Gender-swapping iconic properties is a really popular reboot method at the moment – whether it's in movies like Ghostbusters and Ocean's 11, or TV shows such as The Nice Girls (a modern, female-led reboot of the Shane Black movie The Nice Guys) and our favourite, Doctor Who (yay, go 13!).
But what other shows could potentially be gender-switched? Glad you asked!
1. The A-Team
Earlier this year, the US Army's 75th Ranger Regiment became the first special operations unit to have a woman make it through its selection course. Which means, finally, we can gender-swap The A-Team (a former special forces unit turned friendly mercenaries).
All we have to do is swap a few words in the intro monologue, and we're good to go!
"In 2017, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These women promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them....maybe you can hire The A-Team."
Stars: Viola Davis as Captain 'Annabelle' Smith, Ronda Rousey as Ms T, Alexandria Daddario as 'Facewoman'. Hm… starting to get problematic. Let's not get into 'Howling Mad Margeret'.
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2. Knight Rider
Michael Knight and his super-car KITT were initially conceived of as a modern remake of The Lone Ranger. Both feature a justice-focused individual with a cool ride, fighting bad guys wherever they're found.
But it was also inspired by a long-forgotten series called My Mother The Car, a terrible sitcom about a woman who's reincarnated as a – you guessed it – car.
So, in a way, Knight Rider's already been gender-swapped.
Whatever inspired the original, Knight Rider would be the exact same show if it featured a woman in the driving seat, it's just slightly more interesting as a reboot premise.
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar as Michelle Knight.
3. Golden Girls
Starring Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty as four older women who share a home in Miami, Florida, The Golden Girls focused on a generation of women who aren't often put centre-stage on television.
So, why do we want to gender-swap reboot it, when that would be a bit retrogressive? Mainly because our pitch involves sticking Larry David into a retirement home in Florida, and watching him bicker with people his own age for a change. Let's call it 'Golden Boys' and make every single person in it super unlucky (because, irony).
Failing that, we'd like to see the most recent idea for a gender-flipped Golden Girls happen.
Stars: Larry David as Timothy, Edward Olmos as Ross, Bruce Willis as Bruce (because come on) and Danny DeVito (in old-guy make up) as Timothy's father.
4. Murder She Wrote
Obviously we'll have to change the title, but the high concept of 'mystery writer solves mysteries' is so super solid, it's dying for a reboot. And as it's basically impossible to directly replace Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, why bother trying? Get a dude in, call him Jack Fletcher and be done with it. Murder He Wrote, starring – let's go super meta here – Stephen King as a horror writer who keeps experiencing paranormal events? This thing writes itself!
Oh wait, they already made Castle. Damn.
5. The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air
You know that old saying, "You either die a Will Smith or you live long enough to turn into Uncle Phil?" Well, now that Will Smith lives in a fancy 100-acre ranch near Malibu, California for real (and looks a bit like Uncle Phil), how about we send a female rapper who needs a big break to live with him and his family, and film it, for a new half-fiction / half-reality show titled 'The Fresh Princess of Malibu?' No? Anyone?
Stars: Cardi B as Cardi B.
6. True Detective
True Detective season one was a male-led series with women in the supporting cast. Season two improved things by incorporating a woman detective lead, but it was still male-dominated.
Once season three's out of the way, we'd like the balance to be tipped in the female direction, with more women cops than male detectives. The show's set-up supports a gender-swapped reboot, as it basically reboots itself on a season-by-season basis.
Stars: Literally any good female actor.
7. Breaking Bad
How is Breaking Bad not a True Detective-style show, where we follow someone new going from zero to supervillain over the course of five seasons, before starting again with someone else?
Vince Gilligan, you can have this idea if you want it, but only if you promise to make the next Breaking Bad star a woman. Thanks very much!
Stars: Kathy Bates as Wanda White. No?
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Freelancer writer
Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
