Per Variety, the show, which takes place in Netflix's Sandman universe, will not return for a second season. Based on the DC Comics series of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, the series follows best friends Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) who decide to forgo the afterlife in favor of staying on Earth to solve crimes that involve the strange, unusual, and the undead. Steve Yockey, developer of the Kaley Cuoco-led HBO Max black comedy The Flight Attendant, served as showrunner and head writer.

The cast includes Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace, Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher, Ruth Connell as the Night Nurse, Jenn Lyon as Esther, Lukas Gage as Thomas the Cat King, Max Jenkins as Kingham, and David Iacono as David the Demon.

Dead Boy Detectives was first announced in 2022 and was originally ordered as a pilot for Max, the home of DC streaming shows. After the James Gunn and Peter Safran revamp, however, it was decided that the characters would not be apart of the planned DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. Netflix re-announced the series in 2023.

The streamer has a habit of canceling fantasy shows with a dedicated fanbase, including Warrior Nun, The Midnight Club, The OA, and Shadow and Bone. Netflix also quietly canceled The Grimm Reality, a new fantasy series from the creators of Dark, despite production having already wrapped.

Dead Boy Detective season one is streaming now on Netflix. For more, check out our list of the best Netflix shows to add to your streaming queue right now.

Trigger Inc., also known as Studio Trigger, released a cryptic trailer for the upcoming anime (which could either be a movie or a series) that features quick scenes starring Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime with a glitch-y, VHS tape overlay. The brief thirty-second clip, which can be viewed below, ends with a simple "Coming Soon" message. 

We don't know much else, but we do know that the anime is coming this year as part of the 40th anniversary of the Transformers franchise, which started in 1984 with the Transformers action figure line. They were primarily designed by Shoji Kawamori, creator of the Japanese mecha anime franchise Macross.

Studio Trigger is known for producing the anime series Kill la Kill, Little Witch Academia, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and Netflix's Delicious in Dungeon – based on the manga of the same name.

The first Transformers anime, titled Transformers Cybertron, hit Japan and Asia back in 2005. In the series, Vector Prime emerges from his resting place in the void to enlist the help of Optimus and the Autobots after his map to the Cyber Planet Keys is stolen by Megatron. The second Transformers anime, dubbed Transformers Go!, hit in Japan in 2013. The series and accompanying toyline follow several Autobots as they team up to keep the Predacons from trying to take over the world.

For more, check out our list of the best anime to add to your streaming queue right now.

As for movies, you can get stuck into an extra 48 minutes of Ridley Scott's Napoleon on Apple TV Plus with the newly released director's cut. Plus, Yorgos Lanthimos' Kinds of Kindness is now streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus, and US viewers can catch Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in action-romance The Fall Guy on Peacock.  

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Prime Video

Return to Middle-earth for the second season of Lord of the Rings prequel series The Rings of Power. The Elves are set on pursuing Sauron after his re-emergence in season 1, but he has his own plans… Our Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 review calls the new installment "the Sauron-centric season… a bleak, oppressive ode to Middle-earth's rich characters, cast, and world." The first three episodes are available to stream now, with the rest releasing weekly every Thursday until October 3. 

Terminator Zero

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Netflix

Terminator gets the anime treatment on Netflix with new series Terminator Zero. Set in Tokyo in 1997, the show follows scientist Malcolm Lee (André Holland), who's developing an AI system to compete with Skynet. As Judgment Day beckons, however, he finds himself and his children pursued by an all-too-familiar robot assassin… The English-language cast also includes Timothy Olyphant, Sonoya Mizuno, Rosario Dawson, and Ann Dowd. All eight episodes are available to stream now. 

Only Murders in the Building season 4

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Hulu in the US, Disney Plus in the UK

Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are back for round four as Only Murders in the Building returns to Hulu and Disney Plus. As the latest season of the trio's podcast wraps up, they're approached by a studio exec about a movie adaptation, but the real drama is going down behind the scenes at the Arconia. New cast members for season 4 include Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy, and Eva Longoria, and the first episode is available to stream now, with the rest of this season's eps releasing every Tuesday.

Kaos

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Netflix

Jeff Goldblum stars as Zeus in Netflix's new Greek mythology dark comedy Kaos. When he finds a wrinkle in his forehead, he fears the end of the world may be nigh, and starts to take it out on those around him. Meanwhile, three ordinary mortals start to uncover conspiracies about the Greek gods – and each other. The show was created by Charlie Covell, who previously wrote the Netflix series The End of the F***ing World. All eight episodes are available to watch now.

Napoleon: The Director's Cut

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Apple TV Plus

Ridley Scott's latest historical epic just got even more so with this new director's cut, which adds 48 minutes to the 2023 movie and pushes the runtime up to three and a half hours. Joaquin Phoenix stars as the titular French emperor, while Vanessa Kirby plays Josephine – a role that gets more screen time in the new version. There's also an additional battle and an assassination attempt thrown into the mix. "Some may prefer it as a cut. And, that said, I think I do," Scott recently told Total Film. 

