As we make our way from one TV show revival to another, it certainly seems like any show in television’s long history is up for grabs. (I guess they always were, but it feels particularly crazy recently.) The latest series making the rounds for potential returns is the teen-centric Sweet Valley High, an adaptation of the long-lasting hit novel series from author Francine Pascal. Is the world ready for more twin-spired drama and comedy?
This is all to be taken with a grain of salt, of course, but the show’s former star Brittany Daniel was recently on hand at the premiere of Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser, and EW spoke with her about the much-beloved 1990s series, which she says is garnering interest once more.
We have a conversation with Francine Pascal in the next couple of weeks, so yeah, we’re definitely interested in doing a reboot.
That’s perhaps a poor choice of word use on her part, since a proper reboot would likely just go back to the more youthful days of the sweet Elizabeth and the manipulative Jessica Wakefield, although we assume no modern take on the series would kick things off when they were second graders. If both Brittany and her twin sister Cynthia – both of Doublemint Gum fame – would indeed come back to reprise their roles, the show would likely be a skewed adaptation of Pascal’s six-part E-serial series Sweet Valley Confidential: The Sweet Life, which follows the twins into their thirties, where they have grown-up problems with their jobs and families.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that a new Sweet Valley High show would indeed be a reboot, with the Daniels sisters taking on other roles beyond those of the main characters, like teachers in the school or something. It’s somewhat surprising that Pascal is up for conversations about a new take on her books, as the author reportedly wasn’t pleased with the way the original series went in its four-season run from 1994-1997, as the creative team apparently wanted nothing to do with her input and went their own way with the material.
I mean, how could anyone not like this show? (I say that with a healthy amount of sarcasm, but still.)
Rather than a TV show, it looked far more likely that we would be getting a Sweet Valley High movie, perhaps even a musical version, from Juno scribe Diablo Cody, but that project never came to light. Let us know what you guys think of this show making a possible comeback.
