11 TV Shows That Made a Comeback

The world first met Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in September 1993. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson played the FBI agents for nine years, chasing the supernatural as their relationship developed. The X-Files came to a close on May 19, 2002, with the two holding on to hope for the future. Duchovny and Anderson reunited a few years later for the 2008 movie The X-Files: I Want to Believe, but the series saw its highly anticipated revival 14 years later, when The X-Files returned to Fox for a six-episode run.

Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel first made their debuts as Lorelai Gilmore and Rory Gilmore, respectively, in October 2000. The Emmy-winning show continued to run on The WB and CW for seven years, following the mother-daughter pair as Rory made her way through college and first loves and Lorelai navigated complicated relationships and new business endeavors. Gilmore Girls aired its final episode on May 15, 2007, leaving the status of Lorelai and Luke’s relationship ambiguous and seeing Rory head off to her first job. Nearly nine years later, Netflix decided to continue the story, bringing many of the original stars back for a four-part miniseries.

The Bluth family first taught the wisdom of banana stands, huge mistakes, and blue paint in November 2003, when Arrested Development made its debut. The sitcom originally ran for three seasons, airing its series finale in February 2006. More than seven years later, the Bluths returned. Netflix picked up the show and gave it a fourth season, which premiered in May 2013.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? made its way to U.S. airwaves in August 1998 with Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady in tow. After moving from ABC to ABC Family, the sketch show wrapped in 2007 — seemingly for good. A revival was in the cards, however, and Whose Line returned six years later on The CW.

After eight years on ABC and in their hometown of San Francisco, the Tanners finally went off the air in 1995. It wasn’t the end for John Stamos, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron, Lori Loughlin, and Andrea Barber, as they said “Hola, Tannerinos” 11 years later. They reunited for Fuller House, which debuted on Netflix in February 2016.

The “damn fine” coffee only flowed for two seasons on Twin Peaks. The show about a murder in Twin Peaks, Wash. debuted in April 1990 and wrapped in June 1991. The film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me was released in 1992, but the show got new life two decades later. It was first announced in 2014 that Twin Peaks was coming to Showtime in a limited run, expected to air in 2017.

Kiefer Sutherland played Jack Bauer for nearly nine years on 24. The drama about a particularly tumultuous day in the agent’s life first premiered in November 2001, airing its finale after eight seasons and a TV movie in May 2010. Four years later, a new chapter began. The show returned to Fox in May 2014 for a 12-episode run as 24: Live Another Day.

CBS brought Dallas to the masses in 1978, introducing viewers to the Ewing family and Ewing Oil. Fans watched the drama unfold for 13 years, finally saying goodbye to Dallas with the show’s final episode in May 1991. More than 20 years later, viewers returned to Dallas. With many of the original stars on board, the show got new life on TNT, premiering in June 2012.

Viewers learned the importance of saving the cheerleader after Heroes made its NBC debut in September 2006. Four seasons and four years later, the show came to a close, wrapping in February 2010. The show got new life in 2015, however, with the debut of Heroes Reborn. The story continued on NBC in a 13-episode miniseries.

Leave it to Lisa Kudrow to make quite the comeback. The Friends alum had a short-lived run in 2005 as Valerie Cherish, starring on The Comeback for one season. The show ended in September 2005, but started once more in November 2014, coming back to HBO for a long-awaited second season.