In honor of the 50th anniversary of The Homecoming: A Christmas Story which first introduced the Walton family to TV audiences in 1971, a reboot TV movie is currently in the works at The CW. The Waltons' Homecoming will air later this year and the good news is Richard Thomas will be coming back as John Boy...in a manner of speaking.
Creator Earl Hamner Jr. narrated as an older John Boy in the TV film and original series based on his autobiographical book, Spencer's Mountain. The reboot special will star Bellamy Young (known for TV shows Scandal and Prodigal Son) in the role of matriarch Olivia Walton, a role originally played by Michael Learned. Logan Shroyer (known for This Is Us) will play John Boy Walton with Richard Thomas serving as narrator. No other cast members have been named at this time according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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The story will be similar to the original TV film, following 17-year-old John Boy and his family as they prepare to celebrate their first Christmas without John Sr. present. When Olivia gets word that John Sr will try to make it home for the holiday, the family is overjoyed, but a bad storm on Christmas Eve threatens his arrival. John Boy is sent out into the storm to find his father on a journey that will change his life. While Ralph Waite played John Sr. in the original series, we're curious to see who will be cast in this remake.
While this is currently set to be a TV special vs a true reboot of the successful drama series, CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz said that if the TV special is wildly successful, he'd definitely consider rebooting the TV series as well. This would be exciting news for fans of popular 70s shows considering it was also announced that a Little House on the Prairie reboot is in the works.
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