Netflix is set to play the nostalgia card again with a reboot of a 1970s classic sci-fi show.
Having already found success with the likes of Lost in Space and One Day at a Time – two other rebooted favourites – the streaming service has commissioned a new series of a kooky adventure serial that’s probably most fondly remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Land of the Lost was effectively a Planet of the Apes with dinosaurs, focused on a family that accidentally travel through a portal to find themselves trapped on a strange world. They are surrounded by reptilian humanoids, dinos and cave people. It only lasted for three seasons and combined a mixture of live action with some rather questionable stop motion animation, but has retained cult status ever since. Now it’s coming back. Again.
Even if you don’t remember the original series, you might recognise the name. That’s because there have been two attempts to resurrect it before. Rights holder Krofft Entertainment remade the show in 1991, which enjoyed a two season run on the likes of ABC and Nickelodeon in the US, while a big screen adaptation starring Will Ferrell hit cinemas in 2009. Neither really set the world alight.
Why Now?
In an era where every IP is being mined for nostalgia gold, timing is everything—and this one feels right. Streaming platforms are hungry for familiar names with built-in fan bases, even if those bases are niche and scattered. The retro-futuristic tone of the original show fits well with the current appetite for bold, stylized sci-fi.
Audiences have shown they’re open to shows that lean into their strangeness rather than shy away from it. Plus, younger viewers often discover these reboots as fresh, standalone experiences, giving them a double life. Revivals succeed best when they balance homage with reinvention, and this one might just strike that chord. It’s not just about looking back—it’s about pulling something forward that was always ahead of its time.
The Stakes of a Third Attempt
This isn’t the first time someone has tried to resurrect Land of the Lost, and history hasn’t been kind. The 1991 TV reboot fizzled out, while the 2009 film adaptation bombed despite a big-name lead. That track record could make some skeptical—but it also sets the bar low enough to exceed expectations.
With modern VFX, streaming flexibility, and a better grasp of serialized storytelling, this version has more tools at its disposal. The key will be tone: lean too goofy, and it’s forgotten; go too serious, and it loses its identity. If this third attempt threads the needle, it could finally cement the property’s place in sci-fi canon. If not, well… maybe the past is where it belongs after all.
Land of the Lost has always lived on the fringe, a strange and scrappy tale that refused to disappear. Its charm wasn’t just in the dinosaurs or the bizarre creatures, but in its unapologetic embrace of imagination. Netflix’s revival could give it the polish it never had, but the core it must keep intact.
And if nothing else, its return proves that some stories, no matter how forgotten, are never truly gone. They’re just waiting for the right time.
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