The Fall Guy

Available: US
Watch now: Peacock

The Fall Guy stars Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers, a stuntman trying to get back in the game after an on-set accident derailed his career – and his relationship with camera operator-turned-director Jody (Emily Blunt) a year before. Back in the saddle on Jody's directorial debut, Colt's plans are disrupted by the disappearance of the movie's star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). When executive producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) asks Colt to find Tom in order to save the film, he feels he has no choice but to accept. But has he bitten off more than he can chew?

Kinds of Kindness

Available: Worldwide
Watch now: Hulu in the US, Disney Plus in the UK

The latest offering from Poor Things and The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos is now available to stream at home. Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons lead an ensemble cast that also includes Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, and Hong Chau in this triptych of stories about the blurry line between devotion and desperation. Reuniting with co-screenwriter Efthimis Filiipou for the first time since 2017's The Killing of a Sacred Deer, expect things to get gleefully nasty. 

If there's nothing here that tickles your fancy, then you might have to start looking into each streaming service's back catalogue, which can be a daunting task given how many titles they each host. Fear not, though... if you're a TV fan, then we've got you covered with our lists of the best Netflix shows, best Disney Plus shows, and the best Amazon Prime Video shows.

In the modern age of Hollywood, reboots have become a go-to approach for many studios. Rather than risk taking a chance on new ideas, it's often preferable to reboot or remake or generally just resurrect a proven idea with pre-existing familiarity. (This is also called "IP," for intellectual property, if you're talking to an agent with their own parking spot in Burbank.)

While audiences tend to bemoan Hollywood's ghoulishness to reboot something from the past and transmogrify it to suit the new parameters of the present, sometimes reboots aren't just great. They're sometimes better than what came before. It's not often, mind you, but it has happened before.

To prove that reboots aren't all lost causes, here are 32 legitimately great TV reboots.

32. Masters of the Universe: Revelation

On Netflix, writer/director Kevin Smith proved he had the power. In 2021, the New Jersey auteur oversaw a revival of the original '80s classic He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in a sequel/reboot that wrapped up unresolved storylines. In Revelation, He-Man is depowered and magic has disappeared from the land of Eternia. It's now up to He-Man's closest ally Teela to relocate the missing Sword of Power and restore magic to prevent the end of the world. While some fans were irked that He-Man surrendered the spotlight to Teela, the series received high marks for its epic art style, darker tone, and more serious storytelling.

31. Kung Fu

Quarter-life crisis gets a kick in the rear in this reboot of the 1970s TV juggernaut Kung Fu, which infamously starred the very white David Carradine as a half-Chinese monk who wanders the Old West. In this contemporary reboot, Olivia Liang stars as a young Chinese-American woman named Nicky who drops out of college to study kung fu at a monastery in rural China. Upon returning home to San Francisco, Nicky seeks revenge for the murder of her mentor while repairing her estranged familial relationships and using her skills to quite literally fight crime. While the original Kung Fu has its dedicated fans, the 2021 revival - which has plenty of heart, humor, and sick action scenes pulled off on a TV budget - reimagined the show with a mostly ethnic Asian cast, which felt like a correction over the original show's ghastly yellowface.

30. The Flash

In 1990, The Flash first sped his way to television with John Wesley Shipp in the lead role. In 2014, The Flash raced again, this time as a spin-off to the popular CW series Arrow. Grant Gustin dons the boots of Barry Allen, a forensic scientist haunted by his mother's murder who is shocked with superpowers during a freak storm. Set in the expansive "Arrowverse" franchise, The Flash turns up the dial over its '90 predecessor with as much focus on Barry's everyday life drama alongside his amazing superhero responsibilities. Towards the end of the show's run, Shipp reprised his role as The Flash, including wearing the same costume, in a multiversal crossover that formally concluded his story.

29. ThunderCats

ThunderCats is far from the only 1980s cartoon to get a modern reboot. But in 2011, ThunderCats got an impossibly epic, impossibly short-lived reboot that memorably combined American animation with Japanese anime-inspired designs. In this darker retelling of the original series, the kingdom of Thundera is destroyed, forcing its feline inhabitants - including the hero Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats - to roam Third Earth and defeat the evil sorcerer Mumm-Ra. With a more serious tone and emphasis on character drama, ThunderCats '11 set a new bar for adult-oriented animation as well as raised expectations for reboots that target nostalgic adults. Unfortunately, the show did not finish its intended 52 episodes due to low ratings and was axed after just one season. ThunderCats, no!

28. Bel-Air

A darker, more dramatic retelling of the '90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sounds like a joke, at least on paper. And that's what it kind of was when indie filmmaker Morgan Cooper released a short film to YouTube that took the form of a fake trailer imagining a gritty remake of the Will Smith sitcom. The viral popularity caught the eye of Smith, who met with Cooper and shepherded his short into a real television show. Premiering in 2021 on Peacock, Bel-Air retells the story of the sitcom with a more serious approach than the laughs-a-minute original. The gamble paid off, with critics heaping praise on the series for its novel take and allowing it to become one of the most-streamed shows on the Peacock streaming platform.

