Disney has reversed its plan to produce a reboot of Blossom, and the show's star Mayim Bialik is furious. The Jewish American actress, who during the war has taken a clear pro-Israel stance and often speaks in support of the country, revealed Monday that the continuation of the 1990s hit series, which had nearly been greenlit, was scrapped. She did not hesitate to sharply criticize those responsible.
In a post on her Substack page, Bialik, 49, detailed the chain of events, from the promising beginning to Disney's abrupt withdrawal.
She explained that as early as 2019, she and Don Reo, creator of the original series, began discussing a sequel after the end of The Big Bang Theory, in which she starred as Amy for most of its seasons. Reo wrote a script that brought the characters back as adults in today's world.
"He found our characters exactly where many of us find ourselves – funny, lost, wandering, meandering, and torn. The script is beautiful," she wrote. In the meantime, Bialik was cast in the sitcom Call Me Kat, which delayed progress on Blossom (that show was canceled in 2023 after three seasons), and also hosted Jeopardy! for two seasons.
Still, she and Reo presented the Blossom reboot script to Disney executives, who now hold the rights to the series. "It seemed like they loved it, understood what we wanted to do, and Don and I felt comfortable to speak about it in the press. We felt certain this was moving forward," she recalled.
But with industry mergers reshuffling Hollywood, new executives were put in charge of such projects at Disney, and Bialik was told the show could no longer be produced.
She and Reo met with the new executives and presented the same vision they had shown their predecessors, but this time the response was entirely different. "Unfortunately, and for no particularly reason, we were told 'no.'," she said. "We asked for the rights [to the brand] so we could let the market decide whether viewers wanted to see these characters again after so many years, but we were told Disney would keep the rights in case they wanted to produce a Blossom reboot."
"The reboot we all wanted to do was now, with Don's script. We will likely never know … why they would not let us bring these beautiful stories to people who love 90s nostalgia and who have a special place in their hearts for Blossom."
Although Bialik stressed that she still hopes Blossom has not had its last word, Disney's cancellation left her deflated to the point of considering retirement from acting. "this project is the role I want to play more than any other. Since this all fell apart, my desire to continue to pursue on-camera roles has waned. The constant changing of guards in our industry, the mergers, the insincerity and the increasingly extended periods of time it takes to get answers or contracts completed… It's not the industry Don and I grew up in, and Blossom felt like my last attempt to try and assert myself as an actress."
Bialik concluded: "While it is possible no one wants a Blossom reboot, I'm pretty certain Disney got this one wrong. The sun is gonna surely shine."
Blossom, which ran for five seasons from 1991 to 1995, was considered groundbreaking in its genre. It was not a teen series but a full-fledged primetime show that, alongside its laughs, tackled serious issues such as teenage drug and alcohol addiction, sex, a relationship between a young woman and an older married man, and multiple family crises.
Over the years, the series hosted a long list of celebrity guest stars, some as themselves and some in fictional roles. Among them were Neil Patrick Harris, David Schwimmer, Brittany Murphy, Mr. T, James Marsden and Talia Shire, blues legend B.B. King, rap group Salt-N-Pepa, chef Wolfgang Puck and even Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Will Smith also made an uncredited appearance as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in a special crossover episode.
