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Deadline

1960s TV Action Series Getting a Reboot

Dec 3, 2014  •  Post A Comment

A drama series that aired for four years in the 1960s is the latest classic show to get the reboot treatment. Deadline.com reports that “Route 66,” a CBS action show that aired from 1960-1964, is in development by David Ellender’s Slingshot Global Media.

The original series starred Martin Milner along with first George Maharis and later Glenn Corbett, but just as big a star in the series was the Chevrolet Corvette in which the main characters traveled.

“The remake will build on the original concept, chronicling the journey of two young adventurers traveling through the Heartland of America in their cool sports car, encountering people from all walks of life and exploring the social problems and changing mores of the time,” the story reports.

Said Ellender: “The original series was hugely popular not only in the U.S., but also internationally, and we thought this could be a great concept to reformulate for the modern era. The premise is the same, but the United States is a different landscape than it was 50 years ago and we can’t wait to explore the multitude of diverse social issues confronting the nation today.”

Slingshot will produce and distribute the reboot, with Kirk Hallam executive producing.

route 66-cbs

“Route 66” (CBS)

7 Comments

  1. Will they use the great theme music that was written by Nelson Riddle? (Hope so.) Riddle was commissoned to write the theme because CBS did not want to pay royalties for the pop song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” Good thing, too, because this great theme song fit the show and the mood much better then the pop tune did.

  2. Worked really well when they remade it in 1993, too…

  3. I wish them well. I’d like to see this become a success.

  4. Maybe this “update” would work better if they updated the name also. Perhaps it should be called Interstate since, technically speaking, Route 66 doesn’t exist anymore… except as patches of now isolated roads that used to be Route 66. Instead of following the roadways that formed a meandering route between Chicago and San Francisco, it would also allow the characters to roam the entire country (from New England to the Southwest and from Washington to Florida) and interact with a much greater variety of other characters.

    • Route 66 does indeed live on. Sad that this misconception continues to exist. The road is mostly intact from downtown Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier (not San Francisco), with occasional stretches joining I-40. And, yes, it does meander, but that’s the point. I’ve driven the entire road twice in the last few years, and it remains my all-time favorite road trip. Many mom ‘n’ pop businesses can be found along the way – great diners, shops, hotels, and roadside attractions – and the people there are passionate about this significant slice of Americana, all refreshingly free of today’s mass commercialization and cynicism. An update of the show could be a huge boost to the Mother Road, much as the film “Cars” was several years ago. “Interstate the Series” might be more in line with the times, but “Route 66” is what we really need.

  5. Looks like HULU has another series it’ll get to premiere 10 episodes from the 13 episodes produced before the network axe fell……

  6. Route 66 most CERTAINLY DOES live on! And Tod & Buz captured the wide-open West feeling of America’s Mother Road.
    That’s a feeling known to people THE WORLD OVER. Check the countries of origin for visitors books of any business along Route 66. You’ll see.
    It’s a treasure unknown to many Americans – but it is WELL KNOWN to the rest of the world.
    Excited about this TV series – it will make Route 66 the ROCK STAR it deserves to be – for a whole new generation.
    http://www.Facebook.com/TucumcariRoute66

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