FIVE REASONS ‘THE FLINTSTONES’ WILL NEVER HAPPEN ON FOX

The Hollywood Reporter recently did an inside scoop as to what went down between the FOX brass put a stop to the Flintstones reboot. However, am I really THAT surprised? Find out after the jump what I think!

 

A lot of hoopla has been made recently about FOX’s decision to hold off on The Flintstones reboot being done by Seth MacFarlane. According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Well-placed sources say the studio and network brass who read the script in early April were not thrilled, with Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly telling the creator of the Fox animated hits American Dad! and The Cleveland Show that he “likes it but doesn’t love it.”

I gotta tell ya, I’m actually kind of digging the fact that a TV exec turned down the project due to the quality. How many shows animated or otherwise have made it over the years that were on TV for like 10 minutes before it got cancelled? So obviously, this note leads into  point number one:

1) Quality over Quantity

You see, already Fox has a SHIT ton on its animated plate. From various Hollywood big-time actors fielding animated series, to its existing stable of Animation Domination, and soon the launch of Animation Domination HD making FOX pretty much a one stop shop for animated series on network television. Could they do more? Sure, I mentioned that in my piece from earlier, but I think FOX learned a lesson fromAllen Gregory that just because you have a big name attached to a project doesn’t mean its gonna fly. Seth MacFarlane is the biggest name in cartoons, and The Flintstones is still one of the most respected brands in television history, why rush into something that may leave a bad taste in the viewers’ mouth?

2) What time would the Flintstones air?

You wanna know why shows like Bob’s Burgers struggles in the ratings AFTER The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show? Because, its an animated workplace comedy that is good for the whole family and unfortunately you have somewhat controversial programming with the likes of Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and sometimes even The Simpsons,who have been known to earn its badges as a TV-14 rated show, surrounding it. Bob’s Burgers is rated TV-PG so  obviously its seen as more family friendly which is what the Flintstones will have to be if it wants to succeed. As such, the show would have really no choice but to air @ 7:30pm EST splitting time with a (hopeful) Bobs Burgers schedule move so that families (after watching football) can still get animated programming on FOX for the whole family before the kids get sent to bed, setting the stage for the more adult-oriented animated series that come later. Similar to the way Cartoon Network does it now where you get TV PG rated lead in shows for a slightly older crowd than the TV G kids, then in comes Adult Swim with King of the Hill reruns which lead into the more adult oriented programming.

3) Who is your target audience for The Flintstones?

Yes, kind of related to point number two but taken a step further. Can people really trust the great Seth MacFarlane to make The Flintstones both good AND funny without resorting to humor that might be too crazy? Seth has made a name(and a pretty good living) touting properties such as Family Guy and American Dad to older viewers whereas The Flintstones still get pretty heavily marketed to children using their likenesses from (delicious) boxes of POST Pebbles’ cereals and vitamins which is a stark contrast to the early years of Fred Flintstone hawking Lucky Strike cigarettes.

4) Would the Flintstones get enough TLC?

By TLC I mean tender, love, and care not the awful television network of the same name. Currently, Seth MacFarlane is getting ready to go on a crazy press tour probably talking about his new feature film Ted.He also voices characters and Exec produces current FOX animated properties The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and (maybe) American Dad. He is also set to executive produce an upcoming science show called Cosmos and is a Grammy nominated singer for his work on Music is Better Than Words. Seth MacFarlane has enough shit to do! Where the hell is he going to have the time to not only add a show to his already impressive repertoire, but also make sure its done right! I mean no one wants to be the guy who fucked up The Flintstones as it can be pretty much a career killer. Fuck, remember when Spike TV tried to bring back Ren & Stimpy but failed miserably despite the fact that John K. was behind it? Other than his failed video channel have you seen John K. get any new projects green lit as of late? Granted I’m sure he has more than enough royalties from his success on the Nick show of the same name, but one might think otherwise before bringing back an iconic series loved by so many only to leave a terrible taste in your mouth.

5) Do YOU want the Flintstones to come back?

Kind of continuing the conversation from point number four…do people WANT The Flintstones back? I’ll be honest I wouldn’t mind seeing maybe some specials or Direct to DVD type features of our favorite prehistoric family. But, in all honesty has anyone WANTED to see the return of The Flintstones? Last I checked I haven’t seen any petitions on Facebook, or I haven’t seen Netflix or Hulu rank the Flintstones as a heavily watched property ala Arrested Development where the support is so swelling it NEEDED to come back. Granted, Family Guy was successfully resurrected due to these very same efforts and yes the TV game has changed but the players are the same, and as such its been over FORTY years since The Flintstones have consistently been on TV and besides a handful of specials in the ’80s, we haven’t seen anything new since. Not sure, but if I were a betting man I’d say digging up Fred, Wilma, Barney, and the gang would probably be a bad idea at this juncture.

What do you think? Should The Flintstones EVER come back?