In an effort to become relevant once again, MTV has turned to the trend of today – TV reboots. The revival of nostalgic series are rampant and MTV is hopping on the hype train, with reboots of shows from the Viacom-owned channel as well as new content in the works for its new production unit, MTV Studios.
One of MTV’s most highly-rated shows back in the late 1990s, the animated series Daria is returning under writer Grace Edwards (Inside Amy Schumer, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) with a new name – Daria & Jodie. The synopsis is as follows:
The iconic animated franchise is reinvented through the eyes of heroine Daria Morgendorffer and one of her closest friends Jodie Landon. These two smart young women take on the world, with their signature satirical voice while deconstructing popular culture, social classes, gender and race.
Another MTV animated series to be revived is the science fiction show Æon Flux, which has already received a reboot attempt in the form of the disappointing 2005 film adaptation.
MTV’s new iteration will have Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis and The Walking Dead‘s Gale Anne Hurd, who also produced the 2005 Æon Flux, as executive producers. Here is the short description provided by MTV of the reboot:
This cult anime classic is back for a live action remake, as the badass heroine assassin Aeon Flux teams up with a group of biohacking rebels in the not too distant dystopian future to battle a brutally repressive regime and save humanity.
The last of the planned reboots is The Real World, a reality show than ran for 21 years from 1992 that followed groups of random young adults picked to live in a new city together. The series will be revived with Bunim/Murray Productions and promises to go back to basics:
The show that invented modern reality television returns to its roots. This reconnection to innocence for the trailblazing series strips away the polarization and cold anonymity of social media, the din of the 24-hour news cycle, and the facades of the instafamous culture to find out what happens “when seven strangers are picked to live in a house…stop being polite and start getting real.
Along with the reboots come a new version of MTV’s ongoing self-improvement reality show MADE, as well as two new reality shows – The Valley, and MTV’s Straight Up Ghosted.
The Valley will be in the same vein as The Hills and The City, a docu-series following the lives of 20-somethings living in the valley of Nogales, Arizona, as their coming-of-age story unfolds with love, friendship, and life decisions.
MTV’s Straight Up Ghosted will explore how young people attempt to confront those who have “ghosted” them, a term referring to the act of ceasing communication and disappearing on someone.
President of MTV Chris McCarthy says that the creation of MTV Studios means for the first time ever, the company is “opening up this vault beyond our own platforms to reimagine the franchises with new partners.”
MTV’s viewership has increased since the start of the year, seeing significant improvements under McCarthy, so the channel might be on the rise with the promise of so many new shows.
Joyce is a language nerd whose idea of a good time includes speed-solving Rubik’s cubes and binging Netflix, all fuelled by drinking many, many mugs of tea.
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A'bidah Zaid
