Stay Tuned, the 1992 comedy cult classic starring the late, great John Ritter alongside Pam Dawber, is getting rebooted for the small screen at AMC. Deadline reports that AMC Studios is moving forward with development on a TV series adaptation of the movie fromFear the Walking Deadco-showrunner/executive producer Ian Goldberg and writer/producer Richard Naing as a part of Goldberg’s overall deal with the studio. Additionally, Naing will also be writing the adaptation. Morgan Creek Entertainment, the studio behind the original movie version, will also be on board to executive produce the AMC series.
Released in 1992, theoriginal Stay Tuned moviewas written by Jim Jennewein and Tom S. Parker with Peter Hyams directing. Because of its dark humor and bizarre storyline, Tim Burton had originally been set to helm the cult classic before leaving to focus onBatman Returns.The movie starsJohn Ritterand Pam Dawber as Roy and Helen Knable, a pair of struggling parents who wind up sucked straight into the world of television shows by way of a sinister high-tech satellite dish system. As the two hop from channel to channel just trying to survive, their children (David Tom and Heather McComb) discover their parents on the television set, helping them from the real world to find their way back home.
At the time,Stay Tunedhumorously spoofed some of the most famous movies and television shows of the era. This includes seeing Roy and Helen stumble into a show calledDuayne’s Underworld, a macabre parody ofWayne’s World. Some of the otherbizarre parodiesto be featured in the movie includeThe Golden Ghouls,I Love Lucifer,Three Men and Rosemary’s Baby, andAutopsies of the Rich and Famous. No one who has seen the movie could also forget when Roy and Helen ventured into aLooney Tunes-style cartoon calledRooney Tunes, turning into animated mice with a hungry cat hot on their tails.
There hasn’t been any information revealed about the plot of AMC’s television adaptation, but it seems likely that the upcoming series will similarlyspoof some of pop culture’s most famous movies and television shows. It would be surprising if there weren’t mentions of reality shows likeKeeping Up with the Kardashians, which have grown tremendously in popularity since the originalStay Tunedpremiered in theaters. Other massively popular shows from recent years, including big hits on AMC’s own network likeBreaking Bad,Better Call Saul, andThe Walking Dead, are also ripe to be parodied. Anything from theAvengersmovies to other popular shows likeGame of Thronesall have great potential to be spoofed as well.
In addition toFear the Walking Dead, Goldberg is also known for co-creating Freeform’s summer camp horror seriesDead of Summeralongside Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. Naing would also work as a writer for that series, one of multiple collaborations with Goldberg. The pair also wrote André Øvredal’sThe Autopsy of Jane Doeand co-wrote the Netflix horror movieEliwith David Chirchirillo. This news was first reported byDeadline.
