Nash Bridges star Don Johnson has now provided some insight into the recent revival movie, and what drew him back to the character after all these years. Ultimately, it was a variety of contemporary issues being explored through the 80s buddy cop genre that tempted him, in particular the “difference between the millennials and the boomers,” and the comparison between Bridges' old-school way of doing things in the modern world.

“There’s a line I ad-libbed that I think encapsulates what we’re talking about here. We’re checking our guns and Steven says, ‘What are you doing?’ and we say, ‘We’re checking our guns.’ ‘What for?’ ‘To be ready.’ And he says, ‘Have you ever thought about talking to people?’ Nash goes, ‘Yeah, I love to talk to people if they’re not throwing hot lead at me.'”

The aim for both Don Johnson and writer and executive producer Bill Chais however was to present both the old ways and the new in a diplomatic way, without arguing that one is better than the other. “The idea is someone who’s older and came up a different way actually has something to teach and actually has a lot to learn. And we felt that it went both ways,” Chais explained. “We never wanted to be preachy; we always wanted to be sensitive to the issue that the world is different. He wasn’t part of any problem, but the world has changed and maybe there is more he could do to be part of that.”

Nash Bridges originally ran for six seasons on CBS from 1996 to 2001 for a total of 122 episodes. The series was ultimately canceled despite decent ratings, with Johnson reportedly growing tired of the role and wanting out. The series centers on fun-loving San Francisco Police Department investigator Nash Bridges (Don Johnson), who is part of the elite Special Investigations Unit and tackles crime using his keen sense of humor and charm. Nash manages to convince recently retired Inspector Joe Dominguez (Cheech Marin) to return to the force and thus he becomes Bridges' wisecracking yet more rule-abiding partner.

The revival of Nash Bridges has been in the works since 2019 and begins with Nash being suspended from the force before then jumping forward to a year later when he is pulled back into the action in a world of policing that he barely recognizes anymore. “We’re picking them up where we’ve left off from, and then something crazy happens and he’s away from the force for a year,” Chais reveals. “During that time, he’s had some time to reflect and had conversations with Cheech’s character [where he was] deciding whether he wants to come back, and realizes he has to because the city’s in terrible trouble.”

One retro trait that the Nash Bridges revival maintains though is the idea of a simple, unashamedly evil villain. “Nash Bridges” leans into that by creating a movie villain who is “universally bad,” Chais said of the movie’s no-nonsense bad guy, “so that wherever you’re coming from, you’re rooting for the bad guy to get got, quick and hard.” The two-hour Nash Bridges movie premiered on November 27, 2021, on USA and, if successful, could serve as a backdoor pilot for a revival of the series. This comes to us courtesy of Variety.