September 20 (2022-09-20) – October 25, 2022 (2022-10-25)
Reboot is an American comedy series created by Steven Levitan. It premiered September 20, 2022, on Hulu.[1][2] The series follows the dysfunctional cast of an early 2000s hit sitcom, Step Right Up, who must face their unresolved issues and navigate a vastly different media and entertainment environment when a young writer successfully pitches a reboot of their show.[3] The series stars Keegan-Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville.
In January 2023, despite being positively received and being nominated for two Critics' Choice Awards, Hulu opted to cancel the series after one season.[4]
Cast
Main
Keegan-Michael Key as Reed Sterling, the Yale-trained actor who played "Lawrence", the stepfather on Step Right Up, before leaving the show to pursue a failed career in theater and film.
Johnny Knoxville as Clay Barber, the actor and raunchy stand-up comedian who played "Jake", the ex-husband in Step Right Up and is now dealing with a lifetime of alcoholism, drug abuse, and repeated arrests for minor crimes.
Rachel Bloom as Hannah Korman, an up-and-coming indie film screenwriter who lands a deal with Hulu to revive Step Right Up but is forced into the role of co-showrunner with the sitcom's creator, Gordon, who is her estranged father.
Calum Worthy as Zack Jackson, the former child actor who played "Cody", the son on Step Right Up, before going on to a brief career as the leading man in a series of low-budget teen movies.
Krista Marie Yu as Elaine Kim, the inexperienced studio executive tasked with overseeing the revival of Step Right Up and Zack’s love interest.
Judy Greer as Bree Marie Jensen, the actress who played "Josie", the mother on Step Right Up, then retired from acting when she married the duke of a small Nordic country before losing all of her money in their divorce.
Paul Reiser as Gordon Gelman, the writer who originally created Step Right Up and maintains the rights to the show, allowing him to co-opt Hannah as lead showrunner.
Recurring
Eliza Coupe as Nora, Reed's girlfriend and a successful playwright
Alyah Chanelle Scott as Timberly Fox, a former reality show contestant who plays "Whitney", the adult daughter of Reed's character Lawrence.[5]
Lawrence Pressman as Jerry, the former director of episodes from the original Step Right Up who returns to direct episodes in the reboot
Ryan Dietz as Dennis, the first AD of "Step Right Up"
Story by : Steven Levitan Teleplay by : Steven Levitan and John Enbom
September 20, 2022 (2022-09-20)
1QSE79
After meeting with executives at Hulu, Hannah gets the green-light to revive the sitcom Step Right Up with the aim of making it more "adult" by having the original cast play older versions of their characters. When production starts, the cast, including Reed Sterling, Clay Barber, Zack Johnson and Bree Marie Jensen, return and see each other for the first time since the original show ended. Reed is now a struggling film actor who hasn't starred in a major role for decades, Clay is a recovering alcoholic with a lengthy arrest history, Zack is a C-lister who still lives with his mother, and Bree is a bankrupt divorcée who takes the role only because she needs money. Against Hannah's wishes, the studio brings in Gordon to act as co-showrunner, resulting in her quitting the production. Gordon's stubborn refusal to update the show as Hannah originally intended leads the cast to secretly visit her at home, successfully begging her to return and stop him from ruining their chance at a comeback. Reed suddenly has an epiphany when he recalls how Gordon had given his character a "dark secret" and realizes that Hannah doesn't want to work with him because he is her estranged biological father.
Gordon and Hannah's professional relationship continues to sour between Hannah's unresolved anger towards her father for abandoning her and Gordon defiantly refusing to take responsibility. Former reality show contestant Timberly is cast as Lawrence's adult daughter Whitney; her acting abilities begin to improve when Reed offers to coach her, but an envious Bree manages to sabotage her rehearsal performance with awful acting tips. When Zach's mother Susan visits him on set, Clay finds it inappropriate and decides to help his co-star by asking her to stop. Susan, picking up on Clay's emotionally scarred psyche, manipulates him into having sex with her instead. Bree comes clean to Timberly after Reed points out that she's doing the same horrible things to her younger costar that had been done to her earlier in her career. This results in a powerful episode of Step Right Up where Lawrence confesses to Whitney how much he regrets not being in her life. Hannah realizes that this is Gordon's way of apologizing for being an absent father.
3
"Growing Pains"
Jaffar Mahmoud
John Quaintance
September 20, 2022 (2022-09-20)
1QSE03
An uncomfortable Clay attempts to break things off with Susan by having an actor friend impersonate an HR representative and lie about how such an "improper relationship" would force the studio to fire him; Susan sees through the ruse but understands and tells Clay that she is always around if he needs a hook-up. Zack is clearly upset until Clay recognizes that all he wanted was a father figure in his life and decides to start spending more time with him outside of work. Bree gets emotional when the wardrobe department fits her with Spanx so she looks younger on camera. Wanting to help, Timberly offers to take her out for drinks. Hannah and Gordon clash again when they both hire their own writers, who prove unable to agree on anything and wind up wasting an entire day of work. Hannah is about to give up when she accidentally improvises a joke that everyone finds funny, convincing both sides that they can in fact work together. Reed calls Bree to try and deal with his long-repressed feelings for her, unaware that she and Timberly just finished having drunken sex.
