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''The Greatest American Hero'' is an American
comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
superhero television series that aired on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. Created by producer
Stephen J. Cannell Stephen Joseph Cannell (; February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010) was an American television producer, writer, novelist, occasional actor, and founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios. ...
, it premiered as a two-hour pilot movie on March 18, 1981, and ran until February 2, 1983. The series features
William Katt William Theodore Katt (born February 16, 1951) is an American actor and musician best known as the star of the television series ''The Greatest American Hero''. He first became known for playing Tommy Ross, the ill-fated prom date of Carrie W ...
as teacher Ralph Hinkley,
Robert Culp Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on ''I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television se ...
as FBI agent Bill Maxwell, and
Connie Sellecca Connie Sellecca (born Concetta Sellecchia; May 25, 1955) is an American actress, producer, and former model, best known for her roles on the television series '' Flying High'', ''The Greatest American Hero'', and ''Hotel'', for which she was nomi ...
as lawyer Pam Davidson. The lead character's surname was changed from "Hinkley" to "Hanley" for the latter part of the first season, immediately after President Ronald Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by
John Hinckley Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinc ...
on March 30, 1981. The character's name was reverted to "Hinkley" after a few months had passed. The series chronicles Ralph's adventures after a group of aliens gives him a red and black suit that grants him superhuman abilities. Unfortunately for Ralph, who hates wearing the suit, he immediately loses its instruction booklet, and thus has to learn how to use its powers by trial and error, often with comical results.


Premise

Ralph Hinkley (Katt) is a Los Angeles public school substitute teacher of remedial education high school students. During a school field trip, Ralph encounters
extraterrestrials Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...
who give him a suit which endows him with superhuman abilities. Also during the encounter, he is instructed by the aliens to thereafter collaborate with FBI Special Agent Bill Maxwell (Culp). Their instructions are to use the suit as a means to fight crime and injustice in the world. Subsequently, attorney Pam Davidson (Sellecca), who handled Ralph's divorce, also encounters the aliens. Through some coercion, she eventually agrees, on occasion, to join Ralph and Bill during missions. Also seen regularly were Rhonda Blake (
Faye Grant Faye Grant (born Faye Elizabeth Yoe, July 16, 1957) is an American film, television and stage actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Julie Parrish in NBC's science fiction series '' V'' between 1983 and 1985. Early life Grant ...
), Tony Villicana ( Michael Paré), and Cyler Johnson ( Jesse D. Goins), three of Ralph's students; and Bill's FBI supervisor Les Carlisle (
William Bogert William Bogert (January 24, 1936 – January 12, 2020) was an American character actor best known for his roles as Brandon Brindle on the TV series ''Small Wonder (TV series), Small Wonder'' from 1985 to 1989, Kent Wallace, the host of ''Chappell ...
).


Suit and hero persona

Ralph's uniform grants him the powers of flight, super strength,
invulnerability Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally." A window of vulnerability (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, com ...
, invisibility,
precognition Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...
, telekinesis,
X-ray vision In science fiction stories or superhero comics, X-ray vision is the supernatural ability to see through normally opaque physical objects at the discretion of the holder of this superpower. The most famous possessor of this ability is DC Comics' i ...
, super speed, pyrokinesis, shrinking, psychometry ("holographic vision"), and even the ability to detect the supernatural. As Ralph lost the suit's instruction manual, his discovery of these different powers often come as a surprise even to himself. Notably, while the suit enables Ralph to fly, it does not endow him with any particular skill at landing, so he frequently crashes in an undignified (though uninjured) heap. In the episode "Fire Man" he displays resistance to fire/heat and uses "super exhalation" (the ability to blow out a flamethrower, or any other large source of fire); he also uses this ability in the episode "There's Just No Accounting ...", to extinguish a
Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with fla ...
. Ralph also shows signs of being able to control minds after he is exposed to high doses of plutonium radiation. In the season two final episode, "Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell", Ralph is shown to control a dog via a hologram. This may have been an improvisational power of the suit, but is not tried again in later episodes. In "The Shock Will Kill You", he (or the suit) becomes strongly magnetized. In the season two episode "Don't Mess Around with Jim", Ralph and Maxwell learn they are not the first duo who received such a uniform. Jim "J.J." Beck had received the suit, and Marshall Dunn was his partner, much like Ralph and Maxwell operated. But Jim was overwhelmed with the power of the suit, and he used it selfishly and for ill-gotten gains, until the aliens discovered this and took the suit away. It is unknown whether or not there were others before Jim who were visited by the aliens. In "Divorce Venusian Style", the pair meet one of the aliens, whose world was apparently destroyed (which hints as to why the aliens want to protect humanity) and calls Earth one of the few remaining "garden planets". Ralph is given another instruction book during this encounter—supposedly the aliens' last copy, but he loses it as well. When he shrinks to a fraction of normal size, he places it on a large boulder which is actually a grain of sand given his reduced size, and forgets to pick it back up before returning to normal size. In the episode "Vanity, Says the Preacher", it is also revealed there are several humans in seeming "
suspended animation Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...
" aboard the aliens' ship (Bill speculates that they are possible replacements for them). Hinkley's hero persona never receives an actual "superhero name" either, although Joey Scarbury sings the Elton John song " Rocket Man" in the pilot. In the pilot episode, Ralph sarcastically refers to himself as "Captain Crash" in reference to his terrible flying ability; and later "Captain Gonzo" in the episode "The Shock Could Kill You". Like his character, William Katt found the suit very uncomfortable and hated wearing it. Producers made various modifications to the suit to help him, and accommodated him by scheduling filming so he would not have to wear it all day during a shoot.


