{"id":386723,"date":"2026-04-11T13:07:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/386723\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T13:07:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:07:19","slug":"ten-great-tv-shows-that-should-be-brought-back-from-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/386723\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten great TV shows that should be brought back from the dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Detective\u00a0Bergerac is back this week. The new Bergerac, that is, not John Nettles (Thu, U&Drama, 9pm). And it\u2019s by no means the only British detective series being resurrected. Van der Valk, Dalgliesh, Lynley \u2014 they have all been dug up and reanimated in new incarnations. Also coming soon: Dalziel and Pascoe (this time played by Kerry Godliman and Nina Singh) and Lovejoy (no casting news yet). It\u2019s not just British telly \u2014 Scrubs\u00a0and\u00a0Malcolm in the Middle\u00a0have just come back, as did\u00a0Frasier\u00a0and so many others. Does nobody have any original ideas? Is there no end to the 2020s wave of TV revivals?<\/p>\n

No doubt the answer is no, so if we are going to have more reboots and revivals, which should it be? Here\u2019s my list of ten\u00a0suggestions.<\/p>\n

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10. The Professionals<\/p>\n

Like\u00a0The Sweeney,\u00a0The Professionals\u00a0is probably one of those that shouldn\u2019t be attempted because a) how could it be improved upon? and b) its unreconstructed masculinity would probably cause it to be cancelled immediately (consider that the new Dalziel and Pascoe will be female). Still, a wisecracking, casually heroic duo of CI5 toughies would be\u00a0a\u00a0welcome alternative to all the cosy crime\u00a0that\u2019s around. Don\u2019t you agree, sunshine?\u00a0Original series on ITVX<\/p>\n

9. Hammer House of Horror<\/p>\n

\"PrunellaPrunella Gee in Hammer House of HorrorAlamy<\/p>\n

Yes, we\u2019ve had\u00a0Black Mirror\u00a0and\u00a0Inside No\u00a09, but how about some straight-up-and-down horror short stories, old school? The success of Netflix\u2019s\u00a0Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen\u00a0has shown that there\u2019s an appetite for intelligently crafted nastiness, and it would be a relief to have self-contained tales\u00a0to dip into\u00a0rather than\u00a0five-season\u00a0behemoths\u00a0(as per\u00a0Stranger Things).\u00a0ITVX<\/p>\n

8. The Banana Splits<\/p>\n

\"Drooper,The Banana SplitsAlamy<\/p>\n

Very much a product of late-1960s California, although repeated on British TV until the 1980s, Hanna-Barbera\u2019s\u00a0The Banana Splits\u00a0was a zany show mixing the exploits of a musical group in outsized animal outfits (a bongo-playing gorilla etc) with cartoons. The 2019 film reboot was\u00a0more\u00a0sinister horror; what\u00a0we need\u00a0is a\u00a0more\u00a0faithful TV revival. Why? So there\u2019s something for today\u2019s kids to throw down their Roblox screens for and watch every Saturday morning. DVD<\/p>\n

7. The Six Million Dollar Man<\/p>\n

\"LeeLee Majors in The Six Million Dollar ManMoviestore\/REX\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Because there\u2019s no TV like this any more \u2014 a square-jawed, all-American (but non-Maga) hero being handsome and audacious enough with his bionic abilities to become a pop culture icon for our times (just don\u2019t make him another superhero in a cape). Yes, he\u2019ll work for an intelligence agency, but it will be for the cause of good democratic values, and he\u2019ll be played by Chris Pratt.\u00a0Sky<\/p>\n

6. Rumpole of the Bailey<\/p>\n

\"LeoLeo McKern in Rumpole of the BaileyFremantleMedia\/REX\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Perhaps Rumpole is ripe for a revival? He could be played by a great character actor of a more Rumpolian vintage \u2014 David Haig, Robert Glenister or Timothy Spall \u2014 or perhaps a touch younger: Sam West or Adrian Scarborough. Just as long as they can do justice to the rumpled, claret-swilling irascibility of John Mortimer\u2019s barrister.\u00a0ITVX<\/p>\n

