Why Are So Many Old TV Shows Being Rebooted?

Recently there have been many old tv shows brought back or been made into sequels: Heroes, Full House, and 24. It has become very popular to remake shows; I know that some of the favorite shows such as Prison Break and Gilmore Girls are also going to be rebooted. So why are so many shows being rebooted?

One factor that plays in this is the success that the other reboots have had. Hawaii 5 O's reboot took off as well as Fargo. This success caused other popular old shows to be reconsidered. Shows that people believe were cancelled too soon or just ended to soon were reconsidered. Though rebooting has been a success for some shows, other shows such as Heroes didn't get as lucky. Heroes: Reborn got cancelled after one series. One reason why this show might have been more of a bust then others is that not many of the original cast members returned. On shows like Fuller House and 24 most of the original cast returned. Demand greatly affects shows being rebooted. Demand is one of the most important things to a network, they keep shows that are in high demand, and they also bring back shows that were in high demand and still are now. With a demand increase there has to be an increase in quantity, which is where TV show reboots come in (or another season being made for a current show).

Cut - It - Out

The second factor that explains why TV show reboots have become popular is that recently networks have been more okay with shows that are targeted at a narrower demographic. Networks, used to favor shows with larger demographics, like sitcoms. Which is why through the 80s and 90s you see many comedic sitcoms that are targeted at a wide range of demographics. Shows that didn't have as much of a wide range were usually cancelled to make way for a new show that can target more demographics and bring in more viewers. You might be wondering at this point how this applies to economics, and the answer is again-demand. Demographics are a huge way to increase demand; that's why a wide range was always favored. Now however, demand is still high yet in a smaller range, this is by changing the show to target a specific group of people and advertising it well for that group. If you can target one group really well than that show can be just as successful and have just as high a demand as if it just loosely targeted a wide range of people.

The third factor is new technology. With DVR, online streaming, and video on demand, TV shows are much more accessible. Traditional cop shows and sitcoms were more popular back in the day because if you missed an episode you would be ok, you probably wouldn't miss any major plot point. While serialized shows often got cancelled because people couldn't keep up. But with DVR, and video streaming serialized shows (shows where you can't miss a single episode) have become more popular because if you can't watch it that night then you can find another time to.

I know everyone hated this but I loved it!

Lets be honest there can be many more reasons that old TV shows are rebooted. You don't see me arguing though, I love so many shows that ended and with all this rebooting it gives me hope again. Some people hate that shows are getting rebooted because they think it will ruin the name and be a let down, but for me I love it. You can't compare the reboot to the original show; sometimes they are different. But if you truly loved the original show you can just be happy they brought it back. Unless its Heroes: Reborn, and they leave out all of your favorite characters and replace them.