I Grew Up With The Inbetweeners. No, We Don’t Need A Reboot

The cast of The Inbetweeners pictured on the set of the first movieAfter more than a decade, The Inbetweeners is getting a reboot.Recently it was announced that, despite the cast’s past protestations about not wanting to wreck the show’s legacy, the gang would, in fact, be getting back together.“There’s not enough money in the world for me to spoil that,” swooned James Buckley, who played Jay Cartwright, in 2022. Except, it turns out, there was. And spoil it they will. I love The Inbetweeners. I was in secondary school when the films were released and watched the series from end to end, as did everyone else. It was always the talk of the classroom. Why? Because no programme better encapsulates the cocksure entitlement, silliness, stupidity and raw embarrassment of being a lad in school at that time, which is why it’s endured for so long. To this day, not a week goes by without someone shouting “bus w****r” at some unfortunate soul, or jibing their pal with an “ooh friend!”The show is still so loved, but that’s exactly why they shouldn’t bring it back. A reboot will tarnish its legacy. Nobody wants to hear about a thirty-something Neil’s struggle to pay his taxes, or Simon’s marriage problems. The beauty of the show was that it was so juvenile. It perfectly encapsulated its moment in time, but that moment is long gone and nobody can bring it back. The characters have, sadly, grown up.Even the big reveal felt wrong. No funny viral video of the fab four coming back together, no Gallagher-esque reunion photo shoot. Instead, we got some corporate spiel from the production company Banijay about the creators’ “infectious creative vision for the brand.”That word “brand” says it all. This return has nothing to do with making great television, and everything to do with a production company wanting to milk every last drop from one of the few viable entities it has left (Banijay is the company behind the scandal hit MasterChef.)It’s not like we haven’t had a taste of what could go wrong, either. The 2019 Inbetweeners reunion Fwends Reunited was meant to be the cornerstone of Channel 4’s festive schedule that year. Despite much excitement in the buildup, the show fell flat, leaving fans disappointed and critics openly mocking it. The Daily Telegraph’s review dubbed it a “shambolic mess”, and Buckley had to apologise for “letting fans down.” But just like their characters, the lads will never learn when to give up. This isn’t just an Inbetweeners problem though. The entire TV comedy world is stuck in a rut. With ratings falling and advertising revenues sinking with them, traditional broadcasters are fighting a losing battle against streamers, so it’s no surprise that they reach for the only trump card they have: heritage. Plenty of viewers love it too. It’s far easier to flop onto the sofa and watch a show with characters you already know in a world you already understand than to watch an edgy new drama. But there are only so many times channels can reach for nostalgia, and with so many choices for what to watch out there the competition for attention is greater than ever. It feels like TV execs have forgotten that their shows need to be good as well as familiar. There’s barely a noughties comedy left which hasn’t been dug up and resuscitated in the name of making their creators a quick buck. Over the last few years alone we’ve had Outnumbered, Gavin and Stacey, Mitchell and Webb, Friday Night Live, Bad Education and Frasier all pulled from their graves in a shameless ploy to attract viewers.Even in movieland, poor Shrek is being summoned from his swamp to try and revive the fortunes of comedy in the cinema, despite his last film being called Shrek Forever After.Can we honestly say that any of these reunions – apart from Gavin and Stacey, which had the nation waiting over a decade for its fairytale ending – had the same heft they did before? Would the revivals really hold their own as one off series? I think not. The only thing which has truly seen the final curtain is the idea that a franchise can end. It’s not like we’re lacking talented creatives who want to make new shows; TikTok and YouTube are full of hilarious people desperate for a big platform on which to showcase their work. What’s missing are ambitious, visionary broadcasters willing to take a risk on something new rather than trotting out increasingly shoddy reboots of old classics, degrading their back catalogue in the process. These channels are sending themselves to an early grave, and doing their viewers a massive disservice. Every time a noughties sitcom gets rebooted, there’s less budget left to commission a new series which could have proven just as popular. We’re denying future generations the gift of their “bus w****r” moment, or a new silly catchphrase to shout at each other.It’s time to stop living in the past and give some fresh talent a chance. How good would it be to see some new shows, with new actors and new jokes, not the same tired old one liners trotted out for the thousandth time. I wish a new Inbetweeners series would work, but even their biggest fan would struggle to argue that this is going to end well. The best thing the cast can do is put a stop to it and bask in the glory of what they’ve already achieved. Lads, don’t do it. I say this as a fwend.Related...Here's Why Everyone Is Suddenly Talking About A Potential Inbetweeners RevivalThe Inbetweeners Star Joe Thomas Breaks Silence On Reboot ReportsThe Inbetweeners' James Buckley Shares His Favourite Line From The Show... But It's Not One Of Jay's

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