The 13 Best TV Revivals

It’s Frasier Week at IndieWire. Grab some tossed salad and scrambled eggs, settle into your coziest easy chair, and join us. We’re listening.

“Frasier” is back — and he’s not the only one. Over the years, television has become increasingly enamored with the nostalgic allure of reboots, reunions, and revivals. Why create a new hit when you can resuscitate an old one? Why not give in to viewers’ fervent desire to revisit their favorite characters and storylines from years ago? Why not catch up with a cast returning to the roles that made them famous, a last hurrah (for now anyway) for something so beloved?

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The Revival-ssaince is not without its quandaries. Many from critics to viewers lament the dearth of original storytelling most evident when a new revival is announced. More often than not (almost always, IndieWire observed while making this list), the second or third or umpteenth hurrah is not nearly as satisfying as the original series. A TV show is more than a cast and a title; it’s the crew, the audience, the specific moment in time that this combination of storytelling elements struck a chord with people. It’s lightning in a bottle, and that can’t be recreated.

Still, IndieWire combed through the deluge of TV revivals in recent years for the ones that stood out — if not always for the same reasons. Sometimes the critically panned series garners generally favorable audience reception and an unthinkable five seasons on streaming (“Fuller House”). Sometimes it follows formula and finds the right fandom (“Doctor Who”). Sometimes it’s legitimately good (“Twin Peaks: The Revival”), and sometimes it finds a whole new audience (“Girl Meets World”). This list specifically covers revivals — not reboots (like “Bel-Air”) or reunions and other specials. Most if not all of the main cast had to appear regularly throughout the show (also known as the “How I Met Your Father” Clause).

With all that in mind (and “Frasier” on in the background), here are 13 of the best TV revivals.

Ben Travers, Marcus Jones, Erin Strecker, and Wilson Chapman contributed to this list.

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