Why we are obsessed with television reboots

I seem to be a sucker for a reboot. After watching the trailer for the reboot of Gossip Girl, I wasn’t too sure if I would be interested in watching, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I started watching the first episode (and have subsequently watched every episode). Right after I caught up on the two episodes of the iCarly reboot that I hadn’t watched yet.

Reboots can be a contentious things, there have been some that have either been terrible and cancelled or just highly criticised. I remember when the Charmed reboot was announced, and the original cast were very critical of it. And then there are reboots that have just kind of plugged along bringing back old characters with new storylines like Roswell, New Mexico and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or even old characters and old storylines but with new actors like Anne with an E.

I feel like this year in particular quite a few reboots have premiered or been announced including; iCarly, Gossip Girl, And Just Like That (Sex and the City), Powerpuff Girls, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, and loads more.

It’s quite interesting the timing with all of these reboots being announced, and premiering this year, I think 2020 when everyone was in lockdown meant that people went back and watched older tv shows and things became popular again, and so now we are seeing these shows bought back in new forms to continue the stories.

I remember seeing this tumblr post, I think it was and it said anxious people rewatch shows the most because we already know what happens and it doesn’t give us anxiety. These reboots kind of do a similar thing, in a time where there is so much anxiety and uncertainty these reboots give us something that isn’t anxiety inducing while also tackling new storylines and issues through exisiting characters and structures that are familiar.

It is nice watching a new season of a show you loved years ago and being able to see where the characters are. I was a similar age to Carly in iCarly when I was watching the show, and am a similar age now to Carly in the reboot, so it hits you right in the feels and evokes this real sense of nostalgia especially when they bring back a funny moment, or joke that was a big part of the original. For those that watched the original it’s almost like an inside joke but when done right it will still be funny to those who don’t know it’s historical context.

With Gossip Girls hits in a different way. I feel like they have changed so much of the show and gave it a new lease of life, as well as making it more progressive and more appealing to a younger and wider demographic, but also keeping in the things that made the original amazing, which was mostly just the spectacular fashion moments and the ludicrous crap 16-year-olds apparently do in New York.

For me the two shows are at opposite ends of the reboot scale one indulgent and the other nostalgic and each serve a different purpose when watching tv. But the familiarity of watching a reboot is exactly what I needed in 2021.