Bree and Timberly deal with the aftermath of their drunken sex, and Bree expresses her sexuality. Hannah decides to come out to her father, who is accepting of her. Reed and Clay convince Bree that Timberly slept with her to weaken her career based on her history on reality television, however this is proven false. Zack takes Elaine on a tour of the lot.
5
"What We Do in the Shadows"
Jaffar Mahmoud
Caroline Fox & Josh Levine
October 4, 2022 (2022-10-04)
1QSE05
Reed admits to Hannah that he's frustrated Gordon doesn't take his tips. Gordon tells her not to get involved in the actors' lives; to prove him wrong, Hannah sets Reed and Gordon up to have dinner with each other and agrees to help Zack get back custody of his dog from his ex-girlfriend. Reed and Gordon enjoy their dinner and admit their admiration for each other. Bree joins a women's group that seems like a Ponzi scheme only to get lost in the woods on a wellness retreat. She calls Clay, who is on the way to an AA meeting to celebrate thirty days sober, and the two connect over their newfound experiences.
Zack asks Hannah to help him find out if it's okay to ask out a coworker. When she does, the writer's room uses it as an opportunity to set her up with Mallory, a human resources employee. To the dismay of his girlfriend Nora, Reed ends up staying in the same hotel as Bree and they reconnect with a game they played in the past. They make plans to go to dinner, but Bree backs out after overhearing a phone call between Reed and Nora. Clay starts to make amends for past actions which results in him upsetting the director, Jerry, before eventually giving a sincere apology.
7
"Baskets"
Viet Nguyen
Dave King
October 18, 2022 (2022-10-18)
1QSE07
Hannah supervises a looping session with Clay before realising how terrible he is at reading lines. Bree joins the writers room where she pitches bizarre, Josie-centric ideas. Hannah swaps places with Gordon; Gordon tries a harsh approach with Clay before Clay admits he used to drink through ADR. He is able to nail the line after Gordon gives him a hug. Bree admits to Selma that she is trying to catch up with her career; Selma encourages her but tells her to stop being so vain. Eventually, she is able to pitch a good story idea. Reed agrees to play basketball with Zack and is surprised to find out he is playing against kids. Reed accidentally injures a kid, and the incident is recorded by two teenage girls observing the game. Zack agrees to take them to prom in exchange for the video's deletion.
During an interview, Bree is blindsided with the news that her ex-husband is marrying and having a baby with his former assistant. She impulsively announces that she and Reed are back together, blindsiding Reed, whose suspicious girlfriend Nora has surprised him with a visit. Gordon and Hannah are notified that there has been a change in leadership at Hulu, and the new network president Tyler Griffin has a personal grudge against Gordon. During a meeting that could impact the show's future, Gordon insults Tyler, putting the fate of the show further in jeopardy. Zack initially encourages Clay to finalize his purchase of a house but tries to discourage him without revealing that Elaine has informed him of the potential cancellation.
Reed corroborates Bree's news, but proposes to Nora, who says yes. Bree calls him and admits she still has feelings for him. Gordon quits the show rather than apologize to Tyler or accept cancellation, hurting Hannah. Bree visits Clay at his new home.
Production
Development
On August 5, 2021, the series was given a pilot order by Hulu,[1] and on January 11, 2022, was given a series order.[7][8] On January 30, 2023, Hulu canceled the series after one season, with the series planning to be shopped to other networks.[4] On February 8, 2023, it was reported the series is officially dead after it failed to find a new home.[9]
Casting
Alongside the series announcement, it was confirmed that Keegan-Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville would star in the series.[1] On September 22, 2021, it was announced that Leslie Bibb would join the series as Bree, alongside Rachel Bloom as Hannah, Michael McKean as Gordon, Krista Marie Yu as Elaine, and Calum Worthy as Zack.[10] On January 11, 2022, it was announced that Judy Greer had replaced Bibb as Bree Marie Jensen.[7] In February 2022, it was reported that Paul Reiser would play the role of Gordon in the series, replacing McKean.[11]
Release
Reboot premiered on Hulu in the United States on September 20, 2022. The series was released internationally on Disney+ under the dedicated streaming hub Star.[12]
Reception
Audience viewership
According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, Reboot was the 9th most streamed program across all platforms during the week of September 22, 2022, to September 28, 2022.[13][14] According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, Reboot was the 4th most streamed television series across all platforms in the United States during the week of September 25, 2022.[15] According to Whip Media, Reboot was the 7th most streamed original series in the United States during the week of October 9, 2022,[16] the 6th during the week of October 16, 2022,[17] the 7th during the week of October 23, 2022,[18] and the 5th during the week of October 30, 2022.[19]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 85% approval rating with an average rating of 6.9/10, based on 33 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Reboot hardly reinvents the Hollywood satire with its meta jokes that could have used more bite, but its more conventional qualities—namely a delightful cast—make for a mirthful enough watch."[20]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21]
The series also had some minor controversy from fans of the 90's CGI series ReBoot for sharing a name with the Canadian show.
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