'The Flintstones' Returning for Primetime Series Helmed by Elizabeth Banks

Warner Bros. Animation is going to produce a fresh take on The Flintstones with the help of Elizabeth Banks' Brownstone Productions. The project is only in its very early stages and no network is attached. The show is expected to feature new stories using the same Modern Stone-Age Family members.

According to Variety, the show will be a primetime, adult-oriented series produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

This is not the only Flintstones related project. As Deadline notes, Warner Bros. Animation is also producing the kid-targeted series Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! for the Boomerang streaming platform. Warner Bros. Animation is also developing a Gremlins prequel series for the new HBO Max streaming platform, while an Animaniacs reboot is in the works for Hulu.

The original Flintstones was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and ran from 1960 through 1966 on ABC. It ran over 160 episodes and was the first animated series to air during primetime. It was nominated for the "Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor" Emmy in 1961.

Over the years, Warner Bros., which owns the Hanna-Barbera Productions library, and Hanna-Barbera tried to bring back Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty to mixed success. During the 1970s, there were the short-lived shows The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, Fred Flintstone and Friends, The Flintstone Comedy Hour, The New Fred and Barney Show and Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. The studios also produced several animated TV specials in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1994, Warner Bros. made the live-action The Flintstones, with John Goodman as Fred and Rick Moranis as Barney. A poorly received sequel that featured none of the first film's stars followed in 2000.

In 2011, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane was close to bringing the show back for Fox. It took two years for 20th Century Fox Television and Warner Bros. Television to reach a deal, but MacFarlane's busy schedule ultimately led to the whole project being scrapped.

Back in 2014, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay took a crack at the property, with Chris Henchy hired to write an animated movie, Variety reported at the time. However, nothing came from the project, even though it was reportedly in "deep development" in 2018.

As for Banks, The Flintstones is the latest project for her Brownstone under an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. Last month, she signed on to produce a series based on the hit podcast Over My Dead Body for HBO Max. She also wrote, directed, executive produced and stars in Sony's upcoming Charlie's Angels reboot movie.

Photo credit: LMPC via Getty Images