Melissa Joan Hart Spells Doom for Planned Nickelodeon Series Reboot

Fans who were waiting for the anticipated potential reboot of Clarissa Explains It All will be disappointed as plans for a reimagined reboot of the 90s crazed have stalled indefinitely. The Nickelodeon ’90s classic aired from 1991 to 1994. Now, its star, Melissa Joan Hart, says reboot plans have fizzled. Hart provided fans with an update during an appearance at ’90s Con. “We tried that, actually. Nickelodeon got a new president, and they kind of squashed the whole thing,” she said at the event as reported by Deadline. “So it was actually in the works and yeah, it just sort of disappeared. It took like a year to do the contracts, which was the hardest part, and then it just kind of fizzled out. So I don’t think [it will happen].” Why the idea was allegedly scrapped is not known.

The original series aired from 1991 to 1994. Hart starred as Clarissa Darling, a teenager speaking directly to the camera as she navigated school, a social life, coming of age with being boy crazy, and dealing with her younger brother. The idea for a Clarissa reboot that would focus on Clarissa’s life as a mother began circulating in 2018.

The idea for the reboot was for Hart reprise her role, but this time, she would play the mother of the family. Mitchell Kriegman, creator of the series, was set to write and executive produce the reboot. Hart was also on board as an executive producer. The Hollywood Reporter first broke the reboot news. 

Hart ran the ’90s. In addition to Clarissa, she also starred in the lead role for Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. The show aired on ABC between 1996 and 2000, before moving to The WB for its final three seasons from 2000 to 2003. That show was based on the Archie Comics series of the same title. Hart played Sabrina Spellman, a teenager living in the fictional Boston suburb of Westbridge who learned on her 16th birthday that she was a real witch.

However, Hart’s career nearly took a different path. She was nearly passed up for the role in Clarissa. Creator Mitchell Kriegman ultimately decided that Hart was the best choice for the role, noting that she was unique. “She was so charming and she just lit up the screen. Because she did that, I could load her up—make [Clarissa] really quirky and different. She could make it play,” he said per Mental Floss.