‘Doogie Howser’ Reboot With Female Lead in Development at Disney Plus
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A reboot of “Doogie Howser, M.D.” is in the works at Disney Plus, Variety has learned from sources.
The new show will focus on a 16-year-old half-Asian, half-white female lead who works as a doctor in Hawaii. The working title for the new show is “Doogie Kealoha, M.D.”
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The reboot hails from writer and executive producer Kourtney Kang. Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar will also executive produce along with Dayna and Jesse Bochco. 20th Century Fox Television will produce, with the studio also having produced the original series. Kang, Kasdan, and Mar are all under overall deals at the studio.
Disney declined to comment.
The original “Doogie Howser” starred Neil Patrick Harris in the title role. It ran on ABC for four seasons and 97 episodes between 1989 and 1993. Along with Steven Bochco, the series was co-created by David E. Kelley. Neither Kelley nor Harris is attached to the reboot at this time.
Kang, Kasdan, and Mar previously worked together on the ABC sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat,” while Dayna and Jesse are the wife and son of “Doogie Howser” co-creator Steven Bochco. In addition to her work on “Fresh Off the Boat,” on which she served as a writer and co-executive producer, Kang is also known for her time as an executive producer and writer on the hit CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.” She is repped by Hansen Jacobson.
This is not the first time in the recent past for a Steven Bochco series to get the reboot treatment. ABC gave a pilot production commitment for a reboot of “NYPD Blue” last pilot season, with Dayna and Jesse executive producing and Jesse attached to direct. The project was a high priority for ABC but ultimately did not move forward.
Disney Plus has been mining the vaults of studios now under Disney control for originals for some time now. One of the first original scripted series to debut on the service was “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” based on the Disney Channel film franchise. Other reboots currently in the works at the streamer include a “Turner and Hooch” series starring Josh Peck and a “Mighty Ducks” sequel series starring Lauren Graham. A “Lizzie McGuire” sequel series was also in the works, but behind-the-scenes issues have put that series on hold.
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