Television constantly looks back to old shows for new ideas, with remakes and reboots. Last season added remakes of "Lethal Weapon" and "Macgyver" and this coming season will have reboots of "Will & Grace" and "Roseanne." To add to the reboots, NBC has announced plans to bring back "The Munsters," which won't be the first time the iconic series has been brought back.
"The Munsters" is a sitcom that ran from 1964 to 1966 on CBS, before it was canceled due to low ratings -- which were said to be due in part to ABC's "Batman." The Munster family lives at the famous address 1313 Mockingbird Lane, and is a satirical mix of wholesome family sitcom and monster films.
The series follows a lead of quirky supernatural beings: Herman is Frankenstein's monster, the famed character created by Dr. Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." Lily is Herman's wife and the daughter of Count Dracula, who is simply known as Grandpa in the series. Eddie is the son of Lily and Herman who has a pet dragon named Spot that he keeps under the stairs -- Eddie is also a werewolf. The last of the family is Marilyn, Lily's niece, and, unlike the rest of them, is a seemingly normal human instead of a supernatural being. The series featured a strong cast of Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, and Beverly Owen.
The Munster history
"The Munsters" spanned into a series of a films that followed the original series:
- "Munsters, Go Home!" in 1966 featured the original cast
- "The Mini-Munsters" (an animated film from 1973)
- "The Munsters' Revenge" in 1981 featured three of the original cast members
- "Here Comes the Munsters" in 1995
- A holiday film, "The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas" in 1996
In 1998, the series received a follow-up TV series, "The Munsters Today," which had three seasons and picks up where the original series left off, but in the 1980's.
In 2012, NBC aired a reimagining with the pilot "Mockingbird Lane" which was labeled a Halloween special, and did not translate into anything further.
'The Munsters' coming back?
NBC is teaming up with Seth Meyers of "Late Night" and Jill Kargman of "Odd Mom Out" for a new take on the series which will find the Munster family living in Brooklyn, New York instead of California.
All that is known about the reboot is that it'll show the family trying to fit in with their neighbors -- which are described as hipsters.
Other reboots include:
- "Miami Vice" with Vin Diesel on board as a producer
- "Lost in Space" which is set for a 2018 release on Netflix
- "Star Trek" will be returning to TV with "Star Trek: Discovery" on September 24 on CBS
- "Dynasty" will premiere on October 11 on the CW.
