The reboot has reportedly been in the works since last season, though no casting announcements have been made. Don Johnson starred in the original series as Metro-Dade Police Department detective James “Sonny” Crockett along with his partner Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas), both of whom would work undercover jobs in Miami. The series ran for five seasons from 1984 to 1989 and became ingrained in the pop culture of that generation.
This is not the first time Miami Vice has been rebooted. In 2006, Universal debuted a film adaptation that starred Colin Farrel and Jamie Foxx and was directed by Michael Mann, who executive produced the series.
The reboot will be written by Peter Macmanus (The Mist, Satisfaction) and produced by Universal Television, Chris Morgan Productions, and Diesel’s banner, One Race TV. There has not been an official announcement regarding executive producers, nor who might be eyed to star. One can only hope, of course, that Johnson (now 67) and Thomas (68) might make cameo appearances.
Miami Vice is arguably Johnson’s most recognizable role, having catapulted him to fame in the ‘80s, though he had been acting long before then. He followed that role up with a lead on the 1990s cop series Nash Bridges. Most recently, Johnson appeared in several TV series, including From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Blood & Oil, TripTank, Sick Note, and A Series of Unfortunate Events, where he played Sir. He also appeared in the widely-panned 2017 Nicolas Cage film Vengeance: A Love Story, and you may recall his small role in Django Unchained as southern plantation owner Spencer “Big Daddy” Bennett.
Thomas, meanwhile, has been relatively absent from the acting scene since Miami Vice, with his last credit as voicing the character of Lance Vance in the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Vice City video games. He is also notable for appearing in commercials and as a spokesperson for the Philip Michael Thomas International Psychic Network in the ‘90s, before being replaced by the late Miss Cleo.
The idea of reboots/remakes/revivals is a growing trend across both linear TV networks and streaming. The CW is working on a revival of Charmed, which may bring back the original cast. Fuller House is a reboot/revival hybrid on Netflix, featuring much of the same cast of the original ‘80s/’90s series. Other popular ‘80s and ’90s series that have returned, or have plans for a return, to television in reboot/revival format include Roseanne, MacGyver, and The Tick, which is coming to Amazon Prime Video later this month, among a growing list of others.
