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In broadcast TV, looking ahead also means looking back
A new broadcast TV season is upon us, and among the new shows are also some familiar titles. NBC's Will & Grace is coming back this fall, and ABC's Roseanne will return in 2018. Some fans are thrilled, but other viewers ask why rely on older properties? And will younger viewers, who weren't even alive when the shows first debuted tune in to watch them now?
By Michael Schneider • • 4m ListenIf you were a fan of the sitcoms Will & Grace or Roseanne, you're in luck. Both shows are returning within the next year, though not all revivals are created equal. Both shows are ignoring their previous finales--in Roseanne's case, that involved the death of a main character. Now it turns out that he's no longer dead and John Goodman will indeed be a part of the cast. In Will & Grace, the shows original finale had the title characters in a decades-long fight. That bit of drama will also be erased so that the two friends can go on being friends. In both shows, the casts will be largely the same, though comedian Roseanne Barr has changed quite a bit since her show first premiered almost 30 years ago. She can say crazy things on Twitter, and some people are wondering if she's now a liability for the network.