27. The Wonder Years

The original incarnation of The Wonder Years fondly looked back at suburban America between the late '60s and early '70s. For a generation of TV viewers, it was the ultimate coming-of-age story about growing up during widespread societal changes. In 2021, that premise was as fresh as ever, and so came the short-lived reboot that focused its cameras on a Black family living in the same period in historic Montgomery, Alabama. Through the eyes of 12-year-old Dean (played by Elisha Williams, with Don Cheadle narrating as his older self), The Wonder Years '21 explores the trials and tribulations of adolescence with the racist obstacles faced by millions of Black Americans amid Civil Rights. The show received critical praise for its socially relevant updates on a familiar story. At the same time, the show suffered some darkened clouds when original series star Fred Savage was fired as producer due to alleged inappropriate conduct.

26. Sherlock 

Remember when we were all "Sherlocked"? In 2010, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat reimagined the iconic sleuth from British literature, placing him and his trusty, oft-flummoxed sidekick John Watson in contemporary London. While Sherlock is now armed with Wi-Fi, smartphones, and sophisticated forensic science, the famous detective still relies on his unnatural deductive reasoning skills and well-read education to solve elusive cases. The show made a star out of Benedict Cumberbatch, whose role as Sherlock helped launch him into the big leagues of the Marvel Universe as the superhero Doctor Strange. It also starred Martin Freeman as John Watson, with Freeman also ending up in the Marvel franchise and leading The Hobbit trilogy. Despite the show's early praise, critics and audiences ran out of steam as the show reached its final season in 2017. Still, Sherlock was a formative show for many, especially those on Tumblr and Twitter, and it's hard to ignore how much it made big stars out of its cast.

25. Hawaii Five-0

Honestly, it's hard to wipe out from a show like Hawaii Five-0. A police procedural set in an exotic, sunny locale most people only dream of? It's like a mini-vacation every week! Rebooting from the original series that ran from 1968 to 1980, the 2010-20 iteration follows the eccentric characters who work in the Hawaii Five-0 Task Force, a specialized unit in the Hawaii Department of Public Safety. (Fun fact: The real Hawaii DPS was deactivated in 2023 and funneled into the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement.) Featuring a diverse ensemble cast including Asian and native Hawaiian actors - among them Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park - Hawaii Five-0 did more than just ride the wave of its iconic predecessor. The series lasted for a whopping 10 seasons, made up of 240 episodes. 

24. Kamen Rider Black Sun

All long-running franchises have that one iteration that stands above the rest. In the case of Toei's famed Kamen Rider franchise, the 1987 tokusatsu classic series Kamen Rider Black stood out with its near-perfect execution of established series formula, with a memorably dark story about two brothers fated to fight in mortal combat. In 2022, Toei rebooted the show into Kamen Rider Black Sun, a mature-oriented reimagining that retold the story of the series with a more pronounced political bent. With Drive My Car's Hidetoshi Nishijima in the lead role, Toei had eyes set on giving Kamen Rider an air of "prestige TV." While die-hard fans are mixed on the show, Kamen Rider Black Sun is an excellent introduction to tokusatsu for anyone unfamiliar with the tropes and styles of the genre.

23. House of Cards

Putting the Kevin Spacey of it all aside, it's hard to forget when the buzziest television drama in the world was about ruthless politicians in Washington D.C.. An American remake of the 1990 British thriller, House of Cards stars Spacey as cutthroat congressman Frank Underwood who orchestrates his way to the Oval Office, with plenty of help from his equally ambitious wife Claire Underwood (Robin Wright). While career-ending allegations forced Spacey into a premature exit from the show, the series still aired several seasons' worth of Frank Underwood, whose dark outlook influenced the show's nihilistic vibe of hungry sharks in Brooks Brothers tailoring. While few can say they saw it end, many can't forget when they saw House of Cards begin.

22. DuckTales

Whoo-hoo! The original 1987 Disney cartoon, beloved for the fun adventures of cheeseparing Scrooge McDuck and his rambunctious nephews, was one of several original shows that helped cement the Disney Channel as a childhood staple, not to mention a viable business for the Disney empire. In 2017, well before there was a Disney streaming service that needed capital-C content, a reboot reimagined Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie as they embarked on more treasure hunts around the world. The reboot DuckTales boasted lively art design and rich characterization that made it a big hit with both critics and audiences, who lavished praise towards its balance between the new and the nostalgic. An all-star voice cast including David Tennant, Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz, Bobby Moynihan, Kate Micucci, Giancarlo Esposito, and even Don Cheadle (as an alternate voice for Donald Duck) helped give the show star power and texture as more than just another cartoon reboot.

21. Cobra Kai

Redemption is possible for anyone - even '80s movie bullies. The hit action-comedy series Cobra Kai continues the story of The Karate Kid movies, taking the point-of-view of original antagonist Johnny Lawrence (reprised by original actor William Zabka). Some 30 years after Ralph Maccio's Daniel LaRusso defeated rival Johnny at the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, Johnny wallows in his depression while Daniel lives a happy life with a family. Cobra Kai flips the underdog story on its head, with Johnny now positioned as the "underdog" who seeks to reestablish the Cobra Kai karate dojo whilst reigniting rivalry with Daniel. Originally a YouTube Red series, Cobra Kai grew to become a major hit in the streaming era and proof that not all nostalgic retreads are beholden to the same masters of mediocrity. 

