Fans were treated with some exciting news earlier this year that ABC had ordered a pilot for a sequel series to its hit ’80s drama Thirtysomething but now the network is here to squash that excitement as they have elected to pass on the pilot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Thirtysomething(else) joins Dracula drama The Brides on the list of pilots the Disney-owned network has chosen to not pick up, with both originally being considered front-runners for series orders, with the former even having a writers room opened up ahead of the pilot shoot, but as the pandemic has shut down production and forced studios to strongly look at what to finance, many are narrowing their pilot order lists.
The thirtysomething(else) series was to follow an ensemble of new faces playing the grown-up, 30-something children of the original cast reprised by Ken Olin as Michael Steadman and Mel Harris as Hope Murdoch along with Emmy winners Timothy Busfield as Elliot Weston and Patty Wettig as Nancy Weston. Apparently, raising children (even grown children) never ends, but who could have known how hard it would be for them to raise their parents?
The sequel would have been a co-production by ABC Studios and MGM Television, with creator, showrunner and producer Edward Zwick also set to direct the pilot.
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Thirtysomething ran on-air for four seasons from 1987-1991 on ABC. It is considered as a groundbreaking series that quickly became a cultural phenomenon as it highlights a tight knight group of baby boomers and their struggles during the 1980s. The series had garnered numerous praises including 13 Emmy Awards for Best Drama and two Golden Globe Awards.
