'The Flintstones' Reboot In The Works

Everyone's favorite Stone Age family, The Flintstones, could be back in what is being referred to as "an adult-skewing" primetime animated comedy reboot from Warner Bros. Animation and Elizabeth Banks' Brownstone Productions.

Considered by some to be an animated takeoff of the old Honeymooners sitcom (which creator Jackie Gleason was none too pleased about and considered filing a lawsuit against), The Flintstones from Hanna-Barbera Productions was the first animated primetime comedy. Prior to The Simpsons, it was also the longest running in the category in primetime in the history of television. It aired on ABC from 1960 to 1966, producing 166 episodes, and it spawned more than 12 animated spin-off series typically housed on Saturday morning (including The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, The Flintstones Comedy Hour, Fred Flintstone and Friends, The New Fred and Barney Show and The Flintstone Kids).

The Flintstones also begat a series of animated specials, animated theatrical The Man Called Flintstone in 1966, five animated television films (including The Flintstones Meet The Jetsons in 1987), a live stage production at Universal Studios Hollywood, and live action films The Flintstones in 1994 and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas in 2000 with John Goodman in the lead role. There are also two Flintstone-themed amusement parks (in Custer, South Dakota and Valle, Arizona), a comic book franchise, a cereal brand, a vitamin brand and, of course, endless Flintstones merchandising.

There was a planned reboot of The Flintstones from Family Guy creator Set MacFarlane in 2011 for the Fox network that did not move forward.

The proposed new series, which is based on an original idea, does not have an outlet attached to it yet. But a potential destination is WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming platform HBO Max (which will feature the new Gremlins animated series).

In honor of the potential return of The Flintstones...Yabba Dabba Doo!