Portia de Rossi

You’ve probably heard about NBC rebooting The Munsters as a one hour drama. Now, Entertainment Weekly reports the show’s name has been changed to Mockingbird Lane, which comes from the family’s iconic address, 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

The show will star Jerry O’Connell as Herman Munster, British comedian Eddie Izzard as Grandpa Munster, and Portia de Rossi as his wife Lily.

This cannot be a good idea. The Munsters does not belong as a drama. The original show is remembered as a goofy sitcom. It was an alternative to The Addams Family. Mockingbird Lane just seems like NBC’s desperate attempt to cash in on a classic show. The only similarities between the two shows will be the characters names and probably personality traits, since the actors chosen do not look like the original cast members.

While Mockingbird Lane may be inspired by The Munsters, there is no good reason for NBC to make such a big deal about the connection between the shows. The two shows will be completely different from each other. I would even argue that it would have been smarter for NBC to change the names of the characters, remove any reference to the original show, and just advertise their unusual new drama, so that people would judge Mockingbird Lane on its own merits and not automatically assume it will be inferior to its 1960s counterpart.