Three Classic ABC Shows Getting Reboots

Three ABC shows are looking to be rebooted. Deadline reports that Oscar-winning writer, producer, and director Akiva Goldsman is developing three reimagined Irwin Allen sci-fi TV shows. He will develop the shows for Legendary Television, pulling from Allen’s catalogue and revitalizing Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants, and The Time Tunnel.

Based on the 1961 film of the same name, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ran for four seasons from 1964 to 1968. It starred Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Robert Dowdell, Henry Kulky, Terry Becker, Del Monroe, Arch Whiting, Paul Trinka, Allan Hunt, Richard Bull, and Paul Carr and followed underwater adventures in the nuclear submarine Seaview led by Basehart’s Admiral Harriman “Harry” Nelson” and Hedison’s Crane.

Land of the Giants ran for two seasons from 1968 to 1970. Starring Gary Conway, Don Matheson, Kurt Kasznar, Don Marshall, Stefan Arngrim, Deanna Lund, and Heather Young, the show was set in 1983 and followed the crew of the sub-orbital space vehicle the Spindrift, who shrunk after getting caught up in a sandstorm.

As for The Time Tunnel, the series ran for one season from 1966 to 1967 and starred James Darren, Robert Colbert, Whit Bissell, John Zaremba, and Lee Meriwether. The series followed two scientists who accidentally jump through time, with those left behind attempting to bring them back to the present. There have been three attempts to reboot the show, starting with the 1976 TV film Time Travelers, intended to be a pilot for a potential remake, but it didn’t sell so it just turned into a standalone film. Both Fox and the SciFi Channel also eyed potential remakes in 2002 and 2006, respectively, but neither went beyond the pilot stage.

Jon Jashni serves as executive producer, with Derek Thielges co-producing. It should be pointed out that Legendary Television will not be focusing on Allen’s Lost in Space, which aired from 1965 to 1968 on CBS. The studio released a reimagined version for Netflix that aired from 2018 to 2021. So now it’s time to focus on the other three. As of now, additional information has not been revealed, but it seems like these are just in early development so it could be a while. There are plenty of reboots and revivals happening these days, but you never know how it’s going to go down.