Clark, associate professor of communications, focuses on studying and teaching about economic, programming, and diversity issues related to the media and entertainment industries.
A recent article by CNBC looking at the history of television reboots offers the insights of Naeemah Clark, an associate professor of communications who studies the media and entertainment industries.
The article, “What 5 shows can teach showrunners trying to breathe new life into a ‘Roseanne’ reboot,” followed news that the reboot of “Roseanne” had been canceled following accusations of racism against its star and title character, Roseanne Barr. ABC announced that it was planning a spinoff of the canceled show that would not include Barr.
Clark offered her thoughts about how another show, “The Dukes of Hazzard,” attempted to continue the show after its top stars, John Schneider and Tom Wopat, left. CBS hired lookalike actors to play their cousins, a plan that failed to retain viewers.
Trying to replace Barr with another actor would likely be just as unsuccessful, Clark told CNBC, noting that “even as a seven-year-old, I knew that recasting the core of a show was a bad idea,” referring to the “Dukes” reboot.
“The brand is Roseanne,” Clark told CNBC.
Read the entire article here.
Clark previously wrote a column about the initial reboot of “Roseanne” for the Elon University Writers Syndicate, noting in the piece that the new show offers a mixed portrait of blue-collar America. That column was published in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Durham Herald-Sun.