I, too, think the writer’s / SAG strike is going too long, but damned if you get me to cross that line.

There’s a Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law episode where he takes the Jetson’s case and they joke about how they live in a dated vision of the future. I’d probably do that. Maybe have them interact with the modern world but have them appearing posh and snobby despite actually being behind the times on a lot of things.

Would highly recommend you watch Harvey Birdman if you haven’t already by the way OP. I think you’d like it

Just sealab 2020 it. Use some stock footage and some AI trickery but replace all the scripts with crazy.

I feel like I’d be compelled to go fairly dark with it. When The Jetsons was made, it was largely a period of optimism and prosperity in the US. That is most certainly no longer the case, with the middle class pretty much having evaporated, and so many people struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

I think I’d probably focus on the company store construct, that has become the foundation of capitalist society. Where everything you earn is due to the good will of those you’re obligated to give it back to. In a world with all sorts of wonderful technology, for most, it exists solely to make your toils for the sake of others more efficient.

I don’t see how the optimism of The Jetsons can exist today, at least not without mocking the hell out of it.

I would add some bladerunner and true lies.

Family thinks he works at sprocket. But he’s a rogue robot hunter in the undercity. Hijinks ensures when he tries to keep his job separate from his family. Ps. Rosie is a spy for the robot rebellion

So I am an avid watcher of Tubi, the last remaining ethical streaming service.

Do you know something about Dropout that I don’t?

Flintstones doesn’t really need to be updated

If you haven’t read the 2016 Flintstones DC comic I highly recommend it.

how would you make a new movie or TV show about the Jetsons?

This is a difficult question. The Jetsons was very much a highly optimistic view of the future through the lens of the standard sitcom formula; spawned off of their success with the Flintstones which itself was basically just an animated version of The Honeymooners.

Today, an inherent understanding of the sitcom formula is not something you could expect from the general public, as the sitcom has essentially died as a concept in favor of series with a storyline that spans multiple seasons.

To make the Jetsons work today, you would need to adapt it to modern sensibilities in more ways than one. The general vision of the future is much more bleak than in the 60s, so I would start there.

The speed at which new technology is releasing is staggering compared to what it was 60 years ago, so the idea of some brand new technology that permeates every facet of life to make things easier could hold a much more sinister tone to modern audiences.

If you were going to keep the same essential premise, you would need to address that somehow. Perhaps a focus on sustainability and ethics like the solarpunk movement or you could lean into the opposite and go full dystopian cyberpunk.

The work culture of the Jetsons is also something that would need to be addressed. George is fired and subsequently re-hired every episode that features Mr. Spacely, and a Google search tells me that George has a 9 hour workweek. George is either irreplaceable, has very strong union protections or both.

Actually, now that I’m this deep into the weeds, I think a Lower Decks style parody, highlighting all the dirt behind the scenes that makes this world so idyllic would be a great place to start with a reboot.

Instead of answering your question, I’m going to share a fan theory that I found quite amusing: The Jetsons and The Flintstones actually happen contemporaneously. When nuclear war caused civilization as we know it to collapse, wealthy individuals moved to space, while everyone else was left to scrape by as they could in the irradiated leavings of our old society.

The Jetsons are decendants of those wealthy people that made it out. Society is relatively the same, just in space with robots. Their technology has progressed in a reasonable fashion from the 1960s tech they took off Earth with them. The Flintstones are decendants of the people left behind. That’s why all their “stone age” technology is so reminiscent of everyday 1960s tech. As they attempted to rebuild, they took inspiration from the pre-nuke past. The radiation caused genetic mutations, leading some animals to express dinosaur-like traits.

I’d keep it the same, but with blackjack and hookers!

Let’s make it non-fiction and have the setting be an arid, inhospitable, howling wasteland.

It’s been done already, only as a drama. See the series Caprica.

Ok I’ll do the casting :George Jetson = Bryan Cranston, Jane Jetson = Alyson Hannigan, Judy Jetson = Emma Myers, Elroy = (don’t know), Rosie = Fran Drescher (If only for her voice…it’s perfect), Astro = some dopey grey great dane, Danny Devito = Cosmo Spacely.

Jetsons was set in 2062, because 100 years back then seemed like a LOOOOONG time.

I think we can say now, setting sci-fi in the “near future” isn’t enough. Blade Runner was 2019 for crying out loud.

Keep the show the same, but add 500 years to present. 2523. Worked for Buck Rogers!