20. Westworld

At least for one season, we all were round up in the lasso of Westworld. A serialized TV remake of the 1973 film by Michael Crichton, Westworld takes place in a near-future where endless capital creates violent delights. Set in a cutting-edge Old West theme park populated by lifelike androids, Westworld follows an ensemble cast of characters, from the artificial inhabitants "enslaved" by the park to visitors discovering their true selves in a lawless playground. Premiering at just the right time in summer 2016, Westworld harnessed the anxieties of our technology-dependent reality and desire for escapism by any means in a saga underscored by themes like consciousness, human behavior, class warfare, and freedom. While critics and audiences admit to falling off after its first season, it's not incorrect to say that Westworld was almost, if not exactly another must-watch event like HBO's other big TV hit, Game of Thrones.

19. Party of Five 

The original comedy-drama Party of Five, which spent years suffering low ratings before amassing popularity after it won a Golden Globe in 1996, focused on the five Salinger siblings who take care of each other after their parents die in a car accident. In 2020, a critically acclaimed reboot premiered on Freeform, this time centered on the Acostas who undergo a similar challenge when their parents are deported to Mexico. While the series was celebrated for its empathetic and timely story, its low ratings doomed its prospects and it was canceled after just one season. 

18. High Fidelity 

Originating as a 2000 film starring John Cusack (itself based on Nick Hornby's 1995 novel), High Fidelity follows Rob Brooks, a young, hip record store owner in Brooklyn who reevaluates her failed romantic partnerships through the lens of her favorite music. Zoë Kravitz stars in the series, keeping up an unofficial family tradition after her mother Lisa Bonet, who had a role in the Cusack movie. While High Fidelity was canceled after just one season, the show was praised for its fresh take on the familiar story, as was Kravitz who flexed her leading lady muscles as the show's central charismatic curmudgeon.

17. Charmed

While it was resurrected just 12 years after the original ended on The WB - and its original cast expressed disappointment about not being involved - Charmed found new life on The CW, its themes of sisterhood and womanhood still brimming with magic. In this retelling of the original, three sisters learn they are "good" witches tasked with protecting the world from the forces of evil. With a more diverse cast featuring women of color as well as onscreen LGBT representation, Charmed '18 cast a spell over critics and audiences to last four seasons.

16. Perry Mason

It had been awhile since America heard of Perry Mason, the idealistic lawyer who always proves his client's innocence, when the 2020 reboot series aired on HBO. Based on the many Perry Mason novels that also spawned an iconic 1957-66 TV show starring Raymond Burr, Perry Mason '20 (starring Matthew Rhys) tells the "origin story" of Perry Mason in 1932 Los Angeles. Set against the Great Depression and Mason reeling from World War I PTSD, the series sees Mason take on the case of a lifetime, a child kidnapping trial that leads Mason to seek out who might be the real culprit. The show earned acclaim from critics who celebrated the show's updated style, production value, and sharp writing; unfortunately, its undisclosed ratings couldn't justify the show's budget, alluded to as much by HBO's head of drama Franesca Orsi in a 2023 interview with Deadline.

15. Animaniacs 

As Yakko himself sings it: "They ran out of ideas for fresh new shows, so Hollywood did the only thing it knows." A revival of the original satirical cartoon that premiered in 1993, Animaniacs broke free from the Warner Bros. Water Tower to return on Hulu in 2020, with much of the original cast intact. While Yakko, Wakko, and Dot navigate a brand new Hollywood than they remember, the Warner Siblings haven't changed a day, roasting Hollywood and the culture at large to within an inch of its lives. Though it lasted only three seasons, Animaniacs proved itself to be as caustic and clever as '90s babies remember it, only this time, they actually understand the jokes.

14. The Tick

The Tick has become a cult TV show more than twice, but the third time was really the charm. In 2016, amid the dominance of superhero pop culture, The Tick came crawling back to TV, as another live-action series on Amazon Prime. (The show predates the platform's rechristening as Prime Video.) Peter Serafinowicz stars as The Tick, an invulnerable superhero with boundless enthusiasm and a sincere lack of awareness who befriends nervous, mild-mannered Arthur (Griffin Newman), who becomes his sidekick. While The Tick '16 looked gritty on the surface, those hard exteriors betray its chaotic and madcap sense of humor. Despite positive reviews and even a passionate fan campaign to renew it for a third season, The Tick was unfortunately canceled due to low viewership.

13. One Day at a Time

In this reboot of the 1975 sitcom, the Cuban-American Alvarez family deals with the ups and downs of the 21st century. The series centers around Penelope (Justina Machado), a single mother and U.S. Army veteran who tries hard to keep her eccentric family together while dealing with her own problems. With its take on serious issues like immigration, PTSD, and LGBTQ+ rights with equal parts sensitivity and a sense of humor, One Day at a Time earned high marks from critics who found it a fresh and inclusive spin on the tired sitcom genre. 

