Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville and Judy Greer play former sitcom stars reunited decades later for a reboot in “Modern Family” creator Steve Levitan’s upcoming comedy series, premiering Sept. 20 on Hulu.
Aptly titled “Reboot,” the show is produced by 20th Television for Hulu. Details were announced Thursday at the TCA Summer Press Tour.
Poking fun at the TV industry’s growing inclination to reboot hit shows from the past, the series centers on an early 2000s family sitcom that is rebooted by Hulu, forcing its dysfunctional cast back together.
Key stars as Reed Sterling, a fussy actor on the fictitious family multi-cam sitcom “Step Right Up,” who graduated from the Yale school of drama and resents the show for ruining his career. Knoxville will play Clay Barber, a dark and filthy standup comedian who’s only real acting job was on the same bright and sunny sitcom. Greer stars as Bree Marie Jensen, a small-town pageant girl from rural Virginia who, after her turn on the sitcom, left the U.S. to marry a duke. In addition, Rachel Bloom stars as the sitcom writer with a fresh take, Hannah; Calum Worthy plays Zach, a former child actor who never grew up; and Krista Marie Yu plays a tech exec turned television creative exec, Elaine.
Paul Reiser plays Gordon, the original sitcom’s creator, who returns to a writers’ room that better reflects the modern TV landscape.
“Is this one of those diversity intern training things?” Gordon asks, to which one of the writers responds: “Literal gasp.”
“Reboot” marks Levitan’s return to scripted television after his wildly successful 11-season run with “Modern Family.”
“Steve’s incredible track record speaks for itself. ‘Modern Family’ was brilliant and massively appealing, making millions upon millions of viewers laugh week-after-week and quickly becoming a global sensation,” said Jordan Helman, head of scripted content for Hulu “We’re honored that Hulu will be home to Steve’s return to television with ‘Reboot’ and given our slate of successful comedies such as ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ ‘Pen15,’ ‘Ramy’ and more, we know our viewers will devour this hilariously meta satire.”
Added Karey Burke, president of 20th TV: “Steve Levitan is a comedy genius and his idea for ‘Reboot’ is as hilarious as it is timely. We’re thrilled that our friends at Hulu love this sly, wildly funny look at the television comedy business as much as we do. And the spectacular cast Steve’s assembled speaks to both the quality of the writing and the appeal of this platform as a home for smart, high quality television. Everyone jumped at the chance to come on board.”
Watch the trailer, and see key art below.
