Good news for fans of classic and camp television: Bewitched is coming back to life. That's right, everyone's favorite witchy family is returning to television, this time as an animated series. The news comes from an exclusive Hollywood Reporter story, which details several of Sony Pictures Television's upcoming projects, most of which center on reinventing or reinvigorating classic IPs held by the company. Other projects announced alongside the Bewitched reboot include an animated take on The Partridge Family and a kid-centered version of Wheel of Fortune.
For those not yet enchanted by Bewitched, the series has long stood as a staple of 1960s and 1970s television. The original series originally debuted in 1964 and centered on the marriage between a witch named Samantha and her woefully human husband Darrin. Most episodes saw Darrin falling victim to one magic spell or another, usually cast by one of Samantha's disapproving witch and warlock relatives. The original series ran for eight years and starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha, Agnes Moorehead as Endora, Samantha's mother, and Darrin's primary foe. Darrin was originally played by Dick York, but the role was later filled by Dick Sargent. Later seasons focused on their daughter, Tabitha, a young witch herself. The series was previously adapted into a film that was, to say the least, met with a mixed response.
Hannah Montana Meets Harry Potter
The updated and animated Bewitched would focus on Tabitha Stevens, the thirteen-year-old daughter of Darrin and Samantha. In the new series, Tabitha will have to juggle life as a regular middle school student with her after-school training to be a witch. The series is being billed as a blend of Hannah Montana and Harry Potter. The switch in focus to the teenage Tabitha is certainly a new take on the beloved series and recalls such beloved properties as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which take a magical look at the complications of adolescence.
‘Ted Lasso’: Roy and Keeley Weren’t Meant To Be, Explains Co-Creator Brendan Hunt
Of the new sleight of reboots and re-imaginings, Joe D'Ambrosia, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sony Pictures Television Kids said, "[t]here's such a vast history at Sony Pictures Television with properties that we could play around with and reinvent, introducing a whole new generation of kids to them." The aim for D'Ambrosia is clear: to build a new audience for an already familiar property, similar to Cobra Kai, a series that melded the nostalgia of the Karate Kid films with a new and fresh narrative direction that welcomed younger audiences.
The new Bewitched reboot is in early development, and no writers were attached to the project prior to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.