From Bridget Jones to Barbie, why are we obsessed with reboots?

There isn’t a millennial alive who didn’t have a strong reaction to the news that Bridget Jones is coming back. Renée Zellweger will reportedly return as her most iconic character in a fourth film, for which filming will start in the spring, and whether you’re elated or disappointed very much depends on where you stand when it comes to some of the more toxic elements of Noughties culture.

There’s no denying that the original Bridget, a supposedly "chubby", sad singleton who debuted on our screens in 2001, was a victim of the same single-bashing, body-shaming ‘comedy’ era that also gave us Shallow Hal. But equally, you can’t pretend that Bridget, with her ciggies and Chardonnay, didn't capture the public’s hearts—and has done so time and time again in every new iteration of the franchise.

One can only imagine that the producers feel confident this latest foray into Bridget’s life will be a success. Many criticisms can be levelled at reboots—the chief being that certain shows are no longer relevant and even downright inappropriate to revive—and more diverse casting and modern storylines often don’t go far enough in redressing the balance. But the truth is, they’re popular.

Carrie Bradshaw and her group of elite Manhattan friends slipped on their Manolos once more for And Just Like That… to the tune of hundreds of thousands of viewers, making it HBO’s number one Max Original series. Mr and Mrs Smith, the recent TV show based on the infamous Brad-and-Angelina film of the same name, ranks among the top five new series debuts ever on Amazon Prime. And Barbie, which wasn’t so much a reboot as a rebranding of a whole, multimillion-dollar franchise, was the highest-grossing film of 2023. This year has already seen a Mean Girls remake, and The Devil Wears Prada is coming to the West End stage in the autumn. The message is clear: reboots are big business.

It's no wonder we’re all indulging in the sweet, easily digestible treat that is the revival right now. “The resurgence of classic TV shows and films taps into a deep-seated psychological need for nostalgia, optimism, and even inner-child fulfilment,” says Natasha Tiwari, psychologist and founder of The Veda Group. “When we encounter familiar characters or storylines from our past, neural pathways associated with nostalgia are activated, eliciting feelings of warmth and comfort.” In an era of global conflict and economic uncertainty, no one can blame us for revisiting stories from a simpler, more stable time.

Familiarity, security, comfort: they’re all words one might expect to associate with a friend rather than a TV show. But who can say they haven’t felt a sense of kinship with a character at some point, whether it’s Monica Geller or Stanford Blatch? Technological advancements have arguably left us lonelier than before, as so much of the world has now been whittled down to a screen—in fact, statistics show nearly half of us in the UK feel isolated occasionally.

"Characters on screen become friends and, in turn, help us to foster connections in the real world"

“The revival trend is powered by an innate yearning for connection,” believes Tiwari. “Iconic shows and movies unite folk of all ages through shared memories and cultural references. The sense of unity and cohesion that comes with this anchors people and serves to meet our basic needs of belonging and togetherness.” In other words, characters on screen become friends in kind and, in turn, help us to foster connections in the real world.

In our streaming age, networks are under pressure to produce a constant stream of content, and no one has the manpower and budget to meet that need with brand-new ideas alone—all of which come with an element of risk. The recent glut of revivals is as likely to be motivated by this as it is by financial reward—a much-loved character or premise has a ready-made and reliable fanbase willing to watch. But while the reasons for making reboots may be somewhat cynical, the results are far more positive: generations brought together by shared cultural references, the comfort of the familiar, and the strengthening of connections both on and off-screen. Who wouldn’t tune in to that?

This piece originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar UK

Also Read: Women’s Day Special: 14 empowering movies to binge watch

Also Read: Wellness is everywhere. But how well do you really need to be?