Bryton James, who played Richie Crawford on eight seasons of “Family Matters,” revealed he is working on an idea for an animated reboot of the 1990s sitcom.
The actor told Entertainment Weekly he “had an idea to take the show and turn it into an animated series,” which involved “taking the old episodes and modernizing them and kind of starting from scratch for the new generation.”
James said he is “pretty far along” with the animated reboot idea. He said he secured a production company to finance the project and succeeded in bringing “everybody on board,” including Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel.
“It’s sitting in Warner Bros.’ hands right now,” James told EW. “That plan is still kind of floating around out there, and I’m still trying to pursue it.”
Warner Bros. Television did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the project. Per EW, “A source familiar with Warner Bros. Animation tells EW that they are aware of James’ interest in doing a reboot but the project has not moved beyond that.”
There has never been a reboot of “Family Matters” since the series ended in 1998, but the cast has reunited for photo shoots and interviews, with some members expressing interest in a revival of sorts. White has reprised the role of Urkel in a few one-off appearances.
A spinoff of the sitcom “Perfect Strangers,” “Family Matters” debuted on ABC in 1989 and ran for nine seasons, following the Chicago-based Winslow family across 215 episodes. The series also starred Reginald VelJohnson, Jo Marie Payton, Rosetta LeNoire, Darius McCrary, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Valerie Jones, Joseph and Julius Wright, Telma Hopkins, Jaimee Foxworth, Shawn Harrison, Michelle Thomas, Orlando Brown and Judyann Elder.
After “Family Matters,” James went on to star in more than 1,600 episodes of the soap opera “The Young and the Restless” as Devon Hamilton Winters. The character recently crossed over to the spinoff series, “Beyond the Gates.”
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