Netflix is set to give us a blast from the past so old we reckon many of you won’t even be familiar with the original TV series.
The streamer has signed a deal to produce a re-do of cult TV show Land of the Lost, with the hope that it will become one of the best Netflix TV shows.
Back in 1974, the original Land of the Lost series told the story of the Marshalls, a family who passed through a portal to find themselves in world of dinosaurs, as well as other otherworldly creatures.
It ran for three seasons, and was cancelled following its 1976 run because — unsurprisingly — making a show about epic-scale spectacle and awe-inspiring set pieces doesn’t come cheap. Even with the show’s questionable production values.
Land of the Lost has already returned a couple of times, and we bet at least one of these will jog memories loose for some of you.
Lost in translation
In 1991, Land of the Lost returned with an even lighter take on the same concept, turning from a family programme into a straight-up kids show. It ran for just two seasons, having not blown up in ratings terms.
Land of the Lost then became a comedy movie in 2009, starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel. Not only did it receive mixed reviews, it was a box office flop and received seven Razzie nominations in the 2010 Golden Raspberry Awards, only matched that year by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
It’s no wonder Netflix is chomping at the bit to bring it back — although saying that we do think the 2009 Land of the Lost needs to come to a streaming service, stat. We would chow down on that on a lazy weekend with zero guilt.
According to Deadline, this re-do of the sci-fi series is in its “very early stages” and does involve the folks behind the original show.
Sid and Marty Krofft are producing, alongside Marty’s daughter Deanna Krofft Pope. Sid and Marty co-created the 1974 Land of the Lost.
This reboot draws comparisons to Lost in Space, which was originally made in 1960, and was released as a Netflix reboot in 2018. It ran for three seasons, which its creator says was the intended arc in the first place.
The Netflix revision was a lot less campy, a lot less cheap-looking. It was still a family show, but had more of a grounding in sci-fi.
Can Netflix's Land of the Lost do the same? It has one important strength in its arsenal in appealing to a family audience: dinosaurs. And we only have to look into how many billions of dollars the Jurassic World movies have made to see the power of those.
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