A New Big Bang Theory Spinoff Is on the Way: All the Details
The Big Bang Theory universe is expanding.
Four years after the hit CBS series went off the air after 12 seasons, a second spinoff is in the works, Max—the new name for HBO Max—announced on April 12.
And after introducing audiences to lovably nerdy scientists Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), as well as their neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco), creator Chuck Lorre is once again at the helm.
Of course, this new Big Bang Theory project comes after the first spinoff Young Sheldon, which is based on the early life of Parsons' titular child prodigy-turned-theoretical physicist. That series, which stars Iain Armitage, is currently in its sixth season on CBS.
Unfortunately, you'll have to wait to unravel the mysteries of the third show in the lineage as no plot details have been confirmed just yet. However, as part of his overall deal with the streaming service, Lorre's next comedy How to Be a Bookie starring Sebastian Maniscalco is currently in production.
The Big Bang Theory originally ran from 2007 to 2019 and also starred Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Sara Gilbert, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch.
Fans of the original sitcom were shocked in 2019 when Parsons revealed his surprise exit from the series, effectively making season 12 the final season. In 2022, Lorre acknowledged the star's sudden departure.
"There was a lot of crying in the room—Kaley, in particular," he recalled. "It was a blow. And there was no way to soften it by giving them a heads-up. I didn't know any other way to do it."
Study up on The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, available to stream on HBO Max. Plus, check up on the status of all your favorite reboots, remakes and revivals, below...
Status: Pilot order
Kathy Bates is set to star in a reboot of Matlock. CBS' logline teased: "After achieving success in her younger years, the brilliant septuagenarian Madeline Matlock rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within."
Status: Series order
On Jan. 31, Hulu revealed that King of the Hill would be revived for a 14th season on their streamer. Original voice actors Kathy Najimy, Pamela Adlon, Stephen Root, Johnny Hardwick and Lauren Tom are all returning for the new installment.
Status: In production
Jamie Lynn Spears and some of her Zoey 101 classmates are reuniting for a TV movie sequel to their 2000s Nickelodeon sitcom.
"I'm beyond thrilled to be back alongside my PCA family and continue the story of Zoey and all the characters fans know and love," Spears noted in a statement. Zoey 102 is expected to air later in 2023 on Paramount+.
Status: In pre-production
Kelsey Grammer will reprise his role as radio host Frasier Crane in a revival of the NBC comedy, which ran from 1993 to 2004. Few other details are available, but as Grammer said in his statement about the new series, "There has long been a call from fans for its return, and that call is now answered."
In July 2021, Grammer said Frasier is now living somewhere new, and is "rich beyond his dreams." And, in July 2022, the actor confirmed that the scripts were in the "final stages." Production may even begin this fall.
Status: Canceled
The Peacock series, based on the 1989 movie of the same name, has been canceled at Peacock, E! News confirmed. But don't give up hope yet! Universal Television is talking to interested buyers.
Status: Script submitted
Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano are set to reprise their roles as Tony and Samantha Micelli in a Who's The Boss? sequel series on Amazon Freevee. The series will feature retired Tony and single mom Samantha living together in the same house from the original series, which aired for eight seasons on ABC from 1984 to 1992.
Status: Series order
The iconic oceanside MTV reality show Jersey Shore, which introduced the world to Snooki and The Situation, is getting the reboot treatment with Jersey Shore 2.0. The show will chronicle "a new generation of share house roommates hitting the same famed beaches and boardwalks along the Atlantic to make new memories all summer long."
Status: Series order
MTV's glamorous and dramatic reality series The Hills, which starred Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port and Heidi Montag, is being rebooted with a new cast by the network. The new show, called The Hills: Next Gen, will "feature a brand-new cast that is expected to be more diverse than the original" and set in Malibu.
Status: Series premiered Sept. 19
"Oh boy" is right! NBC has placed a series order for a rebooted version of Quantum Leap. Check out the logline below:
"It's been 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. Now a new team has been assembled to restart the project in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it."
Status: Season two premiered in April 2022
Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor all returned for a revival of the Nickelodeon show about some teens who become viral internet stars. All three stars posted a photo from the set on Jan. 27, 2021. Jennette McCurdy chose not to return as Sam after she retired from acting.
Status: Premiered Dec. 9 on HBO Max and renewed for a second season
Sarah Jessica Parker announced a Sex and the City revival—titled And Just Like That—in early Jan. 2021, but caused a bit of an uproar when fans learned that Samantha (Kim Cattrall) would not be a part of it. Thankfully, Big (Chris Noth) will be back as well as other fan favorites. The new show will follow the women's lives in New York in their 50s, and HBO Max boss Casey Bloys has promised more diversity both behind and in front of the camera.
So far, the cast also includes returning stars Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler and the late Willie Garson, along with newcomers Sara Ramirez, Nicole Ari Parker, Sarita Choudhury and more.
Status: Premiered Jan. 18 on Hulu and renewed for a second season
Hilary Duff is the new Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Father, a gender-flipped reboot of How I Met Your Mother. Duff plays Sophie, a woman who, in the near future, is telling her son all about how she met his dad. The story starts in the year 2021 and follows Sophie and her close group of friends as they figure out who they are and how to date in the age of dating apps.