Symbol

On the Season 1 DVD, Stephen J. Cannell notes that the symbol design on the front of the suit is actually based on a pair of scissors that he had on his desk during the design of the uniform. He said that the costume designer asked him what he wanted the suit's chest emblem to look like. He said he had not really thought about it. The designer then picked the scissors up off the desk, held them upside down, and said "That's your emblem". Cannell was fine with that decision. The symbol on Ralph's uniform resembles the Chinese character for "center" . As the symbol is red in color with white background, Hong Kong television station
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...
titled the Cantonese-dubbed version of the show ''Fēi Tīn Hùhng Jūng Hahp'' (), meaning "Flying Red Center Hero", in reference to the red center
mahjong tile Mahjong tiles () are tiles of Chinese origin that are used to play mahjong as well as mahjong solitaire and other games. Although they are most commonly tiles, they may refer to playing cards with similar contents as well. Development The ...
. An alternate translation of "jūng" in Cantonese is "justice", which gave the other meaning for the title of the show "Flying Red Justice Hero". This alternate translation of the show title allude to the mandate by the alien grantor to use the suit as a means to fight crime and injustice in the world. The symbol's bilateral symmetry seemingly avoided the "backward S" problem encountered on the '' Adventures of Superman''. For the low-budget 1950s series, editors would on occasion "flop" stock footage of George Reeves in flight, causing the "S" shield to appear reversed. However, in many ''Greatest American Hero'' composite flying sequences, Ralph wore a watch and the timepiece alternates from one wrist to the other, especially during extended flying sequences.


Cast and characters

*
William Katt William Theodore Katt (born February 16, 1951) is an American actor and musician best known as the star of the television series ''The Greatest American Hero''. He first became known for playing Tommy Ross, the ill-fated prom date of Carrie W ...
as Ralph Hinkley/Ralph Hanley *
Robert Culp Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on ''I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television se ...
as Bill Maxwell *
Connie Sellecca Connie Sellecca (born Concetta Sellecchia; May 25, 1955) is an American actress, producer, and former model, best known for her roles on the television series '' Flying High'', ''The Greatest American Hero'', and ''Hotel'', for which she was nomi ...
as Pam Davidson *
Faye Grant Faye Grant (born Faye Elizabeth Yoe, July 16, 1957) is an American film, television and stage actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Julie Parrish in NBC's science fiction series '' V'' between 1983 and 1985. Early life Grant ...
as Rhonda Blake * Michael Paré as Tony Villicana * Jesse D. Goins as Cyler Johnson *
William Bogert William Bogert (January 24, 1936 – January 12, 2020) was an American character actor best known for his roles as Brandon Brindle on the TV series ''Small Wonder (TV series), Small Wonder'' from 1985 to 1989, Kent Wallace, the host of ''Chappell ...
as Les Carlisle


Ralph's surname

The main character's name was originally Ralph Hinkley, but after the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan by
John Hinckley, Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinc ...
, on March 30, 1981, the character's last name was hurriedly changed to "Hanley" in two episodes. In "Saturday on Sunset Boulevard", aired within days of the incident, this was accomplished by overdubbing dialogue (i.e. "Hinkley" to "Hanley") whenever the character's last name was spoken aloud. For the rest of the first season, the character was generally referred to as either "Ralph" or "Mister H", although in "The Best Desk Scenario", when Ralph is given a promotion and his own office space, we see the name "Ralph Hanley" on the door plaque. By the season 2 premiere, "The Two-Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Fast Ball", the show's producers returned the character's surname to the original Hinkley.


