Fans of long-cancelled WB series Gilmore Girls received a jolt this week upon learning of the possible revival of the fictional town of Stars Hollow and its favorite mother-daughter duo, Lorelei and Rory Gilmore.
Netflix (NFLX) is reportedly bringing the show and its beloved, pop culture reference-spewing characters back to life. According to Variety, the popular streaming service is working with the show’s creator and writer, Amy Sherman-Palladino, and her producer husband to revive Gilmore Girls with four new, 90-minute episodes.
Both Netflix and the show’s original producer, Warner Bros. (TWX), have declined to comment on whether the reported revival is in the works, though series star Lauren Graham didn’t exactly put the rumors to rest.
If the reports turn out to be true, bringing back Gilmore Girls would only be the latest example of a long-gone television series returning from the dead, thanks a new platform looking to capitalize on sustained fan interest. One such example is David Lynch’s 1980’s cult drama Twin Peaks, which is being revived for a new run on cable channel Showtime more than 20 years after airing its last episode. For the most part, though, shows once thought dead are being revived by streaming media platforms hungry for exclusive content that comes ready-made with built-in fan bases.
Netflix has led the way with reviving cancelled television shows, even taking a cult movie (2001’s Wet Hot American Summer) and bringing back the star-studded original cast for a prequel series. Netflix also revived AMC’s The Killing for a fourth and final season that aired last year.
Here are some more once-cancelled television shows that have recently found new life on a streaming media platform:
1. Arrested Development
This (dysfunctional) family comedy developed a cult following in the early 2000's, but Fox (FOX) still pulled the plug on the award-winning series after three seasons. Enter Netflix, which licensed a fourth season of Arrested Development that aired in 2013, while a fifth season is reportedly still in the works for next year.
2. Full(er) House
Netflix again. This time, the streaming site targeted millennials who grew up watching the Tanner family on ABC's Full House by bringing back a selection of that sitcom's cast-members for a sequel series. The Netflix original series Fuller House will be available online next year and will star Candace Cameron Bure as a now grownup D.J. Tanner, whose sister and best friend move in with her to help raise several children. You got it, Dude!
3. Trailer Park Boys
Netflix revived this mockumentary-style comedy series several years after its seven-season run on Canadian cable channel Showcase ended in 2007. Last year, the streaming service said it would air two new seasons of Trailer Park Boys that had been recently shot as well as multiple standalone "special" episodes, while a tenth season is also reportedly in development.
4. The Mindy Project
Days after Fox cancelled comedian Mindy Kaling's series earlier this year, Hulu (which is a joint venture of Fox, Walt Disney's (DIS) ABC and Comcast's (CMCSA) NBC) announced that the romantic comedy show would live again after its (very brief) death. The fourth season of The Mindy Project debuted on Hulu last month.
5. Community
For loyal fans of Dan Harmon's criminally under-watched comedy series Community, the show's unofficial slogan of "six seasons and a movie" came partly true earlier this year, when the first episode of the show's sixth season aired on Yahoo Screen. Yahoo (YHOO) picked up the show after NBC cancelled it a year earlier following the fifth season. The move by Yahoo represented part of the online search company's attempt to generate more traffic (and advertising revenue) with original video content.
6. Longmire
Ok, one more from Netflix, which snatched up Longmire last year, a few months after the A&E network cancelled the contemporary Western/crime procedural following its third season. The show's fourth season debuted on Netflix last month.