12. Lost in Space

"Danger, Will Robinson!" In this lavish and deadly serious Netflix reboot of the original 1960s sci-fi series (itself based on an 1812 novel), a family of space explorers, the Robinsons, find themselves stranded on an alien planet after their spaceship veers off course. Eschewing the cheesiness of the original (and the ostentatiousness of the 1998 movie), Lost in Space '18 won praise from viewers for its magnificent production design, textured characters, and modern storytelling. The show was a hit in its 2018 premiere and lasted until 2021, when it finished with its third and final season.

11. The Exorcist

Initially billed as a ground-up reboot before surprising audiences as a direct sequel to the iconic 1973 film, The Exorcist shocked everyone in how it proved television can be just as haunting as the big screen. Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels co-star as priests who investigate cases of demonic possession; true to the original film, the show interrogates the limits of faith against the unknowable. While many critics and viewers expressed skepticism towards the show leading up to its 2016 premiere, it quickly won over viewers for its muscular storytelling and hair-raising psychological horror. Despite its buzz, The Exorcist failed to conjure up a third season.

10. Quantum Leap

Quantum Leap didn't just explore history, it made history too. In 2022, the reboot series Quantum Leap featured actor Raymond Lee in the lead role, making it the first American sci-fi show headlined by an Asian American actor. But the show was more than its diversity wins. The show itself earned praise in how it revisits the classic story, with Lee portraying a physicist who gains the power to travel back in time and live different lives. While the series enjoyed a loyal audience, its expensive production and the dual strikes of Hollywood in 2023 forced the show to end at just its second season. Still, fans hold out hope that Quantum Leap can come back for a third jump.

9. Magnum P.I.

Magnum P.I. is simply too cool of a show to mess up via reboot. Based on the original '80s TV classic, Magnum P.I. follows Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez), a former Navy SEAL turned private investigator in sunny, breezy Hawaii. Using his expert skills, Magnum solves cases while sorting out his new life in Hawaii. (The show also shared the same universe as Hawaii Five-0, another popular TV reboot from a classic show set in Hawaii.) Without reinventing the wheel, Magnum P.I. coasts on its easy-going charms and escapist bombast, allowing TV audiences both new and nostalgic to enjoy the waves.

8. The Office

It's hard to remember, what with it being so popular and ubiquitous, but The Office was a remake. Originating from a sandpaper dry British sitcom from producer Greg Daniels, the American version of The Office wound up a seismic pop culture juggernaut that epitomized comedic television in the late 2000s. The series challenged sitcom conventions of the time, being a single-camera, documentary-style production with no studio audience nor a laugh track. (Its initial popularity on iTunes over traditional broadcast TV also foreshadowed the changing habits of audiences.) Much has been written about the show's rise to success and cultural influence; a 2021 podcast hosted by cast member Brian Baumgartner unpacks its origins and legacy, and it's seriously a must-listen. Just know that it's one of the biggest and best TV reboots of all time, to the point its profile eclipses its English ancestor.

7. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

While most audiences remember Sabrina Spellman as a teenage witch with a talking cat on her network sitcom, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina dared to reimagine Sabrina's world of witchcraft with darker tones. A stylish dramedy from producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and TV maestro Greg Berlanti, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina follows its title heroine (played by Kiernan Shipka) who struggles to reconcile between her witch and human sides while protecting her hometown from the forces of darkness. With its dark coming-of-age storytelling, creepy horror, and spellbinding performances, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina can make you forget about laugh tracks and the TGIF programming block. (We'd be remiss not to mention a clever tribute episode in Season 4, which guest stars Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick back in their sitcom roles.) You can practically feel the crunchy leaves under your feet when you binge this modern gem.

6. 12 Monkeys 

In this reboot of Terry Gilliam's 1995 movie, a scavenger from the future named James Cole (played by Aaron Stanford, and Bruce Willis in the original movie) is sent back in time to 2015 to prevent the release of a catastrophic virus that all but destroys the world. Surpassing expectations as an empty reboot of a cult sci-fi movie, the 12 Monkeys '15, which aired on Syfy, was praised for its hard science fiction storytelling mixed with moral questions about fate and free will. 

5. Doctor Who

"Good to meet you Rose. Run for your life!" And with that, we had our Ninth Doctor. After years of dormancy, the BBC brought back Doctor Who for not only a new audience, but a whole new era that hasn't stopped since. In 2005, Doctor Who returned with actors Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper (as ordinary shopgirl Rose) with a season that reinvigorated the classic British sci-fi. After Eccleston departed, the role of the Doctor was taken over by David Tennant (thanks to good ol' Time Lord regeneration). The series became an even bigger success to eventually become a huge hit abroad, especially in the United States. (Finally.) Starting in 2023, the show was renewed (not rebooted, mind you) with Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor.

4. Twin Peaks: The Return 

It seemed impossible, and still seems impossible in some way. But in 2017, David Lynch dared to continue the story of his acclaimed mystery drama Twin Peaks. In Twin Peaks: The Return, FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) is still trapped in the Black Lodge and tries to escape while the case of Laura Palmer grows as mystifying as ever. The original Twin Peaks was renowned for its blend of detective mysteries and surreal horror. Twin Peaks: The Return lived up to that same spirit and then some, with a reflective approach that interrogates artists' (and Hollywood's) need to keep bringing back what remains in the past.

