After an attempt to revive the franchise in 2015, Warner Bros. is looking to bring back Vacation in the form of a spinoff series entitled The Griswolds, which will be executive produced by Christmas Vacation and The Big Bang Theory star Johnny Galecki, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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The pilot is set to be scripted by Tim Hobert (Community, The Middle), who will also executive produce alongside Galecki and Holly Brown. It will follow the titular family and explore their lives in the suburbs of modern-day Chicago. It’s currently unclear which members of the Griswold family the series will depict, or if Galecki will reprise his role as son Rusty alongside original cast members Chevy Chase (Community), Beverly D’Angelo (Shooter), Randy Quaid (Independence Day) and Ed Helms (Vacation).
Warner Bros. Television will hold the rights to the series, as they hold the rights to the film franchise and are still attached to Galecki in a prosperous overall deal with the actor following his 12-season run on Chuck Lorre’s CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
The Vacation franchise first started in 1983 with National Lampoon’s Vacation, which was based on John Hughes’ short story and went on to be a smash at the box office and scored rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. It spawned four sequels, 1985’s European Vacation, ’89’s Christmas Vacation, 1997’s Vegas Vacation and 2015’s soft reboot Vacation. European and Vacation were both met with middling reviews from critics and audiences alike and lackluster box office numbers, while Christmas has become considered as a classic for the holiday season and the reboot was a box office success despite poor reviews.
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The forthcoming streaming service is also diving back into its old TV library for reboots for past properties including Adventure Time, Gossip Girl, Gremlins, Looney Tunes and The Boondocks, much as Disney is doing with its new streaming service Disney+. Galecki also marks the second Big Bang alum to head to HBO Max for a new series, with on-screen bride Kaley Cuoco attached to lead the upcoming drama The Flight Attendant.
