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'Coach': The new take on the NBC hit is reportedly not moving forward

NBC has reportedly opted out of a planned new version of its hit show 'Coach,' which would have picked up with the protagonist years later. The original show starred Craig T. Nelson as a college football coach.

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Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Craig T. Nelson (center) accepts the fan favorite award for the TV show 'Parenthood' at the 2015 TV Land Awards.

NBC is reportedly not continuing its new series based on its hit program “Coach.”

The network had previously ordered 13 episodes of a new show set in the universe of the show “Coach,” which ran from 1989 to 1997 and starred Craig T. Nelson as a coach on a college football team. 

On the new show, Nelson’s character Hayden Fox was going to return to coaching but be an assistant coach to his now-adult son. Barry Kemp, the creator of the original show, was set to return as a writer and executive producer and Nelson was on board.

There were reportedly creative issues between NBC and those behind the show and some felt the show felt too old-fashioned. However, those who created the show are reportedly offering it to other networks and streaming services, so a new “Coach” show may still pop up elsewhere. 

New versions or extensions of hit shows are extremely popular right now, with NBC also debuting new episodes set in the world of its show “Heroes” this fall and Fox airing six episodes of its show “The X-Files” as well as planning a new take on its mid-2000s hit “Prison Break.”

But there’s always the danger that audiences can feel like they’ve seen all this before if a new show is revived. NBC has had trouble before with bringing back network stars for new programs, with such shows as “The Michael J. Fox Show” and “Sean Saves the World,” starring Fox and “Will and Grace” actor Sean Hayes, respectively, both being canceled after one season, showing that just bringing back big names won’t bring in viewers if the material isn’t there. Networks have to provide enough of a new spin to entice fans, and if the new “Coach” show was too old-fashioned, as some reportedly felt, then perhaps the show just felt like a retread, which is a label all the upcoming new versions of shows are trying to escape.

If too many of these new shows are labeled too familiar, networks may stay away from reboots and bringing back old shows in the future. 

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