The Greatest American Hero Reboot Not Picked Up by ABC

When you consider that the original Greatest American Hero series was an early project for the great Stephen J. Cannell, this becomes quite a television pedigree. If you aren’t familiar with the original show’s concept, it involves a nerdy high school teacher who finds himself in possession of a red superhero suit that grants him powers when worn. He promptly loses the instruction manual, and hilarity ensues.

This time around, though, the plan was for the he to be a she, an Indian-American woman named Meera. Rachna Fruchbom (Fresh Off The Boat) is writing and producing, alongside Nahnatchka Khan. The series was ordered to pilot by ABC, and Hannah Simone (New Girl) was cast as the lead. Via THR, the new Greatest American Hero is about “Meera, a 30-year-old Indian-American woman from Cleveland, whose talents include tequila drinking and karaoke and not much else. All that changes when some aliens entrust her with a super suit to protect the planet.”

Unfortunately, ABC has decided not to pick up the pilot to series, as revealed by the star herself…

While the TV superhero landscape could certainly use a little levity, one can’t help but be intrigued by what modern TV could do with the central mystery of The Greatest American Hero. Season-long arcs dealing with the nature of the suit, the identity of the aliens, and the involvement of the FBI (the original show, which is quite good, is worth seeking out for Robert Culp’s performance alone), all seem like they’d fit right in these days, don’t they? 

So while ABC has passed on this, maybe there’s a chance another network will pick it up. The most important thing, though…if that happens they had better use that theme song: