Ten Years of TV Revivals, Ranked: From 'Twin Peaks: The Return' to the 'Roseanne' Collapse
Over the past decade, streaming services and broadcast networks alike turned to dormant titles for built-in audiences, producing an uneven wave of reboots. Showtime's 18-episode Twin Peaks: The Return, written by David Lynch and Mark Frost and directed entirely by Lynch, premiered in May 2017, 26 years after the ABC original ended; Cahiers du Cinéma ranked it first among films of the year, though ratings stayed modest. ABC's Roseanne revival drew more than 18 million same-day viewers in March 2018 and was canceled on May 29, 2018, hours after star Roseanne Barr posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett; it returned that October as The Conners without her. Fox's The X-Files revival opened to over 16 million viewers in January 2016 before sliding across a 2018 season. NBC's Will & Grace ran three seasons from 2017 to 2020 with its four leads; Netflix's Fuller House lasted five seasons through 2020 despite hostile reviews; Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life arrived in November 2016 as four 90-minute films. Showtime's Dexter: New Blood in 2021 replaced the 2013 finale and spawned Dexter: Original Sin (December 2024) and Dexter: Resurrection (2025). Paramount+ debuted Frasier in October 2023 with Kelsey Grammer alone among the main cast. Cobra Kai, launched on YouTube Red in 2018 and moved to Netflix in 2020, ran six seasons through 2025. That '90s Show ran two seasons on Netflix from 2023.
Key facts
- Twin Peaks: The Return aired 18 episodes on Showtime from May 2017, 26 years after the original ended on ABC in 1991
- Cahiers du Cinéma placed Twin Peaks: The Return first on its annual best-films ranking
- ABC canceled Roseanne on May 29, 2018, hours after Roseanne Barr's tweet about Valerie Jarrett; The Conners premiered in October 2018
- The Roseanne revival premiere drew more than 18 million same-day viewers in March 2018
- The X-Files 2016 premiere drew over 16 million same-day viewers; Fox ordered no third revival season after 2018
- Will & Grace returned to NBC in September 2017 with Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes, running three seasons to 2020
- Fuller House ran five seasons on Netflix from February 2016 to June 2020; Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen declined to return
- Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life debuted on Netflix in November 2016 as four roughly 90-minute episodes
- Dexter: New Blood premiered on Showtime in November 2021, leading to Dexter: Original Sin in December 2024 and Dexter: Resurrection in 2025
- Frasier returned on Paramount+ in October 2023 with Kelsey Grammer as the only major original cast member in a regular role
- Cobra Kai premiered on YouTube Red in May 2018 and moved to Netflix in 2020, finishing with episodes in 2024 and 2025
- That '90s Show ran two seasons on Netflix, premiering in January 2023
Entities
Artists
- David Lynch
- Mark Frost
- Kyle MacLachlan
- Krzysztof Penderecki
- Roseanne Barr
- John Goodman
- Laurie Metcalf
- Sara Gilbert
- Lecy Goranson
- Michael Fishman
- Valerie Jarrett
- David Duchovny
- Gillian Anderson
- Chris Carter
- Darin Morgan
- Michael C. Hall
- Clyde Phillips
- Jack Alcott
- Jennifer Carpenter
- Kelsey Grammer
- David Hyde Pierce
- John Mahoney
- Peri Gilpin
- Jane Leeves
- Nicholas Lyndhurst
- Anders Keith
- Jack Cutmore-Scott
- Chris Harris
- Joe Cristalli
- Ralph Macchio
- William Zabka
- Eric McCormack
- Debra Messing
- Megan Mullally
- Sean Hayes
- Joe Biden
- Candace Cameron Bure
- Jodie Sweetin
- Andrea Barber
- John Stamos
- Bob Saget
- Dave Coulier
- Lori Loughlin
- Mary-Kate Olsen
- Ashley Olsen
- Amy Sherman-Palladino
- Daniel Palladino
- Edward Herrmann
- Kelly Bishop
- Lauren Graham
- Alexis Bledel
- Melissa McCarthy
- Kurtwood Smith
- Debra Jo Rupp
- Callie Haverda
- Bonnie Turner
- Terry Turner
- Lindsey Turner
- Gregg Mettler
- Topher Grace
- Mila Kunis
- Ashton Kutcher
- Wilmer Valderrama
- Tommy Chong
Institutions
- Netflix
- Showtime
- Paramount+
- Fox
- ABC
- NBC
- The CW
- YouTube Red
- Cahiers du Cinéma
- Cheers
Locations
- New York
- New Mexico
- Oregon
- Iron Lake
- upstate New York
- Seattle
- Boston
- Harvard
- Lanford
- Illinois
- Point Place
- Wisconsin
- San Fernando Valley
- Hartford
- Stars Hollow
- Miami
Sources
- Quartz —