Ever since the Golden Age of Hollywood, sitcoms have been a staple in American entertainment and around the world. Anything from I Love Lucy to Friends is part of the sit-com genre, which is quite old. Nevertheless, traditional ones that were produced during fifties and sixties relied on shooting them with live audience while much later perception of sitcom has seen it changed by wider environmental changes. Television and movie comedies’ style has shifted over time as these media now more than ever need to know how their audiences are changing so that they can meets their expectations. Such a situation is replicated in Hulu’s latest release on its platform known as Reboot which indicates what it entails to revive an old sitcom into a new imaginary life using streaming platforms.
In August 2022, Hulu ordered the series’ pilot whereas in January 2022, the entire series was officially ordered for streaming. The central idea behind it is that an old but popular sitcom is brought back with a modern twist leading to an all new drama between the cast members, former showrunner and new showrunner as they attempt to make this reboot happen. Additionally, there are also comic elements within this narrative. In doing so, like other shows that rely on situational comedy or produce satirical sketches about life in general or just about anything else under the sun (from politics to commercials), it employs several tropes seen commonly in television comedy: for example Hollywood producers who use bad but pretty actors whenever ratings dip; or every one working at a comedy director at a streaming platform except him knows absolutely nothing about comedies apart from extended research concerning this genre.
The series had some cast replacements before production began however it now stars Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele, Schmigadoon!), Johnny Knoxville (Men in Black), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Judy Greer (The Big Bang Theory, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) Paul Reiser (Aliens), Krista Marie Yu (Dr. Ken), and Calum Worthy (Austin & Ally). It consists of eight episodes, each lasting thirty minutes and is accessible on Hulu’s streaming platform. Expectations are high but fall short with such a cast, most of whom have experience in comedy and sitcoms.
Traditional sitcoms are long gone with their prime years being early to mid-2000s, however, Hulu’s Reboot attempts at reintegrating these nostalgic flashes of yesteryears with modern twists. In the 2000s, Step Right Up was an imaginary sitcom that would often be the highlight of people’s day; this show embodied all the conventional aspects associated with the genre during this time frame. There is a typical nuclear family consisting of mother and son along with two adults who fulfill fatherly roles. During its original run one of the actors decided to become a movie star and thus prematurely ended it although he has hardly made any films since then after many more years apart from that age
As seen recently in the revivals of iCarly or never-ending musician biopics, everything good never really dies as a writer takes it upon herself to bring back Step Right Up in all its glory with a twist. The show begins at Hulu offices where she pitches it to the streaming platform in hopes of getting the original cast reunited. Notably, this show quickly ceases making direct references to Hulu but there is so much speculation through the roof concerning what could happen if it came back on air again. Their careers have been down the toilet hence they agree to come back or they have personal problems that make them want to relive their days on Step Right Up.
Hannah who is an idealistic writer bringing everyone together will also soon realize that even those divisions which had prematurely killed off the show would once more resurface thus one has got to adapt a situation comedy for the streaming era. There are some unresolved issues between Hannah and the original creator of this Show and he seems not happy with her while she aims at doing away with traditional ways of sitcoms. Like there are a few differences about how television works or does not work between him who sees things differently from Hannah concerning its future. They might look like they are going out but actually there is a lot beneath them including jokes made by these two about each other at the end of episode one.
There is also an underlying element of workplace comedy throughout this story as well. Upon reuniting, characters grouped according to certain archetypes immediately recall how their relationship was characterized by fragmentation, smiling over particular shared memories over time and partly animosity for wrongs done before. A different person gets included into this ensemble just for purposes of making it look new again but this poses challenges because she doesn’t know how to act. It should be noted that most times Reboot retreads same ground between cast members, original vs new showrunner plus occasionally an added twist only meant to retain the fresher look than they are. Jokes made through this dialogue can be understood by anyone who knows how the entertainment and acting industry functions today.
At times Reboot comes across as too forced. The jokes tend to be based on current events and culture, referring specifically to other programs, real occasions, and even politics in order to make them work better. Unfortunately, Reboot has a lot of these moments in it where if you don’t know any of these things being referred to, you will not understand what is happening which is a shame. Cheesy zooms and abrupt cuts into the next scene often change the angle that causes Reboot’s stand-up comedy feel so hard. However, the characters fall into certain tropes: an actor whose only identity is Yale; an actress who got married rich and became a duchess; a former child star with ADHD who never seems to grow up but now writing his/her own memoir about it that no one cares about.
Reboot’s premise claims it a reboot of an old, popular sitcom. This is not actually the case. It is a revival. A reboot would entail replacing the original cast with completely new actors, but that is not what happens here at all. The show itself may be going through an identity crisis like its characters and in this case, its shifting formats and sense of humor waver between moments of seriousness undercut by humor. Though there are fairly prolific meta-statements being made throughout the show but these aspects of satire get lost in transmission.
Is Reboot a workplace comedy? Does it satirize the entertainment and streaming industry? Or maybe it is just a drama about creating a revival of a popular sitcom? One more character could have done with some work at the end, though.
These characters live and breathe their archetypes, yet some of their motivations do not make sense; for example why did Hannah who had created an award-winning short film called “Cunt Saw” not make much out of this revival then? But then again he behaves like a kid still. His mother still comes with him to set and nags him about eating sweets and not carrots; his crude sense of humor would match that of an 11-year-old; he does not act his age at all. There’s so much more to mine here than just using this as another opportunity for jokes about what happened to child stars when they were young which makes this quite frustrating. At the same time, one actor always brags having gone to Drama School at Yale but he remains terrible in acting and needs someone to tell him he is good enough. And he’s not alone in such things in any art world.
This does not mean however that Reboot is enjoyable –the thirty minutes episodes make it bite-sized and easy to enjoy in installments. The casual viewer may find himself only able to go up until episode three without wanting to quit anymore if more happens. On the other hand, throughout Reboot, the actors do an amazing job and considering this cast’s resumes, it is not surprising that they are able to play these characters so well. The way in which these lines are delivered completely in character is impressive, and may be what eventually result in one bursting out laughing. Who knows? Sometimes that’s all it takes for a show to make it, and that is why Reboot will continue to remain relevant as long as it does.
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