Earlier this month, news broke that Black-ishcreator Kenya Barris secured an eight-figure deal with Netflix after leaving his perch at ABC. But before departing his former network, Barris managed to sell a reboot of the classic series Bewitched. ABC has officially closed a deal on the new series, an interracial family comedy based on the original 1960s sitcom, according to Deadline.
The new show will be written and produced by Barris and Yamara Taylor, and follows the story of Samantha, who is a “hardworking black single mom who happens to be a witch, marries Darren, a white mortal who happens to be a bit of a slacker." According to the synopsis, "they struggle to navigate their differences as she discovers that even when a black girl is literally magic, she’s still not as powerful as a decently tall white man with a full head of hair in America.”
The original show, which aired from 1962 to 1971, ran for eight seasons. It was later turned into a so-so romantic comedy starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. ABC has been trying to reboot the show for years, but Barris’ version is the only one that’s stuck. Like ABC’s other shows, it will also be available to stream on Hulu.
The deal closed right before his contract with ABC officially ended earlier this month on Aug. 15. Barris is now in a three-year deal with Netflix to the sum of millions. He plans to bring shows that "reflect culture through an urban, youth, and female-focused lens” to the streaming platform.
There’s no timeline yet for when Bewitched will begin production, or who might star in the new series, so stay tuned.
