It's been nearly 18 years since Party of Five left television, which in Hollywood means the time is right for a reboot. Plans for a reboot of the former Fox series have been in development since last year, but the project had yet to find a network to take on its retelling of the story with an immigration twist. Today, that changed as Freeform entered a put-pilot order for the series, meaning this potential series now has a network!
Freeform reportedly was aggressive in its pursuit of the Party of Five reboot, as the network aims to air original shows four nights a week in 2018. Of course, the Party of Five reboot doesn't have that series order just yet, and with Freeform currently developing pilots for other projects like a Pretty Little Liars spinoff, it's not a sure thing that this one will air on the network. The unspecified "sizable" dollar amount THR mentioned Freeform dropped for the put-pilot status does sound positive towards the reboot's chances of appearing on the network at some point. Additionally, one would imagine that given the series' name recognition and past success, Freeform has plans to make this potential show a staple in its lineup.
Then again, this reboot is quite the departure from the Party of Five audiences watched on Fox from the mid-90s to 2000. Although the creators, Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman, remain the same, some major plot points of the original series do not. The biggest change is that the parents are no longer dead but instead deported to Mexico, and the Salinger family is now the Buendias family. The show will have a heavy focus on immigration as the remaining five children must navigate through life with their parents in another country. While that plot point may change the potential reboot a bit from the original, both Keyser and Lippman signed on to write the pilot, which they also did for the original series. The two will have some help as television writer Michal Zebede will help the two co-write this pilot.
The Party of Five reboot isn't a sure thing for television just yet, but if that changes soon, it's looking like it'll air on Freeform. For more information regarding shows that will air in the near future, head on over to our midseason premiere guide to stay up to date. For more on one of the stars of the original show, Neve Campbell, check out this article all about a former Party of Five co-star who wants the actress to head over to a show that he's currently on. For a list of shows that premiered in the 90s and didn't need a reboot because they're still currently on the air, check out our rundown. If you're not up on all the shows that won't be coming back to the air this year, swing by our breakdown of 2017 TV cancellations.
