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CBS eyes remake of Bewitched

Will this be any better than that dreadful big screen version starring one Nicole Kidman in 2005?

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Hawaii Five-0, Charlie’s Angels, and now Bewitched? Will they never learn?

CBS has ordered a script from Sony Pictures Television for a potential remake of Bewitched, from Miss Congeniality writer Marc Lawrence.

Will it be any better than that dreadful big screen version starring one Nicole Kidman in 2005? Perhaps not, given it is to be produced by the same people, the husband-and-wife team of Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher.

Reinventing classics is treacherous territory, although Hawaii Five-0 seems to have made a fair fist of it. The Brady Bunch movies were on the money, a perfect mix of affection and satire. At this stage it’s just a script order anyway….

I doubt anything will come close to the wonders of Elizabeth Montgomery. Maybe they can switch Darrin’s half-way through each episode?

Dunno about you but I’m not holding my breath….

Source: Hollywood Reporter

26 Responses

  1. Marc Lawrence also wrote Two Weeks Notice, Music and Lyrics and a bunch of Family Ties episodes. On the other hand he also wrote Miss Congeniality 2 and Did You Hear About the Morgans? I actually like him. Especially in audio commentary form. (The Two Weeks Notice commentary is brilliant.)

    I think the only way it would work is if they didn’t remake so much as they made a brand new show that shared a few core ideas with Bewitched.

  2. Great to hear from so many Bewitched fans here. There was a series called Tabitha in about 1977. It showed Tabitha, played by Lisa Hartman, already grown up (even though it was just 5 years after the original) it co-starred a very young and spunky Robert Urich and had cameo appearances from Dr Bombay and Mr & Mrs Kravits. As it was more a continuation than a remake, i’d love to see these episodes again.

  3. I agree, Elizabeth Montgomery is the only Samantha, nobody else could do it. The supernatural is very trendy with film makers and TV at the moment (Harry Potter & Twilight franchises, True Blood, spate of other vampire and warlock productions, etc) so I’m not surprised they are resurrecting the urban witch, even if it is a comical theme rather than a drama.

  4. Please don’t. There is only one Sam and that is Elizabeth Montgomery. As well all the other supporting characters were perfectly cast.

    I hope it Fails.

    Problem with remakes (TV and Movies) is that people remember the originals and with these originals now on GO, Eleven etc, all the memories from originals will flood back. People will compare the remake with the original and the original will likely win.

    Overall, Im not a fan of remakes.

  7. I get the feeling Hollywood is out of original ideas or afraid to risk using them, but either was there have been notable failures going either way, just look at the Wonder Woman remake that never made it past the pilot.

    Some have worked like Hawaii 5-0 and Parenthood (which I love) but I wish they would use more original ideas like Eureka or Psych again shows I love, just a pity they don’t rate well here. And there lies the problem.

  8. Nicole Kidman did quite enough damage to the “brand” in that awful movie… in spite of every attempt by everyone else in the movie trying rather hard to make up for her… shall we say “lack”.

    Please leave this alone. Even if they did find someone better than Nicole Kidman, which can’t be that difficult, surely (???) then why risk the constant comparison with Elizabeth Montgomery?

    They cannot just re-do the same scripts, so if they’ll have to at least “update” the whole thing – why put in that much work? It’s really putting a whole new show up. If they are doing that, be honest, call it something else; if it’s good, people will watch it, just like they did the original with Elizabeth Montgomery. If it’s trash, which the movie was thanks to Nicole Kidman, then no-one will watch it.

    No matter what it’s called.

  9. Leave it alone. It’s still charming and watchable. My young nieces and nephews are watching it for the first time with fresh eyes and enjoying it. I love the way every episode ends with a kiss. I think there was an unsuccessful series called “Tabitha”. Someone might remember.

  10. Hawaii 5-0 is one of the very few that have worked. I love the original and still prefer it but the updated version is excellent. But Bewitched..please,it’s a classic and much of its appeal lies in its charming depiction of 60’s American suburbia which cannot be replicated. Why bother when the original is so good and extremely re-watchable? And yes the BB movies did work very well,but as you say they were affectionate satire and done very well. As a BB fanatic I enjoyed the movies very much. I also enjoyed the Starsky & Hutch movie for the same reason.

  11. Nicole Kidman was not the problem with the Bewitched movie … it was that talentless idiot who played Darren … he destroyed it!

    This time, let’s start with Bette Midler as Endora and go from there!!!!!
    Cher can play one of the relatives…

  12. I hope they don’t do it. This could be huge failure, not to mention the parents complaining about the whole witch thing. I would like to see a I dream of Jenie movie.

  13. Stupid idea but then again this is America for you. Can’t come up with something original so why not remake a classic and then destroy it in the process. Charlies Angels is coming and i see fail written all over that despite the brilliant Rachel Taylor involved.

    If they were to do it and that is one massive If, why don’t they use her daughter Tabitha instead. This way the focus would be brand new and they wouldn’t be wrecking a classic tv series. I hate hate remakes and Hawaii Five-0 is only a hit because its on CBS. As shown here and other countries the show isn’t doing as good as America. If it had been on NBC or ABC the series probably would have failed.

  14. How could anyone replicate (or want to) what Agnes Moorehead and Elizabeth Montgomery brought to their characters? Not to mention Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara, Alice Ghostly as Esmerelda and Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur. What next…I love Lucy?

  15. I wont watch any of them if they are remade , i dont believe the comment , ill watch it for nostalgic reasons.The actors and actresses of the day and the time period are all suited and thats why the shows still hold well today , Bewitched , Brady Bunch, Get Smart to name but a few.If the new generation cant appreciate them for what they are then thats just bad luck.

  20. bewitched is quite simply brilliant- they should leave it alone- as was elizabeth montgomery ,etc and it unlike other 60s sitcoms as mentioned before still re runs very well…..i was soooo disapointed with the movie version ..its hould have been like the brady bunch re make and they had a great cast with shirley mcclaine etc….so if anything a new movie version ….might work

  22. Personally I wouldn’t bother.

    The closest we have come so far has been Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, which had some kooky aunts and a black cat named Salem and had all the tricks that Bewitched had.

    They should do something more along the Sabrina lines, not do an entire remake of something that can’t ever be remade even half as well.

  24. hmm. I could see it, possibly (possibly!) working.

    It couldn’t be a remake though – the original Bewitched is something that if you just tried to… redo, wouldn’t work. It’s one of those classics that has held up over time, and is still popular today. So any remake will always be compared to it, and fail to meet the standard of the original.

    Trying to do so, and actually thinking that you will, is just going to lead to a flop.

    Is why remakes rarely work, and those that do; they aren’t the norm. They’re the exception.

    Where it could be possible, though… if it’s not a remake. Elizabeth Montgomery is practically sacred territory – any reinvention of her will not succeed. Which is why they shouldn’t focus at all on it simply being a retelling of the original Bewitched series.

    Though, I will say “The Brady Bunch” approach to Bewitched could work; though not as a series. That type of approach is suited to movies, not being drawn out over multiple episodes.

    But, as you say: I’m not holding my breath, either. 😉

  25. FFS dont do it bewitched is a classic dont spoil it by remaking it sadly Elizabeth is no longer with us i hope this dose not come true but if it dose i would like to see the people who brought it back locked up for life for the murder of such a classic show

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