Image: Cowboy Bebop, Netflix
Nostalgia is a popular theme in the streaming industry. The warm memories viewers have about shows and movies they watched in their younger years make reboots and remakes an attractive and seemingly less risky option. However, even this choice is fraught with potential issues. Assuming the original show was highly successful, it likely has an established fan base with high expectations. Essentially, this means the new version must be as good as or better than the original, or the audience will be left disappointed and potential backlash may be amplified.
For this article, we are considering both remakes/reboots or shows with the same concept or continuity with the original title (examples are One Day At a Time, The Equalizer, Battlestar Galactica) and revivals, with the same cast as the original title (example: Fuller House, Night Court, iCarly, Party Down).
According to Parrot Analytics’ Content Panorama, a system that tracks supply-side information about the entertainment industry, the share of remakes and reboots in the total number of scripted shows released in the United States was only 3.4% in 2023, an increase from 2022. In contrast, 2021 saw a spike in the number of remakes released. Notable releases this year include HBO Max’s revivals of “Sex and the City” and “Gossip Girl,” CBS’s reboots of “The Equalizer” and “Ghosts,” and Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop.” All of these shows garnered significant demand in their debut year.
Combining Parrot Analytics DEMAND360 and Content Panorama we can perform a demand vs. supply analysis. Netflix was the SVOD platform that relied more on remakes/reboots in 2023. Those were responsible for 7.6% of the platform’s TV catalog demand, despite being only 3.2% of the titles available. Netflix’s remake catalog is diverse, ranging from US adaptations of foreign shows such as Showtime’s “Shameless” and the platform’s original “House of Cards”, both remakes of British shows; to a live-action remake of the anime “One Piece”.
Paramount+ followed closely, with 7.0% of its TV catalog demand generated by remakes/reboots. Paramount+ also has the highest supply share of this kind of show among the main SVOD platforms, 4.9%. This platform is home to several CBS reboots of old classic TV shows from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, most notably “Hawaii Five-0 (2010),” “Macgyver (2016),” “S.W.A.T.”, and the sitcom “Frasier.”
Amazon Prime Video, Max, and Peacock also saw over 5.0% of their catalog demand coming from remakes, despite having much lower supply shares. Prime Video catalog includes AMC’s “Your Honor,” a drama remake of an Israeli show, and the TV iteration of the action movie franchise “Reacher.”
Max's most notable remake is “Euphoria,” which is based on an Israeli miniseries of the same name, alongside the 2005 version of “Doctor Who” and the 2016 version of the kids show “Ben 10.” Peacock’s top remake is the American version of “The Office.” Its catalog also includes the 2018 version of “Magnum, P.I.” and “Bel-Air.”
Remakes and reboots account for only a small portion of each platform’s catalog. However, they overwhelmingly induce viewer demand. In many cases, the release of a remake has helped revitalize the original series or film, drawing attention to the old version. For example, the release of the live-action “One Piece” in August 2023 revived the demand for the original series, doubling the effect of the release on Netflix’s catalog.
