US Network Freeform Looking At A ‘Party Of Five’ Reboot
Here’s a reboot for all you 90s kids! US network Freeform is looking at rebooting teen/family drama ‘Party Of Five’, although this time it will have an immigration twist to the story.
For those of you that need a refresher on the show, the original series followed five siblings in the Salinger who are left orphaned when a drunk driver kills their parents. This leaves the 24yr old womanising Charlie (Matthew Fox) suddenly finding himself legal guardian to, 16yr old Bailey (Scott Wolf), 15yr old Julia (Neve Campbell), 11yr old Claudia (Lacey Chabert), and baby Owen. The group have to pull together to deal with everything life throws at them, without the help of parental guidance.
The new version keeps the same premise of a group of five siblings, but in this case, it follows the Buendias, five children in a Mexican-American family who are left to survive on their own after their parents are suddenly deported back to Mexico.
The reboot comes from original ‘Party Of Five’ creators Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman working with Michal Zebede (‘Castle’, ‘Devious Maids’), a first-generation American writer with Costa Rican and Panamanian roots. Freeform has given the show a ‘put pilot’ order, i.e. Freeform pay a hefty penalty if the show doesn’t go to series. Colombian director Rodrigo Garcia is set to helm the pilot.
The original series picked up numerous awards over its 6-year run, including a Golden Globe for Best Television Series, and was a great springboard for the young cast. Fox went on to play the lead in ‘Lost’, Wolf when on to star in ‘Everwood’, ‘V’ and ‘The Night Shift’, and Campbell landed the lead in the ‘Scream’ franchise, and has recently been seen in ‘House Of Cards’. Other notable actors who got their big break in the show included Scott Grimes (‘ER’, ‘The Orville’) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (‘Ghost Whisperer’, ‘Criminal Minds’).
Given all the political turmoil in the US surrounding immigration at the moment, this new twist on the ‘Party Of Five’ premise seems rather timely. There has not been any casting announcements for the show yet, but we will let you know when we hear more.
