A Punky Brewster sequel series is coming with Soleil Moon Frye back in the title role
Image: The Everett Collection [left], AP Photo / Jason Redmond [right]
People still can't get enough of the '80s. In their dusty denim, Lucas and Mark McCain remain as fashionable as ever. Kids can still relate to Laura Ingalls Wilder. True Grit got remade…
Oh, wait, we're talking about the 1880s. The 1980s remain as popular as ever, too. But if we still talk about the Wild West all these decades later, it's to be expected that the 1980s would stick around a little longer. Marty McFly and Peter Venkman are the new cowboys.
Stranger Things keeps a steady flow of Eighties nostalgia pumping into younger generations. Perhaps that explains why Toto covers are on the charts and Spenser: For Hire is getting remade.
The latest unlikely-but-not-really comeback is Punky Brewster. The colorful kid in legwarmers and pigtails, played by Soleil Moon Frye, became one of the iconic sitcom characters of the Reagan Era. The series aired on NBC and in syndication for four seasons. Like ALF, Punky Brewster got a cartoon spin-off, It's Punky Brewster. Everyone remembers the little girl's eclectic fashion and adorable dog, but the series did garner three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Frye voiced Punky on that animated series, as well, which led a robust career in voice-over work. She filled out her resume with roles on shows like Tiny Toons Adventures, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Robot Chicken and The Proud Family. She took more sitcom work, too, landing a regular role on Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. (She was one of Sabrina's college roommates, Roxie.) Frye has kept busy elsewhere, too, hosting housekeeping shows on Oprah's cable network and writing parenting books.
Now, at age 42, Frye is returning to the role that started it all, the role she landed when she was 7 years old.
As reported by Deadline, a Punky Brewster sequel series is in development from UCP (Universal Content Productions), the NBC-related production house that has created everything from Monk to Mr. Robot. The Punky Brewster reboot will be its first foray into traditional sitcoms. Frye is also an executive producer on the show.
It's time to dust off your denim vest. The pink one, not the kind that Marshal Matt Dillon might wear.