- We are living in a time full of reboots, revivals, and remakes.
- But not everything from our TV past that incites nostalgia deserves a reboot.
- Did we actually need to bring back "Heroes" after its disastrous end in 2010? No.
- Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.
From more recent shows like "Gossip Girl" and "The Hills" to vintage '80s shows like "V," it seems like everything that aired on our TV screens is getting another shot.
But while most reboots and revivals are based on beloved shows like "Will and Grace" or "Gilmore Girls," whose stories didn't feel complete, these nine shows did not deserve to be remade — sorry.
Keep scrolling to see which shows we think shouldn't have made the reboot cut.
"Gossip Girl's" story seemed finished when the finale aired in 2012, so why is there a reboot in the works?
As one INSIDER reporter put it, "'Gossip Girl' does not need a remake. Like, too soon. And it's done."
The quality of "Gossip Girl," in actuality, began dropping after season one, but it really went fully off the wheels in season four, with a never-ending arc focused on outsider Juliet, and the introduction of Serena's cousin Charlie (who was really an actress named Ivy hired to deceive the van der Woodsens).
The questionable decision to make Dan "Lonely Boy" Humphrey the titular gossip aficionado makes us question why there needs to be another Gossip Girl and a group of unlikable Upper East Siders — and I say this as someone who loved the original.
While it was lovely to see our favorite guidos and guidettes again in "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation," it wasn't totally necessary.
By the time "Jersey Shore" had ended its sixth season on MTV, they had worn out their welcome. The hard-partying antics of the cast were beginning to get overshadowed by their real-life fame, Snooki's pregnancy, Vinny's struggles with anxiety, The Situation's drug and alcohol addiction (which would be revealed after the show ended), and the insufferable relationship between Sam and Ronnie.
Read more:THEN AND NOW: The cast of 'Jersey Shore' 9 years later
We didn't think we'd ever need to see more of the "Jersey Shore" crew. But, six years later, MTV announced they were bringing back the crew for a summer in Miami for a revival called "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation." The cast is currently filming the fourth season.
"Heroes" is another example of a good TV show quickly spiraling into an unwatchable mess — we did not need "Heroes Reborn."
After an especially promising first season which was nominated for multiple Emmys, "Heroes" quickly ran into a sophomore slump, and never quite recovered. As one review of the third season premiere put it, "it's difficult not to wish everyone would just lighten the heck up. The graphic novel noir feel is becoming increasingly oppressive, and everyone is just so grim."
So it's no shock that people were confused by the news of "Heroes Reborn" in 2015. And, even though it was a limited series, people still didn't much care for the show. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the critic's consensus was"Focusing on special effects and unearned melodrama at the expense of the original's initially intriguing narrative, 'Heroes Reborn' is a series revival with seemingly limited prospects."
By the time "American Idol" was nearing the end of its original run, it wasn't creating real pop stars anymore, and the original judges that had made the show so enjoyable had long jumped ship.
"American Idol," in its original run, ran for 15 seasons. Of those 15 winners, only a handful have actually become successful pop stars: Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Scotty McCreery, and Phillip Phillips.
The other appealing thing about "American Idol" was the chemistry between the three original judges: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. Once the off-screen drama between replacement judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey had sapped the joy from that as well, there was really no point to the show.
And, with the success of mega-hit "The Voice," do we really need another singing competition?
"V" only lasted for a season in the '80s, which begs the question: was anyone really asking for the 2009 remake?
"V: The Series" was based on two successful miniseries that told the story of a race of seemingly friendly aliens who didn't actually come in peace. However, "V: The Series" was not as beloved as the originals, and was canceled after just 12 episodes.
As the St. Louis Dispatch wrote, while it was a "TV series with so much promise," it quickly became "a silly, loathsome mess." They also added, it "must surely rank as one of the worst TV sci-fi experiments ever."
The reboot didn't fare much better, and was canceled after two seasons in 2011.
Audiences were bored of "The Hills" by the time it left our screens in 2010, and the manufactured nature of the drama was more grating than entertaining.
A typical episode of "The Hills" was made up of at least 15 minutes of the cast staring at each other in silence, probably while eating a salad. Not exactly riveting television.
There are plenty of other more compelling reality TV shows that have cropped up in place of "The Hills," like "Siesta Key" and "Vanderpump Rules," which seemed to have figured out the balance of ridiculous drama and real friendships.
And, lo and behold, "The Hills: New Beginnings" isn't garnering rave reviews. As Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson put it, "MTV's reality revival is not only deeply unnecessary, but bad — not silly bad, not fun bad, but boring bad."
But this "boring bad" series was renewed for a second season already, so clearly some people care.
"Full House" had jumped the shark by the end of its eight-season run by giving Michelle amnesia, among other unlikely plot twists.
'80s and '90s kids might think this blasphemous, but we really didn't need any more "Full House." The eight seasons we had with the extended Tanner clan was more than enough to keep us full of group hugs, sappy music, and precocious children's catchphrases for years to come.
"Fuller House" has lasted a respectable five seasons on Netflix, but plenty of people have complained that the streaming service chose to keep renewing the reboot, as opposed to other shows like "One Day at a Time."
Of all the reality TV series to bring back, "Deal or Not Deal" would not be at the top of our list.
"Deal or No Deal" seems like a relic of a different time: its main premise involves 26 models silently standing on stage whose only job is to open up a briefcase. Did we really need it back on our TV screens? There's no shortage of inventive reality TV game shows, from this summer's "Holey Moley" to "Beat Shazam."
Though, we do have to thank the show for introducing us to future Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
Alas, after a decade off the air, CNBC brought back "Deal or No Deal."
In a time when talking cars don't seem so far off, rebooting "Knight Rider" was unnecessary.
Yes, back in the '80s, a talking car with AI built-in seemed far-fetched, and very futuristic — but even when the original "Knight Rider" was on, it was hokey. And now, it's pretty much built into any car with Apple Play.
The show actually got two reboots, one in the '90s and one in the 2000s: "Team Knight Rider" and another "Knight Rider," which lasted one season each due to poor ratings.
- Read more:
- 15 of the worst TV reboots, according to critics
- 9 TV reboots that weren't nearly as successful as the original
- Matthew Perry says the idea of a 'Friends' reboot gives him 'nightmares'
- 11 of the most beloved TV reboots of all time