Count “Party of Five” among the classic shows to get a reboot.
The original show, which aired six seasons on Fox from 1994 to 2000, boasted a talented young cast including Neve Campbell from “Scream” and Matthew Fox, who went on to “Lost.” The reboot premieres on Freeform Jan. 8.
“It’s ironic to me that we fall within this whole reboot trend,” says Amy Lippman, co-creator of the original and the new “Party,” along with Christopher Keyser. “Because the past 15 years this has been an ongoing discussion — of whether this show deserved another life after the original. Our thinking was that there was really no reason to bring it back to tell the same story.”
In the ’90s version, the show followed the Salinger family of five siblings who must fend for themselves after their parents’ deaths in a car crash. The reboot puts a timely spin on this premise: The family is now Mexican (with a name change to Acosta), and their parents are not dead, but deported.
If this sounds ripped from the headlines, that’s exactly the way the creators want it.
“All of the themes of the original series — which is kids raising themselves, trying to figure out how to remain a family without parents around — all of those issues that we dealt with in the show are playing out on the front page of newspapers,” says Lippman.
“So our interest in reviving the series didn’t come about because we wanted to join this wave of ‘How can we take a successful series and repurpose it?’ We saw an opportunity in the zeitgeist. The story we told 25 years ago was no longer fictional; it was happening every day around the country. That seemed to be a reason [for a reboot]. And it seemed in some ways a much more urgent story to be told.”
But despite the change, one thing remains constant between the two versions of the show: the personalities of the five siblings. The writers hewed to the original characters as a blueprint for each of the five Acosta siblings, Lippman says.
“The consistent echo from one series to the other is that we took the characteristics of each of the characters and we sort of maintained those in the new series,” says Lippman. “So we have an older brother who isn’t family-oriented, who left the family, who doesn’t see himself as a father, doesn’t want to put his life aside in order to take care of these kids. And the oldest girl isn’t maternal and is struggling with the responsibilities of being a mother when that isn’t how she feels, and the second oldest brother is … failing at school, he’s not successful with girls, but the one thing he knows how to do is be a parent and a caretaker. Those are qualities we gave our new cast as well because it served us very well in our storytelling many years ago.”
Brandon Larracuente (“13 Reasons Why”) stars as Emilio Acosta, the oldest son, a musician and a ladies man who’s reluctantly forced to become the family guardian — echoing Charlie Salinger (Fox) in the original.
Larracuente, who is of Puerto Rican descent, says he doesn’t know anyone personally who’s been deported but did research for the role.
‘The story we told 25 years ago was no longer fictional … It seemed in some ways a much more urgent story to be told.’
“I was very fortunate,” says Larracuente, 25. “My grandparents migrated here from Puerto Rico many years ago, and as we know, Puerto Rico is a territory of the US. They had it pretty easy compared to everybody else. So I was aware [of what’s happening with immigration] to an extent, but we’re constantly trying to educate ourselves on the subject. That way, we can give the show justice. We’re trying to step into the lives of these people who have to go through this on a daily basis. Although at the end of the day it’s not us, and we’ll never have to go through the struggles that they go through, we try and empathize with them as much as we can.”
Since Larracuente is a millennial, he says he was not familiar with the original show, either.
“I had no idea what the show was, how big it was back in the day,” he says. “When I [got the audition] and called my parents to let them know, they obviously informed me and I did my own research. I was astounded to realize how much of an impact this show had on an entire generation. To know that Amy and Chris’s writing impacted the lives of so many people already — I have no doubt that it will do the same for this generation.
“I’m glad I’m going to be a part of something that’s so meaningful.”
Where are they now
Matthew Fox
Following his role as the eldest Salinger sibling on “Party,” Fox, 53, found more fame on ABC’s “Lost” (2004-2010). Since then, he’s appeared in movies such as “World War Z” (2013). His last acting credit was 2015. He was charged with a DUI in 2012. That same year, he told Men’s Journal that he’d step away from the industry if he didn’t get “quality opportunities,” so that seems to be what he’s done. He lives in Oregon with his wife, Italian model Margherita Ronchi, and their kids.
Neve Campbell
The “Scream” queen, who played the smart older sister on Party, continued in the ever-expanding horror movie franchise, starring in 2011’s “Scream 4.” Campbell, 46, also guested on shows such as “Mad Men” in 2014 and most recently was on “House of Cards” from 2016-2017. Up next she’ll star in the drama movie “Clouds,” out in 2020. She has two kids with partner JJ Field, a British actor who’s in NBC’s “New Amsterdam.”
Lacey Chabert
The younger Salinger sister, Chabert, now 37, most famously went on to star in “Mean Girls” (2004) as Gretchen Wieners. She also voiced Meg Griffin and Jan Brady on “Family Guy.” Since then, she’s pivoted to more Christian (and Christmas) programming, starring in the Christian rom-com, “Christian Mingle: The Movie” and becoming a staple of Hallmark Channel’s holiday movie lineup. She’s starred in more than 15 Hallmark movies to date, including this year’s “Christmas in Rome.” She has one child with her husband David Nehdar.
Scott Wolf
Wolf, now 51, has been working steadily since his days as the troubled Salinger brother, Bailey, with long stints on various shows. He played Dr. Jake Hartman on “Everwood” (2004-2006), starred in the ABC sci-fi show “V” (2009-2011, NBC’s “The Night Shift” (2014-2017) and currently stars in The CW’s “Nancy Drew” as Carson Drew, Nancy’s father. He lives in Utah with his wife Kelley Marie Limp (a former cast member from MTV’s “The Real World: New Orleans”) and their three kids.
Jacob Smith
Smith, now 29, played the youngest child, Owen Salinger (ages 8 to 10) on “Party of Five.” He’s since appeared in films such as “Cheaper by the Dozen” (2003) and 2004’s “Troy,” with Brad Pitt. Smith went on to graduate from Charis Bible College in Colorado.