'The Flintstones' Reboot Coming to Fox With Some Major Changes

Fox announced a new take on The Flintstones on Tuesday that will give fans neolithic nostalgia. [...]

Fox announced a new take on The Flintstones on Tuesday that will give fans neolithic nostalgia. The show will be called Bedrock and will star actress Elizabeth Banks. The half-hour animated comedy picks up 20 years after the original series when the titular family has aged up and Pebbles is now the lead character.

Banks will provide the voice of Pebbles Flintstone in Bedrock, which screenwriter Lindsay Kerns will pen. According to Fox, the show will find Fred Flintstone on the brink of retirement, and Pebbles in her mid-20s just getting her career started. The family will have to deal with the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, and not everyone will be equipped for the changes. Fox stressed the legacy of The Flintstones in animation, sitcoms and TV in general as it pitched this project to fans.

"Long before the Simpsons and Springfield, the Griffins and Quahog or even when the Belchers started serving burgers on Ocean Avenue, there were the Flintstones and Bedrock," said the company's president of entertainment Michael Thorn. "Their imprint on the animation universe is undeniable and the idea of adapting it for today's audience is a challenge we here at FOX are very much looking forward to taking on with Warner Bros., Elizabeth and Lindsay. No pressure whatsoever, really."

"The Flintstones are the first family of primetime animation," added Warner Bros.' VP of alternative programming Peter Girardi. "Elizabeth and Lindsay have a brilliant take on these characters, and FOX and Brownstone are the perfect partners to bring them back to primetime. This is going to rock (sorry)."

The show comes from Fox Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, and Banks will serve as a producer as well as a star. Other cast members have not yet been announced. Kerns has a sterling reputation in animation, with credits including Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, DC Super Hero Girls and Trolls: The Beat Goes On!

In addition to the new series, fans will get renewed access to the old. Fox Entertainment's streaming service Tubi has acquired the rights to all six seasons of the original Flintstones. They will be available there starting on Saturday, May 1. Tubi is free to watch because it is supported by ads and does not have a higher subscription tier. The Flintstones is also available on HBO Max.

The Flintstones ran for 166 episodes from 1960 to 1966. It was the first animated series ever nominated for a primetime Emmy Award. Still, its imprint on so many people's childhood memories makes it a dangerous franchise to make big changes to, and many old fans are weary of Bedrock for now.

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