Netflix, Disney Plus, and their rivals love TV reboots. Here are 14 notable streaming remakes and revivals ranked from worst to best by critics.
Travis Clark
- TV reboots, remakes, and revivals are a staple for streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus that are looking to sign up new subscribers.
- In fact, Netflix's first big hit original series, "House of Cards," was an American remake of a 1990s British miniseries of the same name.
- With reboots in the works for upcoming streaming services like HBO Max and Peacock, Business Insider looked back at reboots and remakes that worked, or didn't work, for other services.
- We ranked notable shows by their Rotten Tomatoes critic scores, from Netflix's "Fuller House" to Disney Plus' "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."
TV reboots, remakes, and revivals have long been a source of content for streaming services looking to sign up new subscribers.
Even Netflix's first big hit original series, "House of Cards," was an American remake of a 1990s British miniseries of the same name.
That will be true for upcoming streamers, too. A "Gossip Girl" revival is in the works for WarnerMedia's HBO Max, which launches next week, and a "Battlestar Galactica" reboot for NBCUniversal's Peacock, which launches in July.
These reboots offer streamers a chance to reel in subscribers with established IP. Disney Plus found success in this with its final season of the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" series. The show is currently the biggest series in the US, according to Parrot Analytics, which measures audience demand. And beyond pure reboots, Disney's streaming service is generally built around mining established IP for new series and movies. It's worked. Disney Plus has gained more than 54 million subscribers since launching in November.
Netflix, which has 183 million subscribers worldwide, has its own robust reboot strategy. The service has been quick to pick up canceled shows that already have fanbases, such as "Lucifer" or "Designated Survivor." The former was so popular that Netflix was considering uncanceling it (again) after renewing it for a sixth and final season, Deadline reported in February.
As the streaming war heats up and the battle for content rages, we looked back at some notable TV reboots and remakes to see what worked — or what didn't — and ranked them by their average Rotten Tomatoes critic scores. We broke any ties with audience scores. We excluded kids programming and shows that were immediately picked up by a streaming service after being canceled by another network (such as "Lucifer" or "The Expanse" or Amazon Prime Video).
The shows range from critical duds like Netflix's "Fuller House" to acclaimed series like Netflix's "One Day at a Time" reimagining and Disney Plus' final season of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."
Below are 14 notable streaming TV reboots and remakes, ranked by critic score:
Read the original article on Business Insider14. "Arrested Development" — Netflix, 2013-2018 (seasons four and five)
Average critic score: 41% (seasons four and five)
Description: "It's the Emmy-winning story of a wealthy family that lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together."
What critics said: "Arrested was always a zany version of reality, but the cartoonishness feels hyperbolic now, unfocused." — Entertainment Weekly (season five)
Original series run: 2003-2006, three seasons on Fox
13. "Amazing Stories" — Apple TV Plus, 2020-present (one season)
Average critic score: 42%
Average audience score: 54%
Description: "From visionary executive producers Steven Spielberg and Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, this reimagining of the classic anthology series transports everyday characters into worlds of wonder, possibility, and imagination."
What critics said: "Those tuning in expecting to see the director's light touch and clever manner of engaging our emotions will be disappointed ..." — Variety (season one)
Original series run: 1985-1987, two seasons on NBC
12. "Fuller House" — Netflix, 2016-2020 (five seasons)
Average critic score: 42% (based on first two seasons)
Average audience score: 72%
Description: "The Tanner family's adventures continue as DJ Tanner-Fuller shares a home with her sister Stephanie and friend Kimmy who help raise her three boys."
What critics said: "The hype around Fuller House relied heavily on the '90s nostalgia... We were amped enough on our memories to get through the first season, but this time around, I was literally begging for Jesse, Joey, and Danny to show up." — Refinery29 (season two)
Original series run ("Full House"): 1987-1995, eight seasons on ABC
11. "The Twilight Zone" — CBS All Access, 2019-present (one season)
Average critic score: 70%
Description: "Executive producers Jordan Peele and Simon Kinberg's modern re-imagining of the classic TV series continues the legacy of socially conscious storytelling. The series' second season uses introspection and self-exploration to usher viewers into a dimension filled with endless possibilities."
What critics said: "The original 'Twilight Zone' addressed complex social issues indirectly at a time when network TV was mostly escapist. But television is different now ... So simply updating the spirit of the original "Twilight Zone" just isn't good enough." — NPR (season one)
Original series run: 1959-1964, five seasons on CBS
10. "Lost in Space" — Netflix, 2018-present (two seasons)
Average critic score: 75%
Description: "After crash-landing on an alien planet, the Robinson family fights against all odds to survive and escape. But they're surrounded by hidden dangers."
What critics said: "Netflix's Lost in Space reboot, once again, delivers a solid, satisfying run filled with dazzling effects and stunning heart." — IGN (season two)
Original series run: 1965-1968, three seasons on CBS
9. "House of Cards" — Netflix, 2013-2018 (six seasons)
Average critic score: 77%
Description: "With Frank out of the picture, Claire Underwood steps fully into her own as the first woman president, but faces formidable threats to her legacy."
What critics said: "The final season is not the glorious goodbye it should have been, or the one the show's best character and best actor deserved, but there's still enough of that early elegant cruelty to see it across the line." — GQ (season six)
Original series run: 1990, miniseries on BBC
8. "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" — Netflix, 2018-present (three seasons)
Average critic score: 84% (includes winter special)
Description: "Magic and mischief collide as half-human, half-witch Sabrina navigates between two worlds: mortal teen life and her family's legacy, the Church of Night."
What critics said: "Woven in with all the character arcs and different narratives are some themes that you might not expect to see in a show like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. That unexpected nature is what makes how they're handled so very important." — Slashfilm (season three)
Original series run ("Sabrina the Teenage Witch"): 1996-2003, seven seasons on ABC and The WB
7. "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" — Netflix, 2016 (one season)
Average critic score: 87%
Description: "Set nearly a decade after the finale of the original series, this revival follows Lorelai, Rory and Emily Gilmore through four seasons of change."
What critics said: "In era of revivals driven and manipulated by the almighty dollar, A Year in the Life is refreshing in its genuine creation." — Indiewire
Original series run ("Gilmore Girls"): 2000-2007, seven seasons on The WB/The CW
6. "Veronica Mars" — Hulu, 2019 (season four)
Average critic score: 89% (season four)
Description: "In the wealthy, seaside community of Neptune, the rich and powerful make the rules. They own the town and are desperately trying to keep their dirty little secrets just that ... secret. Unfortunately for them, there's Veronica Mars, a smart, fearless private investigator dedicated to solving the town's toughest mysteries."
What critics said: "Veronica Mars has gotten a warier, moodier makeover ... with higher stakes, a deeply cynical sensibility, and an ending that leaves a bitter aftertaste." — The Atlantic (season four)
Original series run: 2004-2007, three seasons on UPN/The CW
5. "Queer Eye" — Netflix, 2018-present (four seasons)
Average critic score: 91%
Description: "Grab some tissues! An all-new 'Fab Five' serve up hip tips, emotionally charged makeovers and heartfelt reveals that bring out all the feels."
What critics said: "The Fab Five always get out in front, like fearless expedition leaders. However conservative or macho the environment they bound into, they are always fully and fabulously themselves." — Guardian (season four)
Original series run ("Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"): 2003-2007, five seasons on Bravo
4. "The Tick" — Amazon Prime Video, 2016-2019 (two seasons)
Average critic score: 95%
Description: "In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, an accountant with mental health issues and zero powers comes to suspect his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead. As he struggles to uncover the conspiracy, he falls in league with a strange blue superhero. They launch into an adventure brimming with crazed archvillains, blood-soaked vigilantes, and superhuman freakery."
What critics said: "Where so many other superhero stories nowadays focus on the heroes themselves, The Tick stays just as focused on its heroes' ground-bound pals, whose powers aren't always as obvious." — Vox
Original series run: 2001-2002, one season on Fox
3. "One Day at a Time" — Netflix, 2017-2019 (three seasons)
Average critic score: 99% (seasons one through three; fourth season aired on Pop TV)
Description: "In a reimagining of the TV classic, a newly single Latina mother raises her teen daughter and tween son with the 'help' of her old-school mom."
What critics said: "... the kind of show that coaxes forth easy laughter and just as reliably, wrings honestly-earned tears from viewers." — Salon (season three)
Original series run: 1975-1984, nine seasons on CBS
2. "Mystery Science Theater 3000" — Netflix, 2017-2018 (two seasons)
Average critic score: 100%
Average audience score: 91%
Description: "The cult hit returns! Captured by mad scientists, new host Jonah survives a blitz of cheesy B movies by riffing on them with his funny robot pals."
What critics said: "Jonah's finding a strong dynamic with the Bots, the riffs are tighter, and the shorter episode order allows for a more eclectic (if uneven) batch of enjoyably bad movies." — Consequence of Sound (season two)
Original series run: 1988-1999, 12 seasons on various networks
1. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" — Disney Plus, 2020 (season seven)
Average critic score: 100% (season seven)
Average audience score: 92% (season seven)
Description: "From Dave Filoni, director and executive producer of "The Mandalorian," the new Clone Wars episodes will continue the storylines introduced in the original series, exploring the events leading up to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith."
What critics said: "While the series rehabilitates the weaker parts in the Prequel trilogy, it breaks away from the light-vs.-dark dichotomy that defines the franchise." — Polygon (season seven)
Original series run: 2008-2014, six seasons on Cartoon Network and Netflix
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