Every year, Emmy prognosticators weigh the chances of TV’s newcomers. But what about newcomers that are also old-timers?
Whether you prefer to call them remakes, revivals or reboots, reimaginations of beloved movies and TV shows are all the rage: Think of CBS’ “Matlock,” which swapped in Academy Award winner Kathy Bates for Andy Griffith as a charming lawyer who gets things done in the legal system; Peacock’s “Bel-Air,” which turned a multicam sitcom into a drama; or HBO’s “Perry Mason,” which was less about the courtroom than Mason as private investigator.
When it comes to awards season, though, reboots aren’t such a hot commodity. Max’s “Gossip Girl,” Paramount+’s “Frasier” and ABC’s “The Wonder Years” came and went with no wins, and continuations like NBC’s “Law & Order” and “Will & Grace,” Fox’s “The X-Files” and CBS’ “Murphy Brown” have generally not received the same love from voters as their original runs.
Not all reboots fizzle at the Emmys, though. Here are six examples of rethinks that not only brought back beloved series from the graveyard but made them award-worthy all over again.
‘Shōgun’ (2024-present)
Emmy wins: 18
Anna Sawai in “Shōgun.”
(Kurt Iswarienko / FX)
With 26 nominations and an astounding 18 wins, the premiere season of “Shōgun” is the first Japanese-language series to take home an Emmy for drama series. In addition to the top prize, the adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 historical novel won awards for stars Hiroyuki Sanada (lead actor, drama) and Anna Sawai (lead actress, drama) plus a raft of below-the-line Emmys. The original miniseries’ take on Clavell’s story of colonialism and war in medieval Japan didn’t do so badly, either — in 1980 it scored 14 nominations and won three Primetime Emmys, including one for limited series.
‘Queer Eye’ (2018-present)
Emmy wins: 11
“Queer Eye” cast members Antoni Porowski, left, Tan France, Jeremiah Brent, Jonathan Van Ness and Karamo Brown.
(Netflix)
The fixer-upper series featuring five gay men zhuzhing up the lives of more staid straights was a phenomenon when it originally aired between 2003 and 2007 but was comparatively overlooked by the Emmys, picking up a win for reality program in 2004 plus three other nominations. Meanwhile, Netflix’s reboot — featuring makeovers of more than just straight guys, and a less snarky sensibility — has earned 11 Emmys to date, including six wins for structured reality program (2018, 2019-23).
‘Westworld’ (2016-22)
Emmy wins: 9
Thandiwe Newton and Aaron Paul in Season 4 of “Westworld.”
(John Johnson / HBO)
“Westworld” stands out on this list because it reimagines a feature film, not an earlier TV series — in this case, the 1973 movie written and directed by Michael Crichton and starring Yul Brynner. The film scored no top-line awards or nominations, but the HBO reboot, which premiered in 2016, landed 54 Emmy nominations and nine wins across its four-season run, including a 2018 trophy for Thandiwe Newton (lead actress, drama) for her performance as the series’ cunning madam, Maeve Millay.
‘One Day at a Time’ (2017-20)
Emmy wins: 3
Justina Machado, left, and Isabella Gomez in “One Day at a Time.”
(Ali Goldstein / Netflix)
The story of a single mom raising her growing daughters earned three nominations during its original run from 1975 to 1984, including one in 1982 for star Bonnie Franklin (lead actress, comedy); director Alan Rafkin and supporting actor Pat Harrington won. The Netflix reboot, which recast the Romanos as the Cuban American Alvarez family and shifted the action from Indianapolis to L.A., was nominated for each of its four seasons and won two, as well as a special Television Academy Honor.
‘Battlestar Galactica’ (2004-09)
Emmy wins: 3
Michael Hogan as Col. Saul Tigh, left, Edward James Olmos as Adm. William Adama, Mary McDonnell as Laura Roslin and Jamie Bamber as Lee “Apollo” Adama in the TV movie “Battlestar Galactica: Razor,” part of the popular Sci-Fi Channel franchise.
(Carole Segal / Sci-Fi Channel)
In the decades between the original 1978-79 “Battlestar” and the full-throttle reboot, science-fiction storytelling on the small screen advanced at lightspeed, which may have helped the latter last far longer than the original. The story of human refugees fleeing space colonies destroyed by Cylon robots (who were now on their tail) earned the original series three nominations and two Emmy wins in below-the line categories. The reboot ended up with three Emmy wins of its own from 19 nominations, though all the wins were for special effects and sound editing. (A 2003 backdoor pilot became a three-hour miniseries and also earned three Emmy nominations.)
‘The Conners’ (2018-25)
Emmy wins: 1
Maya Lynne Robinson, left, Jayden Rey, Michael Fishman, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara and Lecy Goranson in “The Conners.”
(Robert Trachtenberg / ABC)
Let’s call this one an unplanned reboot. After ABC canceled its 2018 “Roseanne” revival due to star Roseanne Barr’s public flameout, the quick-thinking network teed up “The Conners,” which follows the titular family after its matriarch’s untimely death. Falling somewhere between a traditional revival and a full-on reboot, “The Conners” hasn’t matched the original “Roseanne’s” Emmy haul, which included 25 nominations and four wins (three for Laurie Metcalf and one for Barr). But the series, which recently concluded its own seven-season run, has performed solidly with voters, earning six nominations and one win in 2021 for editing in a comedy series.
Content shared from www.latimes.com.