TVLine has word that CBS Television Studios is prepping a reboot of CBS’s 1980’s Beauty and the Beast, which starred Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton, for the CW for 2012. Considering that it’ll be The CW, we can pretty much expect it to be all ‘tweened up, which means that the birthdates of the two protagonists will probably be somewhere around when the original went off the air. So don’t be surprised if it’s more Cutie and the Beast than Beauty. Still, no big issues with a reboot, although it’s going to be hard to replicate the chemistry of the original’s two stars.
I may have allegedly been a fan of the show back in the day.
Jennifer Levin (Without a Trace) and Sherri Cooper (Brothers & Sisters) will write the pilot and exec produce the show should it be picked up. Funnily enough, the article mentions that ABC is prepping their own B&B pilot, which deals more with the public domain stuff.
What could have been really interesting, though, is if they built on the original by featuring Vincent’s son, Jacob, in this new version. Then we might actually get Perlman to at least make a one-time cameo. Sure, Vincent’s kid was born looking normal, but who’s to say he didn’t beast out like Hank McCoy when he hit puberty?