The word “revival” is one we’ve been hearing all the time in the entertainment world as of late. TV shows we loved years ago are coming back — everything from Full House to Gilmore Girls to a rumored Will and Grace return.
But the world has changed a lot since those shows went off air. What would our favorite characters have to say about current events if they were revived today?
The Office
Michael Scott would be infatuated with Donald Trump’s presidency. Not because he agrees with or even pays attention to Trump’s policies, but because if one businessman who makes questionable remarks can be elected, then so can Michael Scott. This launches Michael’s brief interest in entering the world of politics. Angela suggests Michael talk to her boyfriend, the senator. Oscar, quick to point out Angela meant her boyfriend, the state senator, attempts to talk Michael out of entering a field with which he has no real interest or prior knowledge.
Kelly discovers Ryan hasn’t deleted his Tinder since they’ve gotten back together. She messages him a long, dramatic rant about how he’s never loved her — on Snapchat, of course, so he can’t screenshot it and send it to his friends.
Dwight, always anticipating the hottest Christmas present of the season, has cornered the market on Hamilton tickets. He bought a considerable amount back before anyone knew about the show and has now made a fortune off desperate super-fans. Dwight has two tickets remaining, and Jim, Pam, Darryl and Andy all want them. (Oscar has already seen it three times, so he’s good.) They each spend the whole episode trying to convince Dwight to give them the tickets before Toby reveals he actually kind of knows Lin-Manuel Miranda — Lin’s cousin was a juror on the Scranton Strangler case with Toby — and snags two more tickets so all four of them can go.
How I Met Your Mother
Ted Mosby trades in his once-topical hanging chad Halloween costume for something a little more fresh, like a Bad Hombre. He meets someone that night dressed as Harley Quinn, but fails to get her number and will spend the next five years trying to track her down.
Marshall and Lily discover Netflix and spend the entire weekend binge-watching Friends. The storyline feels shockingly similar to their adventures with their own friend group.
Barney and Robin try out Tinder with varying levels of success. Robin matches with every guy she swipes right on, while Barney swipes right on everyone and can’t seem to match with anyone. We discover later that he’s committed every Tinder “don’t” in the book — he has a photo with another girl, one with a kid (without specifying that it isn’t actually his kid) and a selfie he took in the bathroom mirror. His bio reads, “5 ft 8, because apparently that matters?”
Friends
Monica is overly confident about entering a cooking competition on Food Network, only to lose in the first round. She spends the rest of the episode trying to fight — verbally and physically — back onto the show.
Ross mentions he “wouldn’t call himself a feminist,” he just thinks that men and women should be equal. Rachel and Phoebe launch into a “Feminism 101” class for Ross, determined to get him to stop mansplaining things to them.
At the request of his agent, Joey starts online vlogs to boost his social media presence and increase his fanbase. He’s having a tough time coming across as genuine on camera. Then Chandler comes in and drops one of his witty one-liners. The viewers online love Chandler — they think he’s #relatable, and Joey is dumbfounded anyone could find Chandler more entertaining than him.
Parks and Recreation
Leslie Knope, still recovering from her idol Hillary Clinton’s loss, throws herself into a “Pokemon Go” parks initiative to get people outside in the winter. Her political nemesis, Jeremy Jamm, counters by making every Pokestop in Pawnee a Paunch Burger. About ready to give up on the idea that government can make a positive difference in people’s lives, Leslie starts showing up to work late, wearing sweatpants and eating copious amounts of Paunch Burger.
Tom and Donna spend the whole day trying to turn themselves into a viral meme and become outraged when Andy does something dumb and accidentally goes viral himself. They spend the rest of the episode trying to learn his ways and quickly become discouraged when they realize he doesn’t even know what a meme is — he just refers to them as “those funny little pictures on the internet.”
Ron, Ann and Ben have noticed Leslie’s behavior. They know it’s their duty to pull Leslie out of her funk, so they call in every favor for a special surprise. The trio tells Leslie they’re going on a business trip to New York to meet with the parks department there. Begrudgingly, Leslie goes along, grumbling about there being no point in hiking through the woods of upstate New York. Suddenly they cross paths with another group. It’s Hillary Clinton!
Clinton gives Leslie an impassioned speech about the importance of not giving up — if the Leslie Knopes of the world give up, there’s no hope for the rest of us. Starstruck and unable to form real sentences, Leslie stammers “I love you” and runs off.
The next morning, everyone arrives at work to discover Leslie has already been there for hours. She’s running around the office, organizing massive stacks of paper and answering calls on a Bluetooth headset. “Time to get to work,” she tells everyone.
