'Party of Five': Freeform's reboot to deal with immigration and separation of families
The pilot for ''Party of Five' is written by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman, and deals with the current immigration situation in the US
Freeform, Disney’s young adult cable network, announced the pilot order for 'Party of Five' from Sony Pictures Television, which will be a modern reimagining of the groundbreaking original series.
The original 'Party of Five' ran for six seasons and focused on five San Francisco siblingsand their baby brother — who unite as a family after their parents are killed in a car crash. It ran for six seasons on Fox, from 1994-2000.
The new avatar too has five kids, but they are navigating the deportations of their parents, giving it a nice little modern twist. The idea is from the original series creators Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman, who have also written the pilot.
Michal Zebede (Castle) and Rodrigo Garcia (Nine Lives) are directing. Keyser, Lippman and Garcia will serve as executive producers and Zebede serves as co-executive producer.
Exclusive: Freeform is moving forward with a pilot order for its #PartyOfFive reboot from the show’s original creators. In this take, the parents have been deported: https://t.co/GdbdaVNVfg pic.twitter.com/zjurCZWJGU
— Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) September 6, 2018
The new retelling of 'Party of Five' is a modern twist on the original series, following the five Buendias children as they struggle to survive together as a family after their parents are deported to Mexico.
"Twenty-five years ago, we imagined a story about five kids navigating the world after the untimely death of their parents," said Amy Lippman and Christopher Keyser, who are also executive producers.
"Today, stories of families being separated, children having to raise themselves in the wake of their parents’ deportations, don’t require any imagination; they are everywhere. This new iteration of 'Party of Five' isn’t a retread of the original; it’s a whole new look at kids trying to parent each other in the wake of circumstances beyond their control, yet learning a similar lesson: that families persist no matter how great the obstacles."
"From the moment we heard that Amy and Chris were updating their iconic series with this timely and powerful twist, we knew we had to have this pilot. We’re honored to be the home for the next, brilliant iteration of their vision," said Karey Burke, Freeform’s executive vice president of Programming and Development. Freeform’s growing slate of original scripted dramas includes new hits 'Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger,' and 'Siren,' critically acclaimed 'The Bold Type,' and the upcoming series 'Good Trouble' from the executive producers of 'The Fosters.'