3. Roots

On paper, the mere thought of rebooting Roots sounds pointless and futile. The original 1977 miniseries was celebrated for its epic production and uncompromising story, that of an African boy who is shipped to North America as a slave in 1750. But in 2016, a reboot miniseries arrived on the History Channel. To everyone's surprise, the reboot holds up as both a faithful retelling that doesn't fail to realize the modern, still-unjust world it addresses. Its exploration of human resilience and unflinching portrait of American history - including and especially its ghastly sides - makes Roots '16 something of a miracle.

2. Fargo

The original Coen Brothers movie from 1996 was just the start. First airing in 2014 and airing new seasons sporadically over the next decade, the black comedy smash Fargo takes the spirit of the film - eccentric self-servers, the allure of crime, the chase for the elusive American dream, the maddening desolation of frosty flyover states - and reimagines it as an anthology series that span different periods. As Fargo zigzags between the 20th and 21st centuries, a single truth manifests in this bizarro universe: Things will never work out like you expect them to. Packing an all-star cast and refreshing itself each season, Fargo is easily one of the best TV shows of all time, never mind best TV reboot.

1. Battlestar Galactica

The original 1978 Battlestar Galactica hit airwaves only a year after Star Wars became a cultural juggernaut. Its ambitions couldn't match what was possible on a TV budget and scale in 1978, and thus Battlestar Galactica was little more than a cult show, albeit with a very dedicated audience. But by 2004, the world was in a different place. Terrorism loomed in the American psyche, and TV was a lot more cinematic. And so, Ronald D. Moore rebooted Battlestar Galactica for a new generation, resulting in one of the best sci-fi shows of all time that holds its own against other heavy hitters of TV. Overrun with complex characters, political metaphors, moral questions concerning humanity on the edge of survival, and generally high production values that rival the big screen, Battlestar Galactica is a sci-fi epic that forever made us expect more from TV reboots.

Having landed on the platform on August 14, the show is currently filling the number 2 slot on the streamer's Top 10 English-language titles, coming in second to Emily in Paris season 4. "The disturbing disappearance and murder of Laci Peterson in 2002 shocked the nation," the official synopsis reads. "Her husband, Scott Peterson, was convicted, yet still claims he's innocent. 20 years later, we revisit this notorious case with Laci’s mother and friends speaking for the first time."

In the three weeks it's been available, American Murder – which consists of three episodes – has racked up over 10.6 million views, with over 28 million hours watched. While it has got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes currently, it's worth noting that that's only from six reviews so far. 

"This Netflix offering presents a measured approach, delivering insight and suspense for those unfamiliar with one of the most infamous American murder cases of the 21st century," says Geek Vibes Nation critic M. N. Miller.

"American Murder spends a good deal of time trying to get to know [Laci]. Director Skye Borgman realizes that there was a victim who was someone who had a life and had hopes and dreams," writes San Francisco Chronicle's G. Allen Johnson. 

"I'm not particularly interested in looking at stories that are very black-and-white,” Borgman previously told Tudum. "I like to be able to look at stories with various different layers and not necessarily give answers to things, but rather present a nuanced and a flawed perspective."

Netflix's docuseries follows on from Hulu's The Murder of Laci Peterson, which came out in 2017 and focuses predominantly on the legal side of the case.

American Murder: Laci Peterson is streaming now. For more, check out what's new on Netflix in September, or our guide to the best Netflix shows for some viewing inspiration.

Based on the real-life ‘Rehabilitation Through the Arts’ (RTA) program at the Sing Sing maximum security prison in New York, we follow the story of John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield (portrayed by Euphoria’s Colman Domingo). Imprisoned for a crime that he claims he didn’t commit, John finds purpose by acting in the RTA’s small theater group alongside other incarcerated men, the majority of which are played by former inmates who were actually a part of that program.

In the spotlight

Throughout the story, we meet these men from all different backgrounds and walks of life, sharing only two things in common: the fact that they are imprisoned at Sing Sing and are searching for an escape through theater. All giving brilliant performances, you wouldn’t be able to tell that they aren’t professional actors, with an impressive roll call during the end credits emphasizing just how many cast members are former inmates.

Although the always-spectacular Domingo delivers what our Sing Sing review accurately describes as a “soulful performance”, he quite simply isn’t the star of the show here. That honor lies at the feet of the ex-prisoners who come toe-to-toe with the Oscar nominee with ease. 

For Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, this is particularly true, as the stand-out in the stellar line-up. Sentenced to 17 years at Sing Sing for robbery, Maclin found a new lease of life through the RTA program, helping pen this movie upon being released from jail. In the film, he portrays a younger version of himself and it is remarkable seeing him go from aggressively threatening a fellow inmate to casually dropping a verse from King Lear minutes later. He also wows as Hamlet during rehearsals for the group's play, making Maclin one to watch out for in the future.

Becoming human again

Whilst these former prisoners all bring wonderful performances to Sing Sing, they also give the movie the authenticity that makes it shine. Every word they speak clearly comes from the heart and is bursting with truthfulness.

