When I heard they were remaking Head of the Class, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. I am a fan of the original, and I didn’t think they could recreate that magic. However, HBO Max found a way to do it.
It is not the same, but it works for 2021. Shows for teenagers are different now, as compared to what they were in the ’80s. Therefore, the producers adapted it for today’s youth. However, us former youths can enjoy it too.
So what is the remake about? Alicia (Isabella Gomez) is a new teacher, who wants to be the cool teach, and she is assigned the Honors Debate class. She has five over-achieving students to her class, and she wants to befriend them all. They are skeptical because she is a teacher.
Who are these students? There is Luke, who is the future overworked businessman of American. Miles (Adrian Matthew Escalona) is his best friend, and he is timid. Luke is going to try to get him to come out of his shell by forcing him to do things he doesn’t want to do. Luke is doing this to help his friend, not hurt. However, that will backfire on him during the pilot episode.
Terrell (Brandon Severs) is a jock and he has a crush on the Principal’s (Christa Miller) popular daughter Sarah (Katie Beth Hall). Sarah is not in the debate class, but she winds up joining.
Robyn (Dior Goodjohn) and (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) are besties, and they support their classmates. They are neither popular nor losers.
Together the six of them are ready to take on any debate and anyone who wants to take them on. They need to stick together because being the smart kids can cause their classmates to make fun of them. And with Alicia’s help, they are going to do just that!
What we get is a show that we will enjoy watching them become a strong group in the first ten episodes that are available to stream now. So spend the weekend binging the comedy. And then, when you are done, you can binge the original Head of the Class.
It is the perfect way to spend the day because they make high school look like fun. That is the good thing about TV shows. They set us up for the fail. What HS was ever like the one we saw on TV?
Head of the Class is created by Bill Lawrence, Amy Pocha, and Seth Cohen.
Back in the ’80s, if you were a teenager, then you were watching Head of the Class, a sitcom about gifted students who were all in the same high school class. The honor students made being smart in school look cool. Thus, you and your friends would debate after each episode if you were a Simone or a Darlene, or who was cuter Arvid or Alan? We also all wished our teacher was as awesome Mr. Moore. It is such a timeless sitcom that it still airs in syndication now.
Having said all of that, it makes sense that someone would want to reboot it for the new millennium. That person is Undateable, Spin City, CougarTown, and Scrubs’ creator Bill Lawrence, and he is bringing back the show to HBO Max, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
As much as I love that Lawrence is the person doing the remake, I personally like it better when reboots include the original cast. Therefore, I reached out to two of the cast members to see what they thought of the news.
Khrystyne Haje, who played the sweet girl next door Simone, told me, “I absolutely loved the whole Head of the Class experience. The show brought me so much joy & opportunity. Our cast was kismet. I was inspired by their talent and got some of the deepest friendships in my life as a result.” Then she added, “I also love the message of Head of the Class. It still needs to be shared. I’m grateful that it’s a show the family can watch together. Everyone can learn & laugh together. That. Is. The. Best.” You can still see Haje’s long red curls in several commercials and she just finished a movie that is in post-production.
Dan Frischman, who was the lovable nerd Arvid, said he thinks that it is, “Great that the show will have a new life with new students.” He is so looking forward to it, that he is offering to direct an episode. The actor directed some episodes of Sam & Cat. When he is not directing television shows and live theater, he has been entertaining us with his fun magic acts on YouTube. Believe me, you will want to check them out because they are mesmerizing.
He is not the only one who went on to do stuff behind the scenes. Brian Robbins, the bad boy on the show, is now the President of Nickelodeon. Before he got the job he created All That and its spinoffs, and One Tree Hill. Dan Schneider, who was always getting in trouble, came up with iCarly and Victorious.
Some of the classmates are still working in front of the camera, Tony O’Dell guest-starred on Cobra Kai, and Robin Givens is a regular on Riverdale.
Not only was the show successful, but so was the cast. Which is why I think we should start a petition for them to appear on the reboot. Since they graduated in 1991, it is time for their 30th reunion, which can be held, at Millard Fillmore High School in Manhattan. Take a look at the recent photo of them, and tell me they are not camera ready.
Last year, there was a lot of anger over several of the shows that were cancelled and most of them got picked up by someone else (Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Timeless by NBC, Designated Survivor and Lucier by Netflix). This season, there was not as much uproar about the shows that got the axe except for Whiskey Cavalier, The Kids Are All Right and Speechless (by me). Well, one of them is in talks to come back and it is the spy thriller, Whiskey Cavalier.
According to TVLine, there is a 50/50 chance it will be back sometime next year. Deadline adds that the renewal could come as early as today because there is a lot of interest in the show’s leads, Scott Foley and Lauren Cohan. Plus, it is expensive to keep the sets up in Prague where the show films.
If it gets picked up, it will be the third time a show by Bill Lawrence was cancelled and then saved. NBC killed Scrubs, so ABC brought it back to life. Then ABC pulled the plug on Cougar Town and TBS plugged it back in. Hopefully, the third time will be the charm for Lawrence. When are the networks going to learn to stay with him because his shows have a cult following? I have downed his Kool-Aid and it is mighty addictive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9685yX0J2LA
Tonight at 9p on The CW, Stella (Lucy Hale) continues to find out what in her life is real after being diagnosed as cancer free on Life Sentence.
Last week, Stella found out she was not dying of cancer and that should mean that her life would be even better. It is the complete opposite for her because her whole family has been lying to her since she was diagnosed 8 years ago. She found out that her parents (Dylan Walsh and Gillian Vigman) hate each other, her father is broke from paying all of her medical bills and will have to sell their house, her sister (Brooke Lyons) hates her life and her brother (Jayson Blair) avoided living one and knocked up a married woman.
This week, she has to deal with her parents fighting over selling the house and they take their anger to a whole new level. Her mother cannot wait to get rid of the house and does not tell anyone why. Causing her family to turn against her. While her dad will do anything to keep it. Can they come up with a much needed compromise?
Aiden still will not talk to his baby mama and figure out what to do next. Therefore, Stella decides to jump in and make him deal with it. Will he still find a way to avoid it?
The worst of it all is that immigration is trying to find out her marriage to Wes (Elliot Knight) is real. If they think that it is not legit, he will be deported. She has not had to face real issues since she is 15, so she keeps screwing up. Will it cost her marriage? Why did Wes really marry her after only dating for a month? Was it to get to America? What do they really know about each other and can they handle the truth?
It is a lot for her to handle and she still has to go to work every day. Who knew getting a new lease on life would be so difficult? And yet, watching this show is so easy because it is so endearing and fun to watch.
