It seems as though nowadays there are plenty of movies being remade and television shows rebooted. Diehard fans of old TV shows and movies usually fall into one of two extremes: either loving or hating the idea of their favorite series or movie being brought back to life. After all, no fan wants to see these revivals flop.

Why does there seem to be such a lack of fresh ideas in film and tv? Nostalgia plays a big role. 

Television networks and movie producers have seen how successful their old work was, so why not bring it all back with a new spin?

Fans of these shows want to catch up with the beloved characters they grew attached to long ago.

A big example of the role nostalgia plays is the hype about a long-speculated Friends reboot. However, cast members and the show’s creator, Marta Kauffman, have all denied this ever being a possibility. Surely this would be ratings gold, but Kauffman claims that a reunion would ultimately be a letdown. Sometimes it’s just better to leave things as they were.

This year alone, we’ve seen remakes of classic films such as Pet Sematary, The Lion King, Dumbo, Aladdin and Child’s Play.

Disney especially has been cashing in on remakes of its most well-known films. However, 2019’s Aladdin and The Lion King, while both visually stunning, left a lot to be desired. They just didn’t seem to hold a candle to the originals. They lacked the heart and substance felt in the previous animated versions, and it almost felt as though they were trying too hard to wow the audience.

All griping aside, Disney did in fact made billions off of these remakes. Regarding TV shows, we saw reboots of The Twilight Zone and Veronica Mars. The new version of The Twilight Zone, hosted and narrated by Get Out director Jordan Peele, was released on April 1 and received generally positive reviews and was renewed for a second season.

Veronica Mars is an interesting case. The show was originally cancelled in June 2007, but in 2013 with the help of fans, over five million dollars was raised via Kickstarter in an effort to get an official film made. The film would not have been possible without the fan base.

In September 2018, a Hulu-based revival of the original show was announced, and it was released that following July. Veronica Mars exemplifies that fanbases can play a big role in the decision of remaking a film or rebooting a TV series. 

Television networks and movie producers seem to be pandering to the nostalgia of fans in an attempt to further milk TV series and films for more profit. Some things are better left as they were, but the power of nostalgia is compelling.