Fantasy Island is getting a TV series reboot on Fox

The Fantasy Island reboot will be written by The 100 executive producers Liz Craft and Sarah Fain

Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island is going to welcome new guests next summer.

Fox announced on Tuesday that it has given a straight-to-series order to a modern-day version of the classic drama series, which originally aired on ABC from 1978 to 1984.

This new take on Fantasy Island hails from Liz Craft and Sarah Fain, who are best known for co-creating ABC’s The Fix and Women’s Murder Club. The reboot is slated to air in summer 2021.

Sony Pictures TV, which produced the original series, is producing the reboot with Gemstone Studios and Fox Entertainment. It is the first project for Gemstone Studios, which is Sony TV’s new boutique label dedicated to premium independent production.

Like the original, the new Fantasy Island will also have a semi-anthological format, with a number of main characters living on the island and new guests arriving in every episode. Written and executive produced by Craft and Fain, the reboot will tell emotional and provocative what-if-style stories about people visiting the island.

The original Fantasy Island series

Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in the original Fantasy Island series
Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in the original Fantasy Island series

Created by Gene Levitt, the original Fantasy Island starred Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke, whose remote Pacific island destination offered guests a chance to live out their fantasies. It also starred Hervé Villechaize as Roarke’s assistant, Tattoo.

It ran for seven seasons with a total of 152 episodes, plus 2 TV movies. The series received seven Emmy nods and a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor nomination for Villechaize.

Previous Fantasy Island reboots

The new Fox series will be the third reboot of the original. ABC aired a one-season revival of the series in 1998-1999, starring Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Roarke and Mädchen Amick as his second-in-command, Ariel.

Edward Hibbert, Malcolm McDowell, and Louis Lombardi in the Fantasy Island 1998 revival
Edward Hibbert, Malcolm McDowell, and Louis Lombardi in the Fantasy Island 1998 revival

Another reboot of the original was in development at ABC during the 2018-19 TV season, but was not picked up to series.

Just this February, Sony Pictures also released a horror feature adaptation based on the original series. Produced by Blumhouse Productions, the Jeff Wadlow-directed movie starred Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Portia Doubleday, Jimmy O. Yang, Ryan Hansen, and Michael Rooker.

FANTASY ISLAND - Official Trailer (HD)
Sources: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter
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