‘Coach’ Revival Canceled; Why Was The Reboot Axed Before The Premiere?

Not every ‘90s reboot will be a success. NBC’s “Coach” has been canceled before the show even premiered.

Deadline reports that creative differences drove NBC to cancel the show. “Response to the reboot had been mixed, with some sources indicating that it felt dated,” the website notes.

The series, which originally ran from 1989 to 1997, was set in the present day and was going to follow Hayden Fox (Craig T. Nelson) as he came out of retirement to help his son Tim (Andrew Ridings) coach an Ivy League team. Nelson and original showrunner Barry Kemp were both set to serve as executive producers. Though the network ordered 13 episodes of the multi-camera comedy, only a pilot was produced. The series was supposed to air midseason.

“Insiders say the comedy, which had just begun production, was not going well and multiple people inside NBC were not optimistic about it from the start,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Nelson, who finished a six-season run on “Parenthood” in January, acknowledged that the series was going to be difficult to recreate in the present day. “I’m a little bit anxious and hopeful. It’s risky,” he told Entertainment Weekly in April. “I love the challenge.”

The studio, Universal TV, isn’t giving up on the series yet. Deadline reports that they are shopping the pilot to other networks and online outlets like Netflix to see if the comedy can survive.

Though “Coach” might not return to television, plenty of other shows are coming back from the dead. “The X-Files” will return to Fox in January, “Heroes Reborn” will premiere on NBC in September and “Fuller House” is set to debut on Netflix in 2016.

Do you think “Coach” should have aired before a decision was made or was it best to cancel the comedy before audiences had to experience it? Sound off in the comments section below!