Freeform Launches Party of Five Reboot With a Twist

It’s been almost 20 years since Party of Five wrapped its sixth and final season. Back in the fall, Sony Pictures Television announced that they were planning to do a Party of Five reboot with a twist, but no studio was attached yet. Now, Disney’s Freeform will launch the show with the original creators, Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman, set to executive produce. The twist that the reboot offers involves immigration issues. The new story, per THR, “follows the five Buendias children as they navigate daily struggles to survive as a family unit after their parents are suddenly deported back to Mexico.”

The series ran from 1994 to 2000 on Fox and covered issues ranging from substance abuse to cancer, winning the 1996 Golden Globe for Best Television Series Drama. The original story followed five siblings struggling to make it after their parents died in a car crash. The original series helped launch the careers of Matthew Fox, Lacey Chabert, Scott Wolf, Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Creators Keyser and Lippman also launched a short-lived spin-off show, Time of Your Life, that followed Love Hewitt’s character.

Freeform is staying quite busy, with its executive vice president of development Kathy Burke stating that the network will air originals four nights out of the week. The network is also preparing its first-ever period drama, Cleopatra. Meanwhile, Freeform’s programming includes Beyond, Shadowhunters and The Bold Type, among several others, such as Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish and the new show Alone Together, which you can read about here.