The New Knight Rider Reboots — Again

Wait, what? Wasn’t this new Knight Rider show already a reboot of the ’80s original? Yes, but they’re going to reboot the reboot anyway. You read that correctly: NBC and new show runner Gary Scott Thompson has decided to reboot the reboot TV show. He’ll accomplish this task by getting rid of the show’s current “terrorist of the week” formula and taking the main character (played by Justin Bruening) and a few colleagues, not to mention the talking car KITT, back on the road to help more “regular” people ala the ’80s show with David Hasselhoff. As a result, three castmembers have been jettisoned for the show’s second half, including Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Yancey Arias and Bruce Davison.

From THR:

“It’s a reboot,” “Knight” executive producer/showrunner Gary Scott Thompson said. “We’re moving away from the terrorist-of-the-week formula and closer to the original, making it a show about a man and his car going out and helping more regular people, everymen.”

Such a change would make “Knight” a better fit into NBC’s newly rebranded crime drama Wednesday lineup alongside “Life” and “Law & Order.”

The revamped “Knight” will kick off with the two-part Episodes 10-11. NBC is planning a major push, including possibly airing Episode 10 on Sunday after an NFL football game in January, with the conclusion airing the following Wednesday.

Returning cast members for the show’s second half include the characters: Mike (Justin Bruening), Sarah (Deanna Russo), Billy (Paul Campbell), Zoe (Smith Cho) and KITT (voiced by Val Kilmer).

I have to admit, I tuned out of the show after making it through the first hour of the show’s two-hour premiere a month or so ago. I don’t know, but the combination of bad acting, bad storytelling, and just in general bad writing — well, okay, let me just say it: the show kinda stunk. As such, I don’t know if this reboot will help matters, but it certainly couldn’t hurt, I suppose.

Below: “What did I tell ya? You can’t have a Knight Rider without the Hoff, bitches!”