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Is the rise of reboots rooted in saving money?

Independent filmmaker and director Reggie Henderson says reboots and remakes are nothing new.

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Wednesday, NBC Universal announced its newly named streaming service, Peacock, and is working on a new Saved by the Bell series. 

RELATED: NBC reveals what its new streaming service will be called

Reggie Henderson, an independent film maker and director, said reboots and remakes are nothing new.

He says they are a reflection of the changing media landscape and the bottom line. 

“What is happening now with the craze of all of these streaming platforms, you have these movie executives that own the rights to these old movies. They want something that is already cookie cutter, and they want to be able to get it out there as quick as possible” he said. “(Executives) are finding out ways to feed the audience with what they need and save money. You don’t have to spend that much money to do a reboot. You have already seen how the market works and you have that much in advertisement and the word starts to spread and people hear about it.” 

Henderson’s latest film, Bahamian Son, is running on Amazon Prime and other streaming networks. 

According to an Instagram post from Elizabeth Berkley, the show is expected to run for 10 episodes.  Mario Lopez - aka A.C. Slater - and Jessie will play grown-up versions of their original characters. 

“Saved By the Bell was such a quirky show and to redo it, you have to have that same type of style and vibe. I don't know if it will resonate with today’s millennial crowd because that is who they will try to cater to,” Henderson said. “There are executives that do look out for new content. Netflix is spending $6 billion on content.”  

Henderson says he is passionate about pitching new original content. But on his quest to have more films picked up by Hollywood, he’s up against old time favorites. Even with a commitment from heavy hitters in the industry, the competition is real.  

“I just pitched a project called the Government Gang. I have Danny Glover as an executive producer,” he said. “They look at my project and millions of other ones and all of the reboots. And then they make their decision.” 

That decision is often met with budgets. Henderson said decision makers look at what they're spending for the quarter or year when examining original pieces. And sometimes, a spin off is safer than gambling on something new. The Government Gang is a historical fiction crime drama set in the 1920's about a group of men who turned to a life of crime after their community was burned to the ground during the Tulsa Oklahoma race riots.  

“They  are all trying to hit the home runs,” he said.  “Reboots are easier to digest because there has already been a test market versus a  brand new project … about  touchy sensitive subjects.”  

RELATED: Apple takes on Netflix with a $5-a-month streaming service

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