One of the most popular films of the ’90s, the Harold Ramis-directed featureGroundhog Daywith Bill Murray in the lead role of a weatherman forced to relive the same day over and over again, might be getting a tv reboot soon. In a recent interview, actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who was part of the original movie, has stated that there is interest in setting up a tv show continuation ofGroundhog Day.
“There’s talk about aGroundhog Dayseries in the works. One of the producers - I was working onThe GoldbergsorSchooled, one of those shows over on the Sony lot, and one of them saw me and goes, ‘Oh, Stephen! Stephen! We’re working on a Groundhog Day TV show. Could you be Ned for the TV show?’ I go, ‘Sure. Yeah. No problem’… But it’s Ned thirty years later. What has his life become?”
InGroundhog Day,Stephen Tobolowskywowed audiences in the role of “Needlenose” Ned Ryerson, the hapless insurance salesman unknowingly caught up in the time loop and reliving the same day over again and again with no awareness of the fact.
The fact that the actor was asked to reprise his role asNed Ryersonfor the reboot indicates the makers are intending to continue the story of the characters from the original film rather than taking the basic premise and applying it to new characters. So there is a strong chance Bill Murray is also being courted to reprise his lead role as weatherman Phil Connors.
Thistrend of continuing storylinesfrom hit movies and show that are several decades old with the same actors reprising their character from all those years ago is nothing new. FromFuller Housethat launched four years ago, to the upcomingSaved by the Bellreboot, to theEvil Deadfranchise continuing as the web seriesAsh Vs. Evil Dead, all bank hard on the nostalgia factor to keep older audiences hooked.
The question is, will theGroundhog Daytv show also recycle the ‘time looped day’ premise for its storyline? Netflix’s recent showRussian Dolloperates on the same premise, with a main character who repeatedly dies and relives the same day over and over again, so the concept has already been proved to work for a full-fledged series.
On the other hand,Groundhog Daywas at its core a romantic comedy, withBill Murray’s characterlearning to let go of his cynicism and declare his love for actress Andie MacDowell’s character of Rita. If the tv show takes place decades later in present times the two lead characters will presumably be married/separated, which means the central premise of the story will have to change from showing how Phil and Rita fall in love to how the two keep together after decades of being in or out of a relationship.
For now, there is no indication that the series is actually getting made beyond Toblowsky’s word. Until an official announcement is made, fans will have to make do with the originalGroundhog Daymovie. This news originated atCollider.