Episodes


Production

On the series' season 1 DVD set Stephen J. Cannell explained that he had planned ''The Greatest American Hero'' as a series emphasizing real-life problems, whereas when a change of management occurred in ABC, they requested more heroic, save-the-day-type episodes. As agreed originally between Cannell and then ABC executives
Marcy Carsey Marcy Carsey (born Marcia Lee Peterson; November 21, 1944) is an American television producer and a member of the George Foster Peabody Awards board of jurors. She is best known for her work with fellow producer Tom Werner forming the company C ...
and Tom Werner, the powers would be in the suit, not the man (though the suit would only work for him) and Ralph would try to solve ordinary-type problems, such as trying to stop corruption in Major League Baseball ("The Two Hundred Miles-Per-Hour Fastball") or an assassination attempt ("The Best Desk Scenario"). The series initially emphasized what Cannell referred to as "character comedy" based on human flaws such as envy (in the aforementioned "The Best Desk Scenario") or hypochondria ("Plague"). The series differed from previous superhero shows because of the emphasis on (especially Ralph) "rising above" superhero antics and instead exploring what it was like to live in that environment. Cannell was trying to avoid save-the-day-type episodes, as per the original '' Adventures of Superman'' television series, but according to Cannell on the DVD set, when Carsey and Werner left ABC (soon after the show was purchased by the network) the new network executives wanted the show to be more like a children's show than an adults' show. So they pushed for the types of shows that Cannell did not want, shows that involved Ralph trying to stop some sort of calamity from happening, including
nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear ...
("Operation Spoilsport") and even a
Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or ...
-type of creature ("The Devil in the Deep Blue Sea"). For the season two finale, a serious and appropriate for the time (considering the Cold War) episode was produced; "Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell", written and directed by Robert Culp. The episode's story concerns a
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
mole-agent (played by guest actor
Dixie Carter Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law'' (1999–2002). She was nomin ...
) placed into the FBI with the sole purpose of discovering the methods used by agent Bill Maxwell in catching spies and other assorted villains. Cannell gave Culp free rein to produce the episode. This was also the first of Cannell's series to feature the "Stephen J. Cannell Productions" logo. The production company's first series ''
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe ''Tenspeed and Brown Shoe'' is an American detective/comedy series originally broadcast by the ABC network between January and June 1980. The series was created by executive producer Stephen J. Cannell and a joint production of Stephen J. Canne ...
'' did not feature the logo.


Theme song

The theme song (and variants of it) have been used frequently outside of the show. "Believe It or Not" was composed by
Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil, September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his TV theme music for various shows, including ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Team''; ''NYPD Blue''; '' Renegad ...
(music) and
Stephen Geyer Stephen George Geyer (born November 21, 1950) is an American songwriter best known for his work in television. He is also a studio and performance guitarist and has written scripts for TV. Biography Geyer was born in Lima, Peru, the son of a CI ...
(lyrics) and sung by
Joey Scarbury Joey Scarbury (born June 7, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter best known for his hit song, " Theme from ''The Greatest American Hero'' (Believe It or Not)", in 1981. Childhood and early music career Scarbury was born in Ontario, Calif ...
. The theme song became well known during the show's run. "Believe it or Not" debuted in the Top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 2. It also peaked at the No. 1 position on the ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wor ...
'' chart.


Superman connections

The powers of the red suit were somewhat general, but still were similar enough to the abilities of Superman that
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, the owners of DC Comics, filed a lawsuit against ABC. '' Warner Bros. Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.'' was ultimately dismissed. However, the series has more inspiration owed to another DC property, '' Green Lantern'', in that it shares the basic concept of an ordinary human being given a powerful weapon granting extraordinary abilities by extraterrestrials, including the later appearance in the series of an alien who is loosely reminiscent of the
Green Lantern Corps Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic law enforcement organization appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians of the Universe, Guardians, a ...
' administrators, the Guardians of the Universe. The series is also very similar to Nova from Marvel Comics, in that it shares the basic concept of an ordinary person attending school being given a powerful weapon granting extraordinary abilities by extraterrestrials, including the later appearance in the series of an alien who is loosely reminiscent of the Nova Corps' administrators, the
Xandarian This is a list of alien races that appear in Marvel Comics. Overview There are countless different extraterrestrial races in Marvel Comics universe. The vast majority are humanoid in structure. Galactic Council The Galactic Council is the assem ...
s. The concept was also very similar to Frog-Man, a former supervillain, and now one of Spider-Man's allies, as well as the superhero by the name of
Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in '' Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...
,
Scott Lang Ant-Man (Scott Lang) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Byrne, Scott Lang first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #181 (March 1979) and in ''Mar ...
(all three of them, also created by Marvel Comics), to which a non-superpowered person attending school is given a red costume that grants them extraordinary abilities and superpowers to fight off crime and bring evil to justice. In the pilot episode, while Ralph ponders whether to accept the suit, he observes his son watching the '' Super Friends'' cartoon. Batman is heard to say, "We need one more Super Friend who can fly!" In a later scene, having yet to convince Pam he really is a superhero, Ralph jokes, "Look at it this way. You're one step ahead of Lois Lane: she never found out who Clark Kent really was." In "Saturday on Sunset Boulevard", Ralph needs to change his clothing quickly. Seeing a telephone booth, he grumbles, "No! Never!", but ends up using it. Later, while Ralph struggles to get changed in the back of Bill's car, Bill notes "We need to get you a bigger phone booth."