5. Garth Marenghi\u2019s Darkplace<\/p>\n

\"CastMatt Berry, Richard Ayoade, Matthew Holness and Alice Lowe in Garth Marenghi\u2019s DarkplaceChannel 4<\/p>\n

The cult reputation of this parody of 1980s horror, set in a hospital situated over the gates of Hell, has only grown since 2004. The titular hero was played by Marenghi, an author of James Herbert-like novels,\u00a0a\u00a0self-proclaimed dream weaver (and the alter ego of the comedian Matthew Holness) whose intention was \u201cto change the evolutionary course of Man over a series of half-hour episodes\u201d. It also starred Matt Berry and Richard Ayoade \u2014 a revival feels irresistible.\u00a0Channel 4<\/p>\n

4. The Night Of<\/p>\n

There was but one series of this gripping\u00a02016\u00a0crime drama, and it gave us Riz Ahmed in a star-making turn as an innocent young man put through the wringer of the\u00a0New York\u00a0prison system. Why not an anthology series featuring further cases of\u00a0his dishevelled fleabag lawyer\u00a0(played by John Turturro)? This great character had more to give.\u00a0HBO Max<\/p>\n

3. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip<\/p>\n

Aaron Sorkin\u2019s 2006 comedy drama about the backstage madness of a sketch comedy show would feel topical with the new\u00a0Saturday Night Live: UK<\/a>. Very much in keeping with\u00a0The West Wing\u00a0and\u00a0The Newsroom \u2014 incredibly smart characters\u00a0trading\u00a0snappy dialogue about integrity v\u00a0ratings \u2014 yet criminally cancelled after one series, this starred Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry. Hard to know who could fit Perry\u2019s shoes but, in short, isn\u2019t a new Aaron Sorkin series well overdue?\u00a0Buy<\/p>\n

2. Zen<\/p>\n

In 2011 the BBC1\u00a0controller deemed that there were \u201calready enough male crime fighters on TV\u201d and axed Rufus Sewell\u2019s\u00a0Italian-based\u00a0detective after three 90-minute episodes. Cue outcry, not least from Times readers.\u00a0For years.\u00a0Perhaps that was because Aurelio Zen was rather dishy in his sharp suits (\u201cI think we should have an affair,\u201d is how women tended to end conversations with him), partly because it made you want to book a holiday in Rome pronto.<\/p>\n

1. Sapphire & Steel<\/p>\n

\"JoannaJoanna Lumley and David McCallum in Sapphire & SteelITV\/REX\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The late 1970s\/early 1980s sci-fi series starring Joanna Lumley and David McCallum as mysterious investigators \u2014 a kind of interdimensional Mulder and Scully \u2014 was an eerie oddity, and there aren\u2019t enough eerie oddities on TV. Convince Jodie Comer and Bertie Carvel to take the roles. Which, of course, could be terrible and an indication that it\u2019s time to leave these kinds of classic British series\u00a0well\u00a0alone.\u00a0ITVX<\/p>\n

Love TV? Discover the\u00a0best shows on Netflix<\/a>, the\u00a0best Prime Video TV shows<\/a>, the\u00a0best Disney+ shows<\/a>, the\u00a0best Apple TV+ shows<\/a>, the\u00a0best shows on BBC iPlayer<\/a>, the\u00a0best shows on Sky and Now<\/a>, the\u00a0best shows on ITVX<\/a>, the\u00a0best shows on Channel 4<\/a>\u00a0streaming, the\u00a0best shows on Paramount+<\/a>\u00a0and our favourite\u00a0hidden gem TV shows<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check\u00a0our critics\u2019 choices to watch<\/a>\u00a0and browse our comprehensive\u00a0TV guide<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Detective\u00a0Bergerac is back this week. The new Bergerac, that is, not John Nettles (Thu, U&Drama, 9pm). And it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,411],"class_list":{"0":"post-386723","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}