TV and film reboots and remakes are officially a thing. Well, to be honest, they've been a thing for a long time, but these days, they're practically the norm.
Banking on a built-in audience, studios are finding creative ways to recycle and reuse intellectual property they already own, and one of the most popular is definitely the gender swap. Gender-flipping characters not only instantly makes the new version fresh and different from the original, it also makes it more politically and socially correct in most cases — something that's important in 2021.
Still, while some of these TV and film reboots are a welcome change, others miss the mark. But if you're a fan of the original, reboots are always worth a watch — whether just for curiosity's sake or that nostalgia factor.
To guide your viewing, we've curated a list of some of the most interesting gender-flipping movie and TV reboots ever made, going all the way back to before some of us were even born. Now remember, we're not promising top-quality content here — sure, some of these movies and shows are pretty good, but some are only good for a laugh (over just how bad they are). Nonetheless, it's always interesting to see the script flipped on an old favorite.
'Doogie Howser, M.D.'
The most current TV reboot that comes to mind is Doogie Howser, M.D., originally starring a very young Neil Patrick Harris. Disney announced at the beginning of 2021 that it would be rebooting the show later in the year. The new series will be titled Doogie Kameāloha, M.D., and will feature Andi Mack's Peyton Elizabeth Lee as a 16-year-old girl juggling a medical career and life as a teenager.
'Ghostbusters'
The 2016 remake of the 1980s classic Ghostbusters, starring Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, was actually not a bad effort, despite what some die-hard fans of the franchise would say. Still, the female-led attempt left many people wanting more, and there's now another reboot starring Paul Rudd set to come out later in 2021.
'He's All That'
The remake of the Rachael Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr. rom-com classic from 1999 has been in the works for a while, but due to the health crisis, it encountered some delays. It will star Cobra Kai's Tanner Buchanan and TikTok star Addison Rae, and it's set to premiere on August 27, 2021. Same premise, different era.
'LA's Finest'
For two seasons, mamas Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union headlined a spin-off of the Bad Boys film franchise starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith (we say it counts as a reboot). In the series, called LA's Finest, they played crime-fighting partners in the Los Angeles Police Department, deeply embroiled in some serious situations. Honestly, it was a really good, action-packed crime drama, and we loved seeing these two ladies be total badasses.
'How I Met Your Father'
We still miss How I Met Your Mother so much, and we can't wait for the reboot, How I Met Your Father, which is set to star Hilary Duff as the narrator and will air exclusively on Hulu. Our hopes are high considering those at the helm are former This Is Us showrunners, and Hilary herself has also signed on as a producer.
'Ocean's 8'
Ocean's 8, starring Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock, and Cate Blanchett, was a fun departure for the Ocean's franchise, which of course features George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. The gender-swap film has Anne portraying Debbie Ocean, Danny's younger sister, who assembles her own all-female team to conduct a heist at the famous Met Gala in New York.
'Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde'
A lot of '90s movies were just plain goofy, but we loved them just the same. In 1995, Sean Young and Tim Daly starred in a gender-bending remake of the classic tale of Jekyll and Hyde. It's the story of a timid scientist who uses a formula he inherited from his great-grandfather to create a perfume and winds up turning himself into a bold woman.
'What Men Want'
In 2019, Taraji P. Henson starred in a remake of the 2000 Mel Gibson romantic comedy, What Women Want. The premise is that a talented professional loses out on a promotion because she's a woman, and as she strives to figure out what she needs to do to be successful in a man's world, she drinks a potion that gives her the ability to hear men's unspoken thoughts.
'American Pie: Girls' Rules'
People were pretty bored after staying home for months in 2020, and many were running out of streaming options at some point. So it's no surprise the film studios were grabbing at straws. Enter American Pie: Girls' Rules — because of course, we needed yet another installment in this raunchy franchise.
'Elementary'
A twist on Sherlock Holmes starring Lucy Liu, Elementary was a successful TV series that lasted seven seasons between 2012 and 2019. The updated take on the classic Arthur Conan Doyle story was set in New York and saw Lucy play Dr. Watson, the sidekick of actor Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock Holmes.
'The Next Karate Kid'
We really wanted to love this Karate Kid reboot starring a young Hilary Swank and Pat Morita reprising his role as Mr. Miyagi. But it just didn't hold a candle to the original series. Still for fans, it's worth a watch, and kids today who aren't so invested in the original cast will probably enjoy it.
'Doctor Who'
In 2005, BBC produced a popular reboot of the original 1960s-era Doctor Who series that eventually ended up with a female lead, played by Jodie Whittaker. The English actress has tackled the role for four seasons, from 2017 through to the current season airing in 2021.
'The Equalizer'
We couldn't think of better casting for the CBS TV adaptation of Denzel Washington's Equalizer movies. Queen Latifah nabbed the lead role of Robin McCall in the series, which debuted in February 2021. So far, she's done a great job of softening and feminizing the role of "the Equalizer," while still maintaining the soul of the original character from the films.
'The Hustle'
The Hustle, starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, was a low-key reboot of the 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine. As much as we wanted to love it, we just didn't. So many of the jokes failed to land — not because Anne and Rebel aren't both hilarious — but because the writing was pretty abysmal.
'The Tempest'
Actress Helen Mirren can pretty much do no wrong in our books, and we enjoyed her gender-bending take on the role of Prospera (Prospero) in the 2010 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. It wasn't her first or last time taking on a traditionally male role, either. She played Caliban in a stage production of The Tempest when she was a teenager, and she took on a gender swap as Hobson in the 2011 movie Arthur.
'Herbie: Fully Loaded'
Starring Lindsay Lohan in her prime and before her Hollywood demise, Herbie: Fully Loaded should have been a pretty fun gender-flipping flick, but instead it was a total flop. Like some other reboots on this list, it just wasn't all that funny, and a lot of opportunities to add genuine humor were totally missed.
