If we’re going to bring shows back from the grave anyway…
With Dexter: New Blood’s season finale this Sunday, I can’t help but think about other shows I would love to see resurrected. The genre has always done well on television as most of us still associate The Twilight Zone marathons with national holidays. While we’ve had plenty of awesome shows last forever, there were quite a few that were cut short. I would love to see these beloved shows reborn in a new era. Quite a few of them also deserve a second attempt at a better ending.
Freddy’s Nightmares (1988-1990)
This series is hard to find. I have spent my whole life hearing how good it was but never seeing it for myself. I think it’s time to bring it back, and I’m a little sad it hasn’t already been resurrected. We can never have too much Freddy Krueger-related content, and we always need more anthologies. If this were to come back today it might inspire a few cool ways to keep Robert Englund around. He said that he no longer wants to play his iconic character but have we asked about other possibilities? He could play other characters, narrate, etc. in capacities that honor his wish to never don the glove again. The show pulled in quite a few viewers and, overall, was successful. However, it battled budget cuts on top of Freddy being a bit too bloody for TV at the time. The pilot episode was directed by Tobe Hooper because everyone wants to be closer to Freddy. Hopefully, a reboot/reimagining would carry that tradition of pulling in directors of the moment. Looking specifically at Nia DaCosta, Jordan Peele, Josh Ruben, or Ana Lily Amirpour. A girl can dream, right?
Also Read: Five Directors Who Should Make The Next ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’
Freakylinks (2000-2001)
This Ethan Embry-led show was a ride! Embry played Derek, who started a website to debunk the paranormal after his twin brother mysteriously died. I was one of the few people watching this (because I was a creepy kid) and was sad that it abruptly ended after only 13 episodes. Fox took it away and we still have so many unanswered questions. While it was definitely Blair Witch meets The X-Files for teens through an aggressively 90’s filter, I think it would be fun to bring it into the not-so-roaring ’20s. This new technology would definitely speed up Derek’s investigations and an updated wardrobe would help his whole crew. They could also help fill this giant Black Mirror-shaped void in my viewing habits. Of course, all of these reasons are second to us FINALLY finding out what the hell happened to this twin brother!
Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
A piemaker with the gift to bring the dead back solves murder mysteries with the help of a private investigator and his newly resurrected childhood sweetheart. While this slot could be the free space for any Bryan Fuller show (because he only does quality), I’m choosing Pushing Daisies. While some of you are late to the cause because you only watched Hannibal, I have been here since Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls. I am here to tell you that nothing has ever touched my cold heart the way Pushing Daisies did. This delightfully kooky, gorgeous, and brilliant show was the hardest cancellation of my life. I gave up TV for a year and still talk about it as if it were my show (which confuses people and is why I don’t have friends). Pushing Daisies could easily make a comeback as most of the cast stopped aging in protest of their cancellation. It has also found new ways to be poignant these last few years because much like Lee Pace’s Ned, most of us aren’t trying to touch anybody at the moment.
Tales From the Crypt (1989-1996)
I know the Cryptkeeper gave us seven seasons of TV we weren’t fully able to understand because we were in diapers. Hell, he’s probably where delicate flowers like me and Fiona Dourif learned how to cackle. However, it’s always a great time to bring back Tales From the Crypt. Again, we will never have too many solid anthologies. We also need one like this HBO gem that lets our favorites in the industry play on our screens weekly. If HBOMax wants to make the horror community lose its collective shit, they would announce this now. Today’s kids don’t know what it was like to sneak into the living room after everyone goes to sleep to spend the evening with our beloved Cryptkeeper. That, and some new Tales From the Crypt merch, is all I want from this year.
Tru Calling (2003-2005)
Tru Davies is a med student that takes a job at the city morgue where she finds out that she has an unusual gift. Dead people ask her for help, and she is able to relive their final day and prevent their death. I followed Eliza Dushku to Fox after Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended and I was never disappointed. Watching her try to save lives while wearing ineffective scarves was my personality. The show dared to get spicy when she met another person with her gift, Jason Priestley’s Jack Harper, who is actively trying to make sure these dead people stay dead. I was excited to see where season two was going to lead us and took it personally that the next season suddenly ended after six episodes. I’ve sat here thinking about the reveals and secrets this show spent the first season serving me. It’s time for Tru to return to give me the closure I deserve.
I could do this list forever because I love TV the way most people love their children. While I’m happy we saw Dexter, The Twilight Zone, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? make comebacks these last few years, I’m greedy and will always want more.
If you want to talk about other TV shows that deserve a New Blood treatment, find me at @misssharai.
Tags: Freakylinks Freddy’s Nightmares Pushing Daisies Tales From the Crypt Tru Calling
Categorized: Editorials News
