When you think of new TV shows in development, how many of those series are reboots or remakes? If it's a movie or TV series on Paramount+, it's likely the majority. In this day and age, we always seem to be looking backwards. In attempts to recapture that childhood magic every single day of adulthood, we find ourselves exposed to different versions of the same story, or continuations of the same stories.

We have moved away from the golden age of television and into the age of nostalgia. It is the driving force of nearly every piece of mainstream entertainment, from television to film. But what made those stories of the past so enticing to us? Do these old TV shows from the past have the impact today? For starters, watching a television series as a child will eventually elicit a different reaction 20 years later. You may get an adult joke every now and again, but the plot points are still the same.

Who, Where and Why?

A live-action scene from the new Fairly OddParents
Paramount+

Primarily, we are seeing a revitalization of classic sitcoms and animated series that were popular back in the early 2000s. With the most recent announcement and trailer for the new Paramount+ live-action Fairly Oddparents sequel series, Fairly Odder, we continue to see this trend of similar storylines and similar characters. This series follows Timmy Turner’s cousin Vivian Turner and her adventures with the beloved fairies Cosmo and Wanda. While the blend of animation and live action seems interesting, this franchise has already done both mediums.

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Streaming has brought forward the series of the past back into the spotlight. The ability to stream those little animated or live action shows audiences watched as a kid coming home from school every single day sparked the idea to add more bang for the buck. If audiences are so eager to revisit the past, why not add more to it? It isn’t a coincidence that SpongeBob SquarePants keeps growing on Paramount+ with spin-offs like Kamp Koral and more; it is the same streaming service that audiences use to binge the original series over and over again. Paramount+ has gone all-in on nostalgia, with the vast majority of its projects in development being revivals and spin-offs. In addition, the most recent Rugrats reboot came seemingly out of nowhere for audiences that are all grown up. From a marketing perspective, it is merely taking advantage of the large pool of eyes to garner more views for similar content.

New Becomes Old

The problem with series mainly targeted for nostalgic viewing is that this type of entertainment becomes normal. Nevertheless, audiences could become desensitized and numb to new and original content. There may potentially be no desire to watch a new series if it isn't connected to an already existing universe or doesn’t have some familiarity with its characters. New might ironically become… boring. Unless Captain Kirk makes some unexpected appearance in the last 12 seconds of a trailer, audiences aren’t as connected to anything new anymore. The popularity of original content is dying, and the age of reboots is in full swing.

Going Backwards

In an article published by Reporter, the psychological definition of “nostalgia” gets related to capturing a feeling from a time that never actually existed. It's striving for something that we think we had, but in reality it was just a figment of our imaginations. The present, especially for adults, is filled with financial burdens and responsibilities, none of which were prevalent at the early stages of our lives watching Saturday morning cartoons. So it would make sense that returning to that pattern on Saturdays might fill an adult with a sort of comfort, even subconsciously; like much of the show, the title of Arrested Development was presciently ahead of its time. However, this need to look backwards to childhood, to arrest our development for comfort, might block our ability to move forward. While it may not be the shows themselves, it is that feeling we are trying to chase that could potentially be problematic as we age into adulthood.

Money in the Bank

Daryl Dixon in the woods in The Walking Dead
AMC

What worked critically and financially for an audience of the nineties may not work for audiences today. Times have changed. However, there seems to be this formula of “if it worked with one audience, it will work with another.” Money is the driving force behind a majority of entertainment based media. The unfortunate truth behind some revamps, reboots, sequels, or prequels is the almighty dollar sign. In television, it is all about the power of ratings and how many people tune in to view the episodes each week.

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The Walking Dead has maintained a fairly high ratings level over its near-decade run. The commercial success of this series, along with the expanding world, gave the first spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead the green light back in 2015, and it serves an interesting lesson in nostalgia. While maintaining some success commercially, the one saving grace for this series was its revitalization of the beloved character from the original series, Morgan. Ironically, that nostalgia for the original series had saved its spin-off and its new characters who did not have the same connection to audiences as the original cast of The Walking Dead. Next, the second spin off series The Walking Dead: World Beyond made its debut in 2020. However, the series was canceled after two seasons. Nevertheless, the world continues to expand with feature films and more spin-off series in further development.

Continuing A Story

On the other hand, the bright side of revitalizing older material is the opportunity to explore the unexplored. The television series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are a prime example of utilizing characters and storylines based in nostalgia and branching into the subdivisions of the entire universe. A series itself has room to breathe and there are plenty of opportunities for character development outside a two out feature length runtime.

Cast of the iCarly reboot
Paramount+

Better Call Saul is perhaps one of the more sophisticated examples of story continuation, but existing as it did very soon after Breaking Bad, it can't exactly be accused of backward-looking nostalgia. Saul Goodman is a standout character of the hit original series; He was quick with his words and even quicker on his feet. A series centering around this character's origins seemed like a no-brainer to those who saw him in the original. This is where nostalgia plays a crucial role to the series, because it's easier to explain Saul as a character if one has seen him in Breaking Bad itself, and the joys of seeing that world (and its characters) explored again are dependent upon the previous show. However, the spinoff series utilized Saul, as well as a plethora of other popular characters from the mishaps surrounding Heisenberg, to their full potential.

The newest home run for Paramount+ is none other than the revitalized iCarly. This series’ target demographic has aged with its characters as they venture into adulthood. This is the most clever way to utilize nostalgia in television. By latching onto the original audience, and not copying and pasting the original for a new age, that same audience could follow the show once again. iCarly proved to be a smash hit with its edgy humor, clever use of new technology, and intelligent writing, and the reboot compares to the original series favorably. Perhaps there lies the fun within nostalgic characters and stories.