Status: In production
The cult comedy will return as a six-part limited series on Starz. The show ran for two seasons, between 2009 and 2010, and starred Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Jane Lynch and more. Most of the cast, excluding Caplan, is returning for the new season.
Status: Premiered Nov. 24
Just a year after it went off the air, Paramount+ announced that it was bringing back Criminal Minds with at least part of the team from the original show. The revival will find the team investigating one case over the course of the season.
Status: Pilot Order
NBC also has a Life Goes On sequel series in the works starring Kellie Martin. The new show "will revisit a grown-up Becca Thatcher, now an accomplished doctor, and her extended family as she returns to her hometown," according to the description.
Status: Premiered Feb. 13 on Peacock
Will Smith is producing a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot, with a twist. It's now a drama about a teen who gets sent from Philadelphia to live with rich relatives in Bel-Air, inspired by a viral trailer created by fan and filmmaker Morgan Cooper. Peacock ordered two seasons of the one-hour drama, named Bel-Air.
Status: Renewed for a second season
Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is executive producing a brand new Pretty Little Liars series for HBO Max called PLL: Original Sin. It's set in the same universe as the Freeform show, but about a whole new group of people, including Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney and Maia Reficco.
Here's the series description:
"Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the blue-collar town of Millwood apart. Now, in the present day, a group of disparate teen girls—a brand-new set of Little Liars—find themselves tormented by an unknown Assailant and made to pay for the secret sin their parents committed two decades ago...as well as their own. In the dark, coming-of-RAGE, horror-tinged drama Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, we find ourselves miles away from Rosewood, but within the existing Pretty Little Liars universe—in a brand new town, with a new generation of Little Liars."
Status: Premiered Nov. 7 on Showtime
Michael C. Hall and original showrunner Clyde Phillips are returning for a ninth and final season that will hopefully give everybody's favorite serial TV serial killer a better ending than just Dexter becoming a lumberjack.
Status: Season two premiered Sept. 29
William Petersen and Jorja Fox returned as Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle for season one of the revival of the beloved franchise. While William and Jorja have since exited the revival, Marg Helgenberger returned as Catherine Willows for season two.
Status: Premiered Sept. 22 on ABC
A new version of The Wonder Years follows a Black family in 1960s Alabama, and the cast is good. Don Cheadle plays the adult version of Dean Williams, the main character, with 12-year-old Dean played by Elisha "EJ" Williams. Dulé Hill plays Dean's dad, an outspoken musician. Saycon Sengbloh plays Dean's accountant mother. Lee Daniels and original Wonder Years star Fred Savage are producing.
Status: Season two will premiere Jan. 2, 2023
Joselyn Sanchez plays Elena Roarke, descendent of Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban), the mysterious man who oversaw the original Fantasy Island. It's an anthology series set at a resort where guests can have their fantasies fulfilled, for a price. Kiara Barnes and John Gabriel Rodriguez also star.
Status: In development
Elizabeth Banks is executive producing and starring in a new Flintstones update called Bedrock, in which she would voice the grown-up Pebbles Flintstone, who's working on her own career as her dad nears retirement.
Status: Early development
TVLine reports that a revival of '90s legal dramedy Ally McBeal is in the early stages of development, with Calista Flockhart potentially returning as Ally in a limited capacity.
The new show will follow "a young Black woman who joins the law firm from the original series (or its current incarnation) straight out of law school," according to Deadline. This young woman is reportedly the daughter of McBeal's D.A. roommate Renée Raddick (Lisa Nicole Carson).
Status: Premiered Sept. 8 on Disney+ and renewed for a second season
Doogie Howser M.D., the show about a teenage doctor played by Neil Patrick Harris, is coming back with a bit of a twist. It will now be set in Hawaii and will center around a teenage doctor who is also a girl. The new comedy is called Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. and stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee as the titular teen. Kathleen Rose Perkins plays her mother, a supervising doctor at the hospital where Doogie works.
Status: Premiered Sept. 11
Jon Bernthal stars alongside Gretchen Mol in Showtime's TV adaptation of the 1980 movie that starred Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. Bernthal plays Julian, a man who was just released from prison after 18 years for murder. He struggles to find his footing in the Los Angeles sex industry and tries to figure out who set him up all those years ago.
Status: A new season will premiere Dec. 15
Wendy Raquel Robinson and Hosea Chanchez are set to reprise their roles, with several other original cast members expected to make special appearances. Per Paramount+, the series "returns with a mix of original cast and new players to offer a modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football. The team will tackle racism, sexism, classism and more as they fight for fame, fortune, respect and love—all while trying to maintain their souls as they each play The Game."
Status: Premiered January 14, 2022
After being canceled with no ending in early Feb. 2020, Ray Donovan is getting a second chance to say goodbye. The series will now end with a feature-length movie on Showtime.
Status: Premiered in February 2022
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is a revival of the classic Disney animated series, which stars Kyla Pratt as teen Penny Proud. The original cast returned, with Keke Palmer joining as new character Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins.
Status: Canceled after one season
Soleil Moon Frye is back as Punky Brewster, the lovable foster kid from the '80s sitcom of the same name, now a mom with her own foster kid and an ex-husband played by Freddie Prinze Jr.
Status: In early development
Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is working on a reboot of HBO's True Blood, the vampire series based on Charlaine Harris' novels. Alan Ball, EP of the first series, is returning as an executive producer but former cast members will likely not return.
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