NBC‘s upcoming Will & Grace revival as well as the new installment of Roseanne on ABC have put a spotlight on bringing back more recent series — from the 1990s and even 2000s — as opposed to older shows that had been getting reboots, including Hawaii Five-0 on CBS; Dynasty on the CW; and Miami Vice, which NBC is developing for next season.
There had been a lot of chatter the past few weeks about NBC potentially bringing back Emmy-winning comedy The Office, with Greg Daniels — who developed and ran the U.S. version of the British series — at the helm and possibly a new cast. While I’d heard some optimism around town that a new Office may be in the offing, NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt did not indicate that a deal is in the works.
“We often talk about The Office, I’ve talked to Greg four times over the past few years. It’s always, ‘maybe some day but not now’,” Greenblatt said in an interview with Deadline during NBC’s portion of the TCA press tour. “There is certainly an open invitation but we don’t have anything happening right now. If he wants to do it, I would do it.”
Greenblatt indicated that NBC also is interested in more 30 Rock, its Emmy-winning comedy created by and starring Tina Fey. “I’d say to Tina ‘Hey, you think some more 30 Rock makes any sense?’ She’d say, I don’t know maybe.’ “
The network is currently working with Aaron Sorkin, creator of the Emmy-winning NBC drama The West Wing, on a live production of A Few Good Men. “I keep saying to him, ‘Do you want to do The West Wing again, wouldn’t it be great to do it?’ He says, ‘You know I love that show and some day I’d love to revisit it, but it’s not going to happen right now.’ I’ve said it to John Wells on ER, but there is nothing concrete except Miami Vice which is something that we are reviving.”
The four series Greenblatt mentioned are all signature NBC shows with long, successful runs and Best Series Emmy wins. While he would love to see them come back, the network is being selective, only going for “the flashiest, the best things” to try and reboot. Also, “it’s not an easy think to crack (a revival), expectations are so high and you’ve got to get it just right,” Greenblatt added.
He reiterated that “we’re not thinking anything beyond Miami Vice” at the moment but “if Tina called and said ‘I’d do 30 Rock,’ I’d do it in a heartbeat, even for a limited run. The same about The Office.”
With Will & Grace, NBC introduced a new type of revival that includes the original cast, creators and director. “I think that to me is the best way to go — you have the original DNA of the creators, you have the director, you have the cast, you have the set — everything is what it once was.”
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.