‘Bewitched’ Reboot With Interracial Family, From Kenya Barris, Gets Pilot Order At ABC

Thanks to all of the magical nose twitchers out there, ABC is finally rebooting its popular 1960s comedy Bewitched with a few modern updates for the 21st century.

Black-ish creator Kenya Barris is behind the new version of the series, which Deadline reports will focus on a magical, interracial, and blended family. He will write and executive produce the single-camera sitcom along with black-ish scribe/co-producer Yamara Taylor. Right now, the show just has a pilot production commitment from the network.

In the original Bewitched, which ran for eight seasons from 1964 to 1972, a beautiful witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) married a mortal man, Darrin Stephens, and intended to live life as a normal, suburban housewife, but she just couldn’t stop using her magic, which often led to crazy consequences.

The couple had two children, Tabitha and Adam, who also possessed supernatural powers. A spinoff series, Tabitha, featuring an adult version of the character, played by Lisa Hartman, aired on ABC from 1977 to 1978.

Samantha’s supernatural relatives — such as mother Endora, Aunt Clara, Uncle Arthur, and cousin Serena (also played by Montgomery) — often showed up as well, which added to all of the shenanigans.

The series is frequently brought up in conversations about recasting characters on TV as Darrin was originally played by actor Dick York for the first five seasons, and by Dick Sargent for Seasons 6 through 8. Big fans of the show can articulately debate about which Darrin was the better of the two.

In 2005, Columbia Pictures released a movie based on the television show, also titled Bewitched, that was written, produced, and directed by Nora Ephron, and starred Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. The film was widely panned by critics, and was nominated for several Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Screen Couple for its A-list actors.

In the new Bewitched, single mom and witch Samantha, who happens to be black, marries a white mortal man, Darren, who is a bit of a slacker.

“They struggle to navigate their differences as she discovers that even when a black girl is literally magic, she’s still not as powerful as a decently tall white man with a full head of hair in America,” noted Deadline.

Reportedly, this is the third attempt by Sony Pictures Television to reboot Bewitched. Three of the major networks — ABC, NBC, and CBS — had all shown interest in reviving the series during the last decade.

To find out why this beloved show is being rebooted, catch episodes of the original Bewitched series on Antenna TV.