Hulu Cancels Major Sitcom
Modern Family co-creator Steven Levitan could not capture lightning in a bottle a second time with his showbiz comedy Reboot. Hulu canceled the new series on Monday after just one, eight-episode season reports Variety. The series starred Jackass veteran Johnny Knoxville, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom, and Key & Peele's Keegan-Michael Key.
The series centered on the dysfunctional cast of Step Right Up, a fictional hit sitcom during the early 2000s. They must reunite to navigate an entertainment world they are unfamiliar with when a young writer proposes rebooting the series. Key, Knoxville, Calum Worthy, and Judy Greer played the actors from the show-within-a-show, while Bloom played the independent film screenwriter who is hired by Hulu to revive Step Right Up. Paul Riser played the show's original creator, and Krista Marie Yu played the inexperienced studio executive overseeing the revival. Peter Gallagher guest-starred as Hulu's fictional president.
Reboot debuted on Sept. 20 and the finale was released on Oct. 25. It marked Levitan's return to television after the end of Modern Family, and he served as executive producer. Levitan also created Just Shoot Me!, Stark Raving Mad, Back to You, and Stacked. 20th Television was the studio of the series. Sources told Variety Levitan plans to shop the project to other outlets. The writer allowed the first season to end with a cliffhanger and he hoped the show would run for a few seasons.
Levitan considered the series a "love letter to sitcoms" and "much-needed therapy," he told The Hollywood Reporter's TV's Top 5 Podcast. "It occurs to you that it'd be a much smarter move to just say, 'I'm going to ride Modern Family out with the sunset and go off to wine country,'" Levitan explained. "But I wanted to keep working. I enjoy this and like to write and create. I do feel the pressure of that. I tried to harness it in a good way to motivate me to not settle."
Although Reboot is ending, Hulu still has a few hit comedies on its roster. The Disney-owned streamer recently launched the second season of How I Met Your Father, starring Hilary Duff. Only Murders in the Building, which stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, is now in production for Season 3. Amy Schumer's Life & Beth was renewed for a second season after its first season debuted in March 2022.