Home media

Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...
company released the complete series in
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
format in Region 1 for the first time during 2005. Additionally, on October 3, 2006, they released a special 13-disc boxed set that includes all 43 episodes of the series as well as other bonus material. However, both the individual DVD sets and the complete boxed set are missing original performances by Mike Post and Joey Scarbury whenever the song concerned originated by another artist. On October 14, 2009, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment company had acquired the rights to several
Stephen J. Cannell Stephen Joseph Cannell (; February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010) was an American television producer, writer, novelist, occasional actor, and founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios. ...
series, including ''The Greatest American Hero''. They subsequently re-released the first season as well as a complete series box set on May 18, 2010. Season 2 was re-released on October 12, 2010. On November 10, 2011, Mill Creek Entertainment released ''The Greatest American Heroine'' TV movie on DVD. On September 26, 2017,
Cinedigm Cinedigm Corp. is an American entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Cinedigm's businesses encompass digital cinema, streaming channels, content marketing, and distribution. History Early years Cinedigm Corp was founded ...
re-released ''The Greatest American Hero: The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1.
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
acquired the distribution rights to ''The Greatest American Hero'' and ''The Greatest American Heroine'' along with several other Stephen J. Cannell series on March 11, 2020. On June 30, 2022, Visual Entertainment released ''The Greatest American Hero: The Complete Collection'' on DVD in Region 1.


Revivals


''The Greatest American Heroine''

During 1986, the original principal cast reunited for a pilot movie for a new
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
series to be named ''The Greatest American Heroine'', which did not result in a new series, and the pilot was never broadcast by NBC. Ultimately, the pilot was re-edited as an episode of the original series (complete with original opening credits and theme), and added to
syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...
sets of the original series aired on several local television stations in the late 1980s, for which it is the final episode. Immediately after the beginning credits, the episode's title card is superimposed over a nighttime view of the Los Angeles skyline, reading "The Greatest American Hero" before appending the letters "i n e" individually to the sound of the
NBC chimes The NBC chimes are a sequence of three tones played on National Broadcasting Company (NBC) broadcasts. Originally developed in 1927 as seven notes, they were standardized to the current three-note version by the early 1930s, and possibly as early ...
. The chimes were a nod to NBC and its president,
Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was the president of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as ''Hill Stre ...
, who had expressed interest in reviving the series. The pilot movie reveals that, several years after the final episode, Ralph's secret identity was finally revealed to the public, resulting in his becoming a celebrity. This angers the aliens who gave him the suit, and they charge him with finding a new hero to wear the costume and use its powers for fighting evil. Once the transfer is made, they explain, all memory of Ralph's exploits will be purged from the world's memory and remembered only by Ralph, Pam, and Bill. Bill begins their search by researching people with desired hero qualities, but Ralph finds a young woman named Holly Hathaway (Mary Ellen Stuart), an elementary school teacher who spends her off-hours time looking for lost kittens, raising environmental awareness, and serving as a foster mother. Bill, Pam, and Ralph meet in the desert, where Ralph tells Bill about Holly. He reacts visibly to his new partner being a "skirt" before Holly arrives, flying in wearing a new version of the suit made for her, and she pledges to help Bill. The original trio say their final farewells, and even the stoic Maxwell reveals his true emotions as he says goodbye to Ralph and calling Pam a trooper—"...one of the best!" Holly reacts emotionally to the fond farewells, but breaks the somber mood as she accidentally pulls the door off of Bill's sedan. The rest of the episode deals with Holly learning how to use the suit with Bill Maxwell's guidance, and the pair trying to develop a working relationship. It ends with Bill overhearing a conversation between Holly and her foster daughter in which Holly refers to Bill as a good person. Bill is then shown speaking into a recorder he uses as his "diary" to suggest that maybe Holly is the right person to wear the suit after all.


Remake

On August 29, 2014, '' Deadline Hollywood'' published an article reporting that the Fox Network had ordered a pilot for a new version of the show. The pilot was to be produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, both of whom wrote and directed ''
The Lego Movie ''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 Computer animation, computer-animated Adventure film, adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story by Lord, Miller, and Dan and Kevin Hageman. Based on the Lego line o ...
''. Deadline reported on September 8, 2017, that Rachna Fruchbom and
Nahnatchka Khan Nahnatchka Khan (born June 17, 1973) is an American television writer and producer. She created and executive produced the ABC comedy series ''Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'' (2012–2013) and '' Fresh Off the Boat'' (