By For one reason or another, Disney is looking to reboot the 90s series Doogie Howser, M.D. for its streaming service. Instead of simply rehashing the past, the twist this time is that the series will be a female-led show that focuses on a 16-year-old half-Asian, half-white girl that works at a hospital in Hawaii. The working title, thus far, is Doogie Kealoha, M.D.
Sources close to Variety have leaked the details and confirmed that the reboot hails from writer/executive producer Kourtney Kang. Kang is best known for her work on Fresh Off The Boat and How I Met Your Mother, which is likely where she picked up the idea (ex-Doogie Howser star Neil Patrick Harris was in the latter). Jake Kasdan (director behind the recent Jumanji sequels) and Melvin Mar (producer on the very same films and Fresh Off The Boat) are attached along with and Jesse Bocho (son of original co-creator Steven Bocho) and his wife Dayna.
Oddly enough, Harris is not currently signed on for this new series despite being synonymous with the original. Original co-creator David. E Kelley will not be returning either, which is curious. The project is likely too early into pre-production to have more details, so there’s a chance both will be returning in the future.
Despite the original fading into obscurity over the years, I still contest that the first two seasons of it were must watch TV. The show didn’t end on the best of notes -going for some very generic storylines and dropping popular characters-, but the premise was ripe for the kind of “coming of age” stories that were massive at the time. This reboot sounds a little pointless, but maybe it can recapture the same kind of magic as before.
‘Doogie Howser‘ Reboot With Female Lead in Development at Disney Plus [Variety]
