Bewitched-Inspired Comedy in the Works From June Diane Raphael and Dickinson Creator Alena Smith
Something Wicked is brewing at NBC.
Grace and Frankie’s June Diane Raphael and Dickinson creator Alena Smith are teaming up for a new multi-cam comedy inspired by the classic sitcom Bewitched, our sister site Deadline reports.
The show, which is currently in development, will pay homage to iconic shows of yesteryear as it delves into modern adult womanhood and how balancing everything, even with the help of witchcraft, is an impossible task.
Raphael will headline the project in addition to writing and executive-producing alongside Smith.
This marks the second Bewitched-centric series currently in the works. As previously reported, The Boys and Daisy Jones & The Six scribe Judalina Neira is developing an “irreverent hourlong reimagination” of the iconic show as part of her overall deal Sony Pictures Television.
The original Bewitched series ran for eight seasons (1964-1972) on ABC and followed Samantha Stevens (played by Elizabeth Montgomery), who married a mortal named Darrin (Dick York in Seasons 1-5, Dick Sargent in Seasons 6-8). Samantha’s attempts to assimilate as a normal suburban housewife were often thwarted by her magical family, who disapproved of the mixed union.
Additional TV credits for Raphael include Everything’s Trash, American Dad!, The Morning Show, Based on a True Story and Big Mouth.
Smith, meanwhile, has penned episodes of The Affair and The Newsroom along with writing and producing Dickinson.
How many times have they tried to remake Bewitched already? It’s not going to work.
This isn’t a remake. It’s just inspired by Bewitched, which probably stands a better chance than a remake would. Then again, someone made a Tabitha (as in Samantha & Darrin’s daughter) series in the 70s that didn’t last very long.
I’m not sure there has ever been an actual remake of Bewitched. The Tabitha series was a spinoff with a second generation character who was still a child in the original. Something that was represented and marketed as a spinoff, but really wasn’t, was the Nicole Kidman fronted movie with Will Ferrell from 2005 that wasn’t all that good and got less than stellar reviews. Part of the problem was that the film wasn’t a strict remake but centered on a Bewitched movie within the movie wherein Nicole’s character (who was an actual witch) tried out for the role of Samantha. If that sounds a bit complicated, it really was, and I think the movie was a bit overly meta for an audience that just wanted to see a remake of the original series.
Thinking about a new Bewitched, this just popped into my head: if he’s free, I could really see Jason Ralph playing the Darrin role!
I would enjoy this show, but I don’t really care for June Diane Raphael in the lead role. She’s fine as a guest star. Her voice is grating though to be the series regular.
I know Bewitched is multicam, but does this have to be?
The original Bewitched ran out of plots several years before it ended and remade episodes sometimes verbatim in it’s last seasons. Why do producers and writers keep going back to it? There is no more story to tell.
Ghosts has more of the Bewitched magic than any show I’ve seen in decades.So, even if that’s all we get, I’m happy with that. Still, it’s one of my all time favorite shows, and I would love to see the franchise continue in some way if done properly.
I used to make sarcastic remarks about reboots of old 60’s shows like Gilligan’s Island or My Mother the Car. No longer. I honestly think if the rights can be secured there will be someone pitching a new Gilligan’s Island in the next few years, if not already.
You had me at June Diane Raphael. (Paul Scheer is one lucky SOB)