After eleven seasons of Screen Rant, "Frankly, I really wanted the freedom just to be able to do whatever I wanted," which is why he chose to make his new sitcom for Hulu, instead of network television. The series centers on the revival of a fictional sitcom called, Step Right Up, and authentically shows how television has evolved from primetime to streaming, and how the cast and crew can make or break the success of a television show.
The talented cast of Keegan Michael Key, Judy Greer, Johnny Knoxville, Calum Worthy, Paul Reiser, and Rachel Bloom have each approached the world of comedy from different angles, not unlike their characters. From multi-camera sitcoms to single-camera mockumentaries, and scripted series about rekindling nostalgia, there are several shows like Reboot that fans can binge while they wait for new episodes to be released on Hulu.
Just Shoot Me! (1997 - 2003)
Stream On Hulu
One of Levitan's most memorable sitcoms, Just Shoot Me! is a workplace comedy with an incredible ensemble cast and an honest and biting sense of humor. The staff gets into spicy debates inspired by the advice featured in their women's fashion magazine, Blush.
Reboot and Just Shoot Me! both demonstrate behind the scenes in their respective industries while joking about how their team makes it. Through generational disagreements in the writer's room, or flippant comments about fashion magazines manipulating impressionable readers, both sitcoms highlight hypocrisy, without losing the humor, and heart.
Modern Family (2009 - 2020)
Stream On Hulu and Peacock
TV dramas like Modern Family's best relationships involved relatable arguments and misunderstandings, as well as a sincere depiction of interracial, intergenerational, and LGBTQ+ couples.
By providing a fresh perspective, rooted in honesty, Modern Family and Reboot reflect an authenticity that other sitcoms lack. However, the Pritchett's, Dunphy's, Tucker's, and Delgado's are bound by their family obligations, while the cast and crew of Step Right Up are choosing to reconcile because of their lackluster careers, and their decision to stick together could change at any moment.
Everyone Is Doing Great (2018 -)
Stream On Hulu
James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti became friends on One Tree Hill and reunited to create Everyone Is Doing Great, a scripted Hulu series funded by their fans, which provides an insider's take on life between acting gigs. Jeremy (Lafferty) struggles to find the motivation to audition or leave the house, while Seth (Coletti) overcorrects by rehearsing his lines too much, and going to great lengths to land a role.
Art imitates life, since their characters had previously worked on a popular teen drama together, and find it hard to escape the shadow of their idolized roles, five years after their show was canceled. Like Jeremy and Seth, the main cast of Step Right Up, the canceled sitcom within Reboot, have all experienced challenges in their post-show acting career.
30 Rock (2006 - 2013)
Stream On Hulu and Peacock
Tina Fey brought her boundless energy to 30 Rock.
The actors on The Girlie Show and Step Right Up face personal conflicts and struggle to set aside their egos. Issues of racism, sexism, and homophobia are often brought up in both of the fictional writers' rooms but while Hannah (Bloom) tries to bring awareness and sensitivity in Reboot, Liz Lemon (Fey) leans into the jokes and doesn't try to resolve the situations in 30 Rock.
Episodes (2011 - 2017)
Stream On Showtime
In Friends character, absent-minded ladies' man, Joey Tribbiani.
In a similar vein to Reboot, Episodes takes the meta concept to another level, by casting Matt LeBlanc as a satirical version of himself who antagonizes his showrunners, and acts as Coach Lyman on their fictional sitcom called Pucks! Although the cast of Step Right Up doesn't seem as contentious as Matt LeBlanc (the character) yet, it's only a matter of time before they also clash with the writers of their sitcom.
The Comeback (2005 - 2014)
Stream On HBO Max
Another Friends alum, Lisa Kudrow parodied her time out of the spotlight with the HBO series, The Comeback. In this comedy, Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish, a former sitcom star who auditions for a new show called, Room and Bored. If she gets the part, she will also be green-lit for the companion reality series, which follows her return to television.
Reboot pokes fun at the popularity of reality television, while The Comeback implies the genre has already lost its appeal. On their respective shows, Bree (Greer) and Valerie (Kudrow) are judged by their on-screen hair, makeup, and wardrobe teams, who reinforce the sexist double standards for aging in Hollywood, and fuel the actresses' insecurity around their younger female co-stars.
BH90210 (2019)
Purchase On Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Or Apple TV+
After the tragic loss of Luke Perry, the original cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 reunited for a complex scripted series, called BH90210, which featured the actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves, while they worked as a team to reboot their 90s teen drama. Although the first episode had a large audience, fans felt duped, because they thought they were getting a straight-up revival, per Good Housekeeping.
While Reboot provides a similar concept, the key difference is that the show they are recreating within the show, Step Right Up, was never a sitcom in real life, so viewers can't be disappointed if the reboot is different from the original, and the actors have the freedom to subvert expectations, without the fear of receiving similar backlash to BH90210.
Roseanne And The Conners (1988 - )
Stream Roseanne On Peacock / Stream The Conners On ABC & Hulu
When The Conners, which recently debuted its fifth season.
This series of events inspired Steven Levitan to create Reboot, highlighting the need to not just relive the past for nostalgia's sake, but to reimagine how beloved sitcom characters would alter their outlook now, and change their behavior for better or worse. Reboot shows how far comedy writing has come, and how some things remain universally funny.
Last Man Standing (2001 - 2021)
Stream On Hulu
Tim Allen continued his reign as Home Improvement, and the show-within-a-show, Tool Time.
It's not uncommon for sitcoms to share the same set, especially when it takes place in a suburban family home. Last Man Standing ended in 2021 after nine seasons, and Reboot took over the old Baxter house for Step Right Up, hardly changing a thing, according to Krista Marie Yu, who has worked on both sitcoms.
Step By Step (1991 - 1998)
Stream On FreeVee and HBO Max
Step By Step was a 90s version of The Brady Bunch, with Carol (Suzanne Somers) and Frank (Patrick Duffy) each bringing three kids into one household after they tied the knot. In addition to their immediate family, the show also featured their cousin Cody, and eventually Frank and Carol's biological daughter Lilly.
There's a chance that Step Right Up is inspired by an amalgam of 90s sitcoms, but the blended family premise and similar title make it seem like a parody of the T.G.I.F. series. While Step By Step often featured sibling rivalries, Step Right Up focused on three adults trying to raise one kid, which is a more relatable family dynamic.