The film is therefore punctuated with very real, raw moments. When Maclin asks the RTA group if they can perform a comedy next rather than a drama as the inmates need something to make them smile - that’s real. When a fellow prisoner says that he’s part of the program to become human again - that’s real. When Maclin says he feels like he’s always been performing as he got put in a ‘gangster’ box when he was young - that’s also real. His words that he has been "playing a role his whole life" will long stay with you. 

In fact, one of the film’s best scenes sees a released prisoner visit his former RTA companions, sharing with them what life is like on the outside, emphasizing that whilst there are highs there are real lows too and breaking down as he discusses the passing of his beloved dog. Moments as honest as this one feel rare on the screen and therefore something to be treasured.

Dying is easy, comedy is hard

You are guaranteed, then, to feel your eyes welling up during certain points of Sing Sing, but crucially it doesn’t forget to embrace joy and laughter too. Like other prison dramas, it does depict the brutality of life on the inside as well as the struggles ex-offenders face upon release, but there is also plenty to laugh and smile at here. 

At times it is a funny movie, especially since the production the inmates are developing is truly wild. Putting together all the various elements they wanted to include, their play, titled ‘Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code’, features everything from Hamlet to gladiators and Freddy Krueger to time travel, with the result being, well, quite something. Domingo’s John may warn them early on that “dying is easy, comedy is hard,” but it’s pretty clear that they crack it – and the same is true for the movie itself.

Ultimately, Sing Sing is an uplifting experience as it celebrates the healing power of the arts – even if that is through a bizarre play where a child killer encounters a group of Egyptian mummies. But hey, it works for them! 

What stops the movie from easily tipping over into being overly earnest are those former inmates within its cast who ground it with their honesty, becoming the roots of this gorgeous film. Whilst they are healed through theater, we, as the audience, are healed by watching them “become human again”.

Sing Sing is in theaters now. For more on what to watch, check out the rest of our Big Screen Spotlight series. 

Like the 2019 novel by Andrew Michael Hurley from which it evolved though, Starve Acre is not a work one has to fully comprehend in order to be seduced. It is more of a mood piece, in truth: one that transports the viewer to a muddy vision of '70s Yorkshire in which nature itself seems inexplicably, implacably opposed to the very presence of archaeologist Richard (Smith), his wife Juliette (Morfydd Clark), and their troubled young son Owen (Arthur Shaw).

Having moved from Leeds to take up residence in the titular farmhouse Richard inherited from his estranged father, the Willoughbys are hopeful that their new surroundings will be beneficial to their introspective and asthmatic lad. It takes a mere five minutes for them to be disabused of that fallacy, as a ghastly act of violence recalls 1977’s Equus in its ferocity and unfathomability. An even more bewildering tragedy follows, driving a wedge between Richard and ‘Jules’ that he attempts to fill by literally digging into their home’s links to local myth and folklore. Juliette, meanwhile, finds a comfort of her own in a spiritualist (Melanie Kilburn), inadvertently stirring a malevolent entity that has been wisely kept buried for centuries.

Tapping into the same rich vein of British folk horror the likes of 2015’s The Witch and 2022’s Enys Men mined so productively, Starve Acre roots its dread in a gloomy past that is mundane, real and tangible. A radio news bulletin conveys bleak warnings of impending industrial action, while the buckled headset Owen is made to suffer as he undergoes an EEG has the vintage authenticity of a medieval torture device. 

The chunky patterned knitwear Juliette and her interfering sibling Harrie (Erin Richards) favor has the same aura of musty specificity, something director of photography Adam Scarth augments with visuals that look like they have been dunked in a colour-inhibiting taupe. The upshot of this is that when strange things happen they seem to emerge elementally from the ether, like shadows granted corporeal form or waking dreams made palpable.

Take Starve Acre’s boldest conceit, for instance: a skeletal hare that, having been lifted from the soil and secreted in a box, miraculously starts sprouting follicles, veins, and musculature. This is clearly no ordinary wabbit, and its incremental resurrection, facilitated masterfully by effects outfit Millennium FX, rightly fills the viewer with a fearful foreboding. Yet it’s handled so matter-of-factly, in such a calm and sober fashion, that it feels like an almost logical happenstance in the weird world Kokotajlo has created. It’s certainly the sort of thing Smith’s Doctor would have taken in his stride, the star’s familiarity with fantasy making him a canny choice for a protagonist forced to grapple with the unexplainable.

Clark has the more arduous task, encumbered as Juliette is with a crushing albatross of grief following a crippling bereavement. Over the course of the film, though, she undergoes her own kind of rebirth, albeit one that comes with a zeal not that dissimilar from the religious devotion of Apostasy’s Jehovah’s Witnesses. Having that film’s Robert Emms play Richard’s academic friend provides additional connective tissue with Kokotajlo’s debut. A brief excerpt of a youthful Donald Sutherland in 1964’s Hamlet at Elsinore, meanwhile, can’t help but summon memories of Don’t Look Now, as does a later interlude that sees Smith and Clark reconnecting through a bout of passionate, wound-healing lovemaking.

Kokotajlo has been upfront about his many inspirations, from Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale to ghost story maestro M.R. James. And there is indeed a sense that Starve Acre feels beholden to others, to the extent perhaps of it lacking an individual identity and texture. A scene featuring Harrie in a phone booth is only one of numerous nods to Rosemary’s Baby, while films like Lamb and Hatching have made the inception of freakish critters something of a horror staple of late. There is reason, then, to celebrate composer Matthew Herbert for an eerie wind-based score that sounds like nothing heard on this planet, not to mention a séance scene mercifully bereft of the campy excesses we witnessed in last year’s A Haunting in Venice.

"You’ve hit the jackpot!" exults Emms’ character Steven after Richard unearths the stump of an ancient oak tree with huge pagan significance. Audiences may feel similar elation at Kokotajlo’s ongoing maturation into one of our most composed and rigorous storytellers.

Starve Acre is released in UK cinemas on September 6. 

For more chillers coming your way, check out our guide to upcoming horror movies.

In a new post on his Not a Blog page, Martin shared that this year has been "pretty wretched" for him, full of "stress, anger, conflict, and defeat." 

"I need to talk about some of that, and I will, I will… I was away from my computer traveling from July 15 to August 15, so a lot of things that needed saying did not get said," he continued, before writing about a trip that boosted his spirits.

"I do not look forward to other posts I need to write, about everything that's gone wrong with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON… but I need to do that too, and I will," he added, though with the caveat of "not today." 

House of the Dragon season 2 certainly received a mixed reception, with episodes like the fourth and seventh – which featured the explosive Rook's Rest battle and the dragonseeds claiming their mounts, respectively – garnering rave reviews, while the finale was deemed a frustrating disappointment. Our own House of the Dragon season 2, episode 8 review reads: "Despite some excellent sequences, House of the Dragon season 2, episode 8 is plagued by the same issues as the rest of the season, focusing on looking ahead rather than offering a satisfying conclusion."

Martin shared some thoughts on canon in a previous blog post, where he emphasized that dragons are not nomadic and wouldn't be found in the Vale – perhaps in reference to a change eventually made on House of the Dragon, which saw Sheepstealer roaming the Vale, soon to be claimed by Rhaena in a change from the source material (the dragon was claimed by Nettles in Fire and Blood, who does not appear to exist in the show). "Fantasy needs to be grounded.  It is not simply a license to do anything you like. Smaug and Toothless may both be dragons, but they should never be confused. Ignore canon, and the world you've created comes apart like tissue paper," he wrote. Though, of course, we're just speculating here. 

House of the Dragon season 3 has already been confirmed, though it doesn't have a release date just yet. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming TV shows to get excited about this year. 

"I think that’s the trap that you could fall into," Gough tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which features Agatha All Along on the cover and hits newsstands on September 4. "You want to make Beetlejuice the lead, and he's not. He's literally the antagonist, an agent of chaos, who comes into the story. The movie's called Beetlejuice, right? So, I think there is always that instinct to try to do that, but we very much tried to stay true to the original."

The sequel stars Jenna Ortega as Astrid, the daughter of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). When Astrid mistakenly gets taken to the underworld, Lydia calls upon her old 'pal' Beetlejuice for help and, you guessed it, chaos ensues. Tim Burton returns to direct the sequel from a screenplay by Wednesday writers Gough and Millar.

"Tim is very conscious of that too," Millar adds. "We just kept paring Beetlejuice back. He's a great character to write, but a little goes a long way. So, when he is on screen, he makes a lot more impact. It's really choosing the moments and really making those special."

Catherine O'Hara reprises her role as Delia Deetz, with Justin Theroux as Rory, Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice's wife, and Willem Dafoe as ghost detective Wolf Jackson. Ahead of its theatrical release, the pic had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a three-minute standing ovation. Our very own Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review from there praised the "inventive and fun" sequel but also said that it wouldn't live long in memory.

"When you meet him, I guess you could say Beetlejuice is in a bit of a midlife crisis," says Gough. "He's settled into middle age and middle management for the afterlife. He's a guy trying to keep his bio-exorcist business going, but he's lost a little of his excitement and passion for it, but through the course of this movie he regains his anarchic self. Part of his life has gotten dreary, but he's never let go of his feelings for Lydia. She definitely made an impression."

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases on September 6. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Agatha All Along on the cover and will be available from Wednesday, September 4. 

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The Acolyte was recently canceled after just one season, despite ending on a cliffhanger. The move was reportedly down to low viewership. 

"I will always stand in solidarity for artists who give 110% to their work and art. Keep shining queen," Best wrote on Instagram. 

Stenberg recently took to their own Instagram to share their thoughts on the cancelation, including calling out a hate campaign targeted at the show. "I'm going to be transparent and say that it's not a huge shock for me," she said of the show being scrapped. "Of course I live in the bubble of my own reality, but for those who aren't aware, there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it."

Best himself has been open about the toll backlash from Star Wars fans had on him in the prequels era, when he played the much-maligned Jar Jar Binks. Though, Best has since returned to the franchise as the Jedi Kelleran Beq, who was revealed to have saved Grogu from Order 66. He's also returning as Jar Jar in Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, which arrives this September 13. 

Next up for live-action Star Wars is Skeleton Crew, which lands on Disney Plus this December 4. In the meantime, check out all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else the franchise has in store.