“Reboot”: Behind The Camera, In Front Of The Camera
November 18, 2022
Creator: Steven Levitan
Starring: Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, Judy Greer, and Rachel Bloom
Rating: 5/5
The television industry is rarely spotlighted in front of the camera. This past September, Hulu released its original series “Reboot” and immediately shocked audiences. In its first week of streaming, “Reboot” was the fourth most streamed television series across all platforms. With an all-star cast and a never before seen plot, how could it fail?
“Reboot” follows the attempt to reboot past failed fictional sitcom “Step Right Up”. Hannah Korman is a writer known for her raunchy past projects and launches a campaign to reboot the show. The catch is that she is working with her estranged father who was the original creator of the series.
This series has three main subplots to showcase the background of the television industry. The first is the writer’s room. Hannah and her crew of young writers attempt to work with her father, Gordon, and his troupe of veteran writers. It creates the perfect comedic storm of teaching an old dog new tricks and vice versa. The next plot focuses on the actors and how their past relationships come back to haunt them. They are also working on getting back into the groove of sitcom acting after spending years apart. Finally, audiences get to see the executive side. “Reboot” does an accurate job of portraying how selling a show to network television can be a hit or miss. The show’s prominent cast creates the perfect team to portray these complex and hilarious characters.
Critics say that “Reboot” is “sometimes pretty accurate. Scarily accurate.” Considering everyone involved in the production is Hollywood royalty there is plenty of room to bring those real-life experiences to the screen.
Keegan-Michael Key told Variety, “I don’t just know actors like my character, I might have been him a little bit when I was younger.”
The realistic aspect doesn’t just provide entertainment, it provides an inside look at the entertainment industry.
Rotten Tomatoes gave “Reboot” an 85% success rate and received generally favorable reviews. That being said with such positive feedback it is almost certain that this iconic band of characters will be seen for a potential second season.
