‘Red Dwarf’ creator Doug Naylor wants the series to be rebooted with a new cast in the future.
Doug and Rob Grant created the sci-fi comedy for the BBC back in 1988 making stars of main cast members Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn over the years.
After being axed by the BBC in 1999 the show – minus Rob’s writing – was brought back by satellite channel Dave in 2009 to acclaim, however, after 30 years Doug thinks it could be time to hand over the ‘Red Dwarf’ universe to a new group of actors and writers so the programme can live on.
Speaking to TV Years magazine, he said: "It’d be unusual not to do a reboot eventually. At that point I certainly wouldn’t be writing all the shows … but I’d love to be involved in some way."
Before the reboot happens Doug has no plans to write a final episode for Dave Lister, Kryten, Runner and the Cat because he thinks it would be cheesy and he’d rather leave the characters drifting in space just as they always have been.
He said: "My thinking tends to be, ‘Why would you?’ Also can you imagine – we’re on Fiji, Lister and (Kristine) Kochanski ride off on their white horses, Rimmer waves them goodbye and walks off into the distance with Kryten and the Cat. No, please no!"
Despite Doug’s call for a reboot, a new series of ‘Red Dwarf’ is due to start filming later this year.
Danny – who plays Cat in the series – will reunite with Craig, Chris and Robert in the coming weeks to work on new episodes of the cult show.
He said: "All we know is it’s going to be done by the end of the year … I’m never worried about ‘Red Dwarf’. I’ve never been so comfortable in a gig.
"The fans are over the moon, spinning cartwheels because unless you’re watching Netflix, what are you going to watch as a sitcom in England."
The most recent series of ‘Red Dwarf’ aired on Dave in October 2017.
Red Dwarf could be rebooted
