Netflix is going to revive Full House

News today that Full House is likely to be revived on Netflix gave rise to a predictable eruption of excitement from the commentariat online. After all, to be on the mainstream of the Internet, run as it is by content creators in their twenties, is to be awash in nostalgia for the 1990s. But there is such a thing as getting too much of what one wants. Already on Netflix is a reboot of the kids’ cartoon series Inspector Gadget, while the new Twin Peaks is meant to begin shooting this year. Fox has already brought back, for a limited run, 24 and is doing the same for The X-Files. Even Coach, of all things, is returning. The concept of bringing back familiar TV characters is nothing new: The turn of the century saw revivals like the TV movie Mary and Rhoda and the (re-cast) theatrical release The Brady Bunch Movie. But there are simply far more outlets that need creative product today. What was once a novel indulgence in nostalgia is now a business model, banking on familiarity as an easy alternative to investment in risky new ideas.