NBC Is Making a Series Based Off of the 1995 Movie ‘Outbreak’ Because the Kids Love ‘Outbreak’

The year was 1995. OJ Simpson was on trial for murder, Windows 95 was the talk of the town, and a little film called Outbreak was released in movie theaters across the land. Eighteen-years later, OJ and Windows 95 are both off the market, but Outbreak is set to return as a television series on NBC. And considering it was the 24th most popular film of the year and won no major awards, it's easy to understand why. Oh, wait. No it's not.


In all fairness, the film, which centered around an elite army team trying to stop a global pandemic, was pretty entertaining. And the people behind the show's pilot, Jack Orman and John Wells, were executive producers on ER, so it seems to be in good hands. But why not start from scratch with an original pandemic story? What is the point of tying it to an old semi-forgotten film?

What kind of name recognition does Outbreak bring to the table, especially with younger viewers? I know NBC is probably trying to repeat their success with Hannibal, but that show is based around an iconic character from one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time. Name one of the characters from Outbreak? See my point (unless you actually named one, in which case, nice job)?

I haven't been this confused since I heard they were making Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans. But then again, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans turned out alright, so maybe a series based on Outbreak will surprise us. I'm just not sure why they're making it.