Executive producer Damon Wayans Jr. (‘New Girl’) and showrunner Lindsey Shockley (‘Black-ish’) are developing a new version of the 1955 comedy.
Faced with fighting the 21st century streaming wars, CBS is rebooting a 67-year-old sitcom.
CBS Studios is developing a new version of iconic working-class comedy The Honeymooners for the network.
Only this iteration is described as “a bold, female-driven reboot” from executive producer Damon Wayans Jr. (New Girl) and showrunner Lindsey Shockley (Black-ish).
The story is described as centered on a “new wife, Ruth, and her husband, Alex, who are determined to have a marriage where they are true equals in every way. But what happens when a marriage has two heads of the household? Are they co-heads? Or no head at all?”
Kameron Tarlow (Grimm) is also an executive producer, and Kelly Park (Alexa & Katie) is executive producer and director.
The Honeymooners began as a comedy sketch on star Jackie Gleason’s variety show and aired on CBS for one season from 1955-56. The show followed New York City bus driver Ralph Kramden (Gleason), his wife, Alice (Audrey Meadows), Ralph’s best friend, Ed Norton (Art Carney), and Ed’s wife, Trixie (Joyce Randolph).
Rebooting the show from a different cultural perspective has actually been done before. There was a 2005 The Honeymooners feature film from Paramount Pictures with a largely Black cast, including Cedric the Entertainer, Gabrielle Union, Mike Epps and Regina Hall.
CBS previously tried to develop a reboot in 2016 with writer Bob Kushell (3rd Rock From the Sun) and producers Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Eric & Kim Tannenbaum and Jeff Greenstein, but the series never made it to production.
