Old favourites with a whole new look

If you think that coming up with a new show from scratch is tough, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Rebooting a franchise that did well decades ago and pulling it off is often even trickier, thanks to nostalgia and ultra-fans not being happy with their beloved series and movies being meddled with. But sometimes the rebooted version is just as good as the original. Here are some of the best you can stream right now…

Bel-Air

This is the Fresh Prince reboot we’ve all been waiting for – but it’s a little edgier and much less comedic than the original. Like The Fresh Prince, it follows a street-smart teen whose life is forever transformed when he moves from the streets of west Philadelphia to live with his relatives in one of LA’s wealthiest suburbs.

Gossip Girl

HBO Max creates an edgy and pertinent revival of the hit TV series centring on a new generation of New York private school teens using social media to spread gossip. The new series is streaming only on Showmax.

Perry Mason

Based on the original series that ran in the mid 50s, soldier-turned-private investigator Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys from The Americans) scours Depression-era Los Angeles to solve the case that will change his fortunes.

But while a famous child kidnapping keeps his body busy running down leads around the city of angels, Perry’s demons (including undiagnosed and untreated PTSD) are eating him alive in his mind. It’s a prequel series, building up to how Perry became the attorney character from the original series. It’s also the third reboot, with two previous versions in the mid-70s and 80s having been based on the novels by Erle Stanley Gardner.

Charmed

The witch trio from the 90s hit fantasy series were given a makeover in 2018 and like the original trio did, they’re discovering their powers and the influence that they have over the supernatural world. There are loads of elements in the reboot from the original series, like the spellbook and the world being under attack, but other than that, this series is a clean overhaul. The characters even have new names – Maggie, Mel and Macy.

And thanks to upgrades in CGI and technology since the first version, the monsters are a whole lot scarier. If you’ve read up about the original cast’s displeasure about the reboot, chalk it off to sour grapes because they weren’t asked to come back. This is a reboot, not a revival like Will & Grace. And it’s good! Stream Season 1.

Get Shorty

This heavily underrated three-season series is a remake of the John Travolta movie from 1995 and because they’re both based on the book by Elmore Leonard, they’re pretty much identical. The series stars Chris O’Dowd, Ray Romano, Peter Stormare and a few other famous faces, as Miles Daly (Chris) tries to escape his life as a mob enforcer. His new career path? He’s getting into movies in Hollywood. But there’s a problem: while he’s escaped his crime life, his crime life has followed him to Tinseltown and Miles is dragged back into criminal activities like money laundering. Watch S1-3 now.

The L Word: Generation Q

The original drama series The L Word ran from 2004 to 2009 and followed a group of couples living in Los Angeles. Lesbians Bette and Tina were trying to have a kid, Jenny and her boyfriend Tim were new to town, and bisexual journalist Alice maintained “the chart” – a map of relationships, hook-ups and booty calls.

For the 2019 sequel series, the show has expanded on the LGBTQ+ world to include everyone – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Other. It’s set in LA still, with Jennifer Beals reprising her role as Bette as she continues living her best life along with her new darlings, who’re living in a world that Bette helped build.