After initially helping bring back the Emmy winner’s One Day at a Time for modern audiences, Netflix is is diving back into Norman Lear’s history with an animated adaptation of the classic sitcom Good Times from Lear and his Act III Productions, according to Deadline.
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The new series, which is giving the Evans family a contemporary update, is being created, showrun and executive produced by Carl Jones alongside Lear and Brent Miller for Act III, Stephen Curry, Erick Peyton and Jeron Smith for Unanimous Media and Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins for Fuzzy Door.
“We can’t think of anything better, at this time in our culture, than a reimagining of Good Times animated,” Lear and Miller said in a statement. “In a year filled with darkness, this is one bright light we won’t soon forget. Thank you, Sony. Thank you, Netflix. Bless us all.”
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“It’s a dream come true to be working with the legendary talents of Norman Lear, Seth MacFarlane and Stephen Curry,” Jones said in a statement. “We are excited to carry on the original legacy of Good Times – but now animated and a little edgier. Let’s just say the struggle has just gotten strugglier.”
Originally created by Mike Evans and Eric Monte and developed and executive produced by Lear, Good Times was a spin-off of the classic sitcom Maude, itself a spin-off of All in the Family, became notable for being TV’s first sitcom focused on a two-parent African American family and ran for six seasons on CBS, following the story of Florida and James Evans as they work to keep their heads up and their love strong while living in a public housing project in a poor, Black neighborhood of inner-city Chicago.
“We are so excited about this project! Unanimous is all about authentic partnerships and this team felt genuine from the beginning,” Curry and Peyton said in a statement. “Good Timesstrives to remind us that with the love of our family we can overcome any obstacle. We think, now more than ever, the world needs to see a show with hope and positivity.”
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Sony Pictures TV, who are attached to produce the animated update, previously partnered with Lear to reboot One Day at a Time, which first debuted on Netflix and ran for three seasons before the streaming platform cancelled it and it was subsequently picked up by Pop, becoming the first series to be saved by a network after cancellation instead of the typical reverse.
“It’s a thrill to be partnering with Norman Lear and to help bring new life to his groundbreaking show Good Times, through the talent and personal stories of Carl Jones and the team at Unanimous,” MacFarlane and Huggins said in a statement. “Animation is the ideal medium with which to reimagine the original show, and through the lens of Carl’s sharp, biting humor, audiences will grow to love these classic characters all over again.”
