'Growing Pains' Spinoff Reportedly in Development

There are many classic sitcoms that need to be rebooted, and Growing Pains might be next. Daily Mail reports that a spinoff of the '80s ABC series is in the works. Star Jeremy Miller, who portrayed Ben Seaver, even confirmed that the original cast is "on board" to reprise their roles. Miller pitched a reboot to Warner Bros., which later got axed. However, the studio had other ideas for a "reimagining." 

"I do think a reboot would work," Miller shared. "Everybody was on board and excited about maybe doing the project. Unfortunately, it seems Warner Bros. was not interested. They have their own ideas. They might want to take it in another direction and have a reimagining. I do not know if a real reimagining would work… It is very hard to capture that nostalgia."

Following the misadventures of the Seaver family, Growing Pains aired from 1985 to 1992 for seven seasons and 166 episodes. The classic series was created by Neal Marlens and starred Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller, Ashley Johnson, and Leonardo DiCaprio. It's unknown who exactly would be on board for the potential new series and if it would be for the reimagining or the spinoff that Miller had pitched, but he does have some reservations about the pitch from Warner Bros.

"When fans want to see the characters they knew and loved, and you're bringing something new to the table, it doesn't elicit the same response," Miller explained. "A new generation, I think it would be difficult. The chemistry we had as a cast would be difficult to recreate. It really is tough to get that magic, that chemistry. We were a family. You can't just build and start that from scratch. We really were a family. We all knew each other. We knew each other's kids, each other's brothers and sisters. We were a 200-person family. And that's very difficult to recreate. There is a magic that comes through on screen."

While Jeremy Miller doesn't necessarily want the reimagining, he is still hoping that Warner Bros. will include the original cast in some way, knowing that fans would want to see that, no matter what it is. Although Growing Pains ended in 1992, it did have two reunion movies, The Growing Pains Movie in 2000 and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers in 2004. There was also the spinoff Just the Ten of Us, which focused on gym teacher Coach Graham Lubbock, played by Bill Kirchenbauer. It ran for three seasons on ABC.

Hopefully, another Growing Pains spinoff happens, and with the whole cast. In the meantime, fans can purchase the series on sites such as Apple TV, Prime Video, and YouTube, as it's not currently available to stream anywhere, at least for now.