NBC is bringing back the popular 1980s action crime drama Miami Vice, Deadline reports. Joining the project as producers are Fast & Furious vets Vin Diesel and Chris Morgan. The reboot has been in the development stage since last season, according to the outlet, and will be written my Peter Macmanus (The Mist, Satisfaction). No word yet on the two leads.
The original Miami Vice, produced by Michael Mann, was a massive hit for NBC throughout its five-season run from 1984-89 thanks to its groundbreaking (at the time) action and New Wave vibe. Don Johnson starred as James “Sonny” Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs, “two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami.”
So is this a good idea or a bad idea for NBC?
Reboots/re-imaginings/sequels have a spotty track record on television. On the one hand, you’ve got Netflix’s One Day at a Time and Showtime’s Twin Peaks, both of which have earned significant praise this year. On the other hand, you’ve got FOX’s 24: Legacy and CBS’ Training Day, both of which have not. Reboots are a real crapshoot that depend on the individual project. When it comes to this kind of content, networks need to ask themselves if there are enough original fans to justify another try and is the central pitch good enough to hook new fans?
For NBC, perhaps they should take a look at Mann’s 2006 film adaptation with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. That Miami Vice managed just $163.7 million worldwide off a $135 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. We think it’s safe to say Universal regretted that one. In terms of the pitch, don’t we have enough cop dramas on TV right?
Then again, this reboot could work like gangbusters and draw as many viewers as Prison Break: Resurrection. Who knows?
