9 TV Shows That Tried To Exploit Nostalgia (And Failed)

6. Roswell, New Mexico

Roswell New Mexico
The CW

Even more so than Netflix (which I'll get to next), The CW trades in safe bets and nostalgia. The network has enjoyed a resurgence over the past decade, relying on a slate of superhero shows to draw in viewers, alongside reboots of popular cult TV series from years gone by.

Rather than gamble on new ideas, the network has brought back 90210, Charmed, Dynasty, and is in the process of rebooting Walker, Texas Ranger of all things, but by far the weirdest series order was Roswell, New Mexico.

Now, there's certainly a whole bunch of people out there who would instantly recognise Roswell by name alone, but it was never a 90210 or a Charmed, lasting a mere three seasons.

Roswell, New Mexico banked on being supported - at least initially - by nostalgic familiarity but unsurprisingly the Roswell fandom just wasn't there. The reimagining could have worked, perhaps by rethinking the source novels rather sticking close to the formula of the show, but by aping the style of the original series and covering similar beats, it was viewed as little more than a needless imitation.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.