‘Revenge’ Reboot With Latinx Lead In Works At ABC

Nellie Andreeva

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EXCLUSIVE: One of ABC’s most popular drama series of this decade is eyeing a comeback with a new chapter. The network is developing Revenge, a follow-up to the 2011 series, which starred Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe. The reboot hails from the original series’ creator/executive producer Mike Kelley, writer-producer Joe Fazzio, Temple Hill and ABC Studios, now part of Disney TV Studios.

Written by Kelley and Fazzio, Revenge chronicles the story of a young Latinx immigrant. Guided by one of the original series’ favorite characters, she arrives in Malibu to exact revenge on a Sackler-esque pharmaceutical dynasty, whose insatiable greed lead to the murder of her biochemist mother, the destruction of her family, and a global epidemic.

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The project is still in early stages, and according to sources, the character from the original series who would bridge that show and the sequel has not been identified, and there are no actors attached to the new project at this time. There are a number of possible choices of fan-favorite Revenge characters who could be brought back, including tech wiz Nolan Ross and his friend, Louise Virginia Ellis.

Kelley and Fazzio executive produce alongside Melissa Loy and Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen, both of whom also were executive producers on the original series.

Inspired by the Alexandre Dumas novel The Count of Monte Cristo, the original Revenge starred VanCamp as a young woman who comes to the Hamptons to exact revenge on a wealthy family who had framed her father.

The series was a breakout hit when it debuted in fall 2011. Its linear ratings eventually tapered off as the heavily serialized drama probably would’ve been better suited for streaming, and it ended its run after four seasons on the broadcast network. But Revenge enjoyed a devoted fan following and was a major international seller for ABC Studios.

It also put The Twilight Saga producer Temple Hill, known for its feature business, on the TV series map. The company currently has several series including Mr. Mercedes on Audience, Looking For Alaska on Hulu and the upcoming Love, Simon for Disney+ and Lil Dicky for FX. The company is repped by UTA.

Kelley went on to create and executive produce the Netflix thriller drama limited series What/In starring Renee Zellweger. He is repped by HertzbergMedia and Sloane Offer. Fazzio’s series credits also include ABC/ABC Studios’ How to Get Away with Murder. He is repped by attorney Paul Hastings.

ABC successfully revived the 1988 comedy series Roseanne, whose spinoff, The Conners, is in its second season on the network. Last season, ABC developed a reboot of NYPD Blue, which went to pilot. This season, the network had been eyeing a thirtysomething sequel series from the original’s creators Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick.

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