Everything you need to know about The CW's '4400,' a reboot of the 2004 critically-acclaimed sci-fi series

• The first season of The CW's reboot of "The 4400" is airing now.
• "4400" makes a deliberate effort to tell stories about marginalized communities.

The CW has released a remake of the Emmy-nominated 2000s sci-fi thriller "The 4400," which aired for four seasons.

The new reboot, which simply goes by "4400," borrows the initial storyline from the original show, which focused on a group of missing people from different time periods who mysteriously reappear on the same day. However, the CW's version has made many significant changes.

Here is everything to know about the reboot.

The series is a reboot of a sci-fi show that was nominated for three Emmys

"The 4400," originally released on USA Network, was about a group of 4400 missing people from throughout history who all reappear on a single day in 2004. As federal agents and the people themselves try to work out how this happened, it is revealed slowly that each individual came back with supernatural powers.

Eventually, the 4400 find out that they were abducted by humans from the future and given their abilities to stop a catastrophe for Earth.

The original series starred Mahershala Ali, who would go on to win two Oscars, and it was nominated for three Emmys in 2005 after its first season. The show was canceled in 2007, ending on a big cliffhanger at the end of season four, with no official reason reported for the cancelation at the time.

Season 1 of The CW's reboot seems to be going down a similar story path with missing people arriving from the past on a single day in 2021 and each of them developing abilities. However, instead of federal agents monitoring them, the 4400 are being monitored by the police, a social worker, and a parole officer after being locked up in a hotel.

The reboot has made big changes to focus on minority communities

The 2021 remake of the sci-fi hit, this time simply titled "4400," follows the original premise almost exactly so far — but one key change enriches the plot. Per the show's official description, the displaced people from the past 100 years that show up in present-day Detroit are "overlooked, undervalued, or otherwise marginalized people."

Created by Ariana Jackson, who previously worked on "Riverdale," the show's ensemble predominantly features Black actors like Joseph David-Jones, who plays Jharrel, the social worker tasked with helping the displaced assimilate to present-day life; Ireon Roach who plays Keisha, the parole officer paired with Jharrel who is more suspicious of the new-comers than he is; and Amarr as Hayden, one of the 4400 who lived as a quiet awkward kid in the 1940s. He was previously locked in an asylum before suddenly showing up in 2021.

"4400" does not stop its representation at diversity within the cast. It tells in-depth stories about marginalized communities. For example, T.L. Thompson plays Dr. Andre Davis, a doctor displaced from the 1920s who is just learning what it means to explore their gender identity. They may be falling in love with Shanice Murray, a lawyer who was displaced in 2005, seemingly abandoning her husband and infant daughter, who is now a teenager.

Themes related to mental health, police brutality, and oppression are explored through the fact that the members of the 4400 that we meet in Detroit are being closely watched and sometimes abused by police and the government.

Their supernatural powers are helping them navigate the new, harsh reality of 2021. Some of their abilities include the power to heal their injuries, telepathy, and the ability to sing someone into a deep sleep via song.

One of the members of the original cast is set to make an appearance in the reboot

"4400" is making positive changes in its reboot of the critically-acclaimed "The 4400," but part of what makes reboots appealing is seeing faces from the original show. The CW version will follow this trend when actor Patrick John Flueger steps into a recurring role starting on the 12th episode of the first season, set to air on February 7.

Per Deadline, Flueger, who played Shawn Farrell, one of the 4400 that receives the ability to heal or drain life in the CBS version, will play a character named Caleb in the reboot, who is only described as "a charismatic figure from one of the '4400's' past."

Deadline also reported that "The 4400" co-creator Scott Peters will direct the 12th episode.

"4400" airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.