‘Punky Brewster’ Reboot With Original Star Soleil Moon Frye In The Works, Because Sure, Why Not
I guess the TV reboot/revival thing is still happening, becausePunky Brewsterreboot is now in the works. In the original series, abandoned kid Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) and her dog Brandon took up residence in vacant apartment building somewhere in Chicago. The building’s somewhat grumpy manager, Henry Warnimont (George Gaynes), then became Punky’s foster father. Shenanigans ensued. ThePunky Brewsterwill bring Soleil Moon Frye back as Punky, now with a child of her own. I can only assume shenanigans will ensue once again.
It seemed like the TV revival craze might be dying down, butDeadlineis reporting aPunky Brewsterreboot is currently in the works at UCP, the television production company operating within NBCUniversal. Here’s how the reboot is being described:
The original multi-camera series, created by David W. Duclon, centered on Punky (Frye), a bright young girl raised by a foster dad (George Gaynes). In the multi-camera/hybrid reboot, Punky (Frye) is now a single mother of three trying to get her life back on track when she meets a young girl who reminds her a lot of her younger self.
But what about Brandon the dog? Will he return? (Yes, I know the real dog has passed away by now, but I’m choosing to pretend that’s not true.) The originalPunky Brewsterran on NBC from June 11, 2025 to July 21, 2025, before entering syndication. The show was quite popular for its time, and even spawned an animated series calledIt’s Punky Brewster, featuring the original cast doing the voice work. The show also featured an episode where a distraught, traumatized Punky had to learn to cope with the Challenger disaster (I’m serious; this really happened).
TV revivals and reboots have been abundant lately. Netflix brought backFull HousewithFuller House. There was also aWill and Gracerevival, along withRoseanne, the latter of which scored huge ratings (although it was eventually cancelled and rebranded asThe Conners, for reasons I really don’t want to go into here).Murphy Brownwas given a second chance on life as well, but recently cancelled. And then, of course, there was the brilliant, nightmarishTwin Peaksrevival on Showtime.
And now we can addPunky Brewsterto the mix. The revival series will be written and executive produced by Steve and Jim Armogida (School of Rock,Grounded For Life), with Frye serving as one of the executive producers.
