaven reboot announcement. The biggest problem is Stephen Collins’ admissions of child sexual abuse. The actor, who is the family and TV show’s moral center, told PEOPLE (accessed via The Wayback Machine) that he sexually abused three young girls after TMZ leaked proof. He permanently tainted the show, and a reboot couldn’t escape the negative association. On top of that, 7th Heaven often sounded like an after-school special with an overly sanctimonious tone and stilted dialogue, and it would be hard to stay true to the original while not sounding cringey. Ultimately, some folks have expressed interest in a faith-based TV show that tackles modern issues, and I think there's a space for that, even if I'm not the target demographic. However, this isn't the way to do it. Bosom Buddies Image via MovieStillsDB The quick-witted 1980s TV show Bosom Buddies launched the careers of Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari. The premise of two men disguising themselves as women to live in an inexpensive all-female New York apartment complex wasn’t seen as controversial at the time, and I don’t fault either actor for being involved. Even now, it’s impossible to deny that the show featured incredible chemistry and comedic timing from the pair. That being said, it would never get rebooted today, and I don’t think anyone would want it to. The concept would face intense backlash from anti-LGBTQ+ people who would use it as a reason to demonize trans women, even though the two main characters aren’t trans women. Meanwhile, pro-LGBTQ+ people would rightfully chastise a Bosom Buddies reboot for perpetuating the deeply harmful idea that trans women are just men pretending to be women to get into women's spaces. The TV show is better left alone, and those who enjoy the comedy can revisit the original. Three's Company Image via MovieStillsDB The second TV show that pains me to say “nobody wants this rebooted today” is Three’s Company. Despite my fondness for the late-70s and early-80s sitcom, there are good reasons why it would never work today. First, the positive reason: it would be absolutely sacrilegious to make the show without John Ritter, who is the heart of the show. On the negative side, Three's Company's entire premise is built on the very dated concept that a man living alone with two women is shocking and illegal, which isn’t the case today. On top of that, the idea of a man pretending to be gay to get with women would not be acceptable to most viewers. Without those core elements, the show would be fundamentally different. On top of that, the show has casual sexism and gay stereotypes that wouldn't work today. 13 Reasons Why Most dated series are over a decade old, but Netflix’s teen drama is an exception. 13 Reasons Why was already controversial at the time of its release because it sensationalized trauma and included graphic scenes. Most also agree that the story became disastrous after season 1. Those reasons alone are enough not to consider rebooting the show. However, it’s also incredibly dated by today’s TV norms and psychological understanding of suicide. The “Papageno Effect” has become the media standard, which shows suicidal characters successfully seeking help, seeing mental health professionals, and using coping skills. Mental health topics are handled with a lot more sensitivity in 2026. On top of that, our understanding of suicide has changed drastically since the show came out, and there’s very little way to reconcile the premise with 2026 psychology. For these reasons, rebooting the show would be nearly impossible, and even the most fervent 13 Reasons Why fans agree it shouldn’t be done.