Television

'Good Times': Animated Reboot Of The 1970s Sitcom Is Coming To Netflix

Good Times animated
By Ben Pearson

Good Times, the classic 1970s sitcom that was developed by legendary TV pioneer Norman Lear, is getting a new version on Netflix. This reboot will be animated instead of live-action, and will tell a new story that's inspired by the original series, which ran from 1974 through 1979.

Lear, who's still working in the industry at 98 years old, is on board to executive produce this new take alongside several unexpected collaborators – among them Family Guy head honcho Seth MacFarlane and NBA superstar Steph Curry. Get the details below.

Netflix announced today that a Good Times animated reboot is coming to the streaming service, marking the first time that Lear has ever produced an animated show. (His credits are truly staggering, including classics like All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Maude.) Carl Jones, who worked on The Last O.G., The Boondocks, and Black Dynamite, will serve as the creator and showrunner for the new Good Times, and he'll executive produce alongside Lear, MacFarlane, Curry, Brent Miller, Erick Peyton, Jeron Smith, and Erica Huggins.

Variety reports that the series "will tackle a new story but will be inspired by the live-action show and the Evans family," and that it will "navigate today's world and contemporary social issues while "striv[ing] to remind us that with the love of our family, we can keep our heads above water." Here's the original show's opening credits:

"It's a dream come true to be working with the legendary talents of Norman Lear, Seth MacFarlane and Stephen Curry," said Jones, the new showrunner. "We are excited to carry on the original legacy of 'Good Times' — but now animated and a little edgier. Let's just say the struggle has just gotten strugglier."

Lear's shows were known for addressing hot-button societal issues head-on through beloved characters; Pop TV's revival of One Day at a Time has continued that tradition. Even if you didn't grow up watching Good Times, you may have seen it as part of the "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" specials Lear has been involved with over the past couple of years: Viola Davis, Andre Braugher, Tiffany Haddish, and Jharrel Jerome starred in the most recent version last December playing classic Good Times characters, but no one has been cast for this new animated series yet.

Netflix gave this new show a straight-to-series order for ten episodes, but there's no word yet on when those episodes will debut on the streaming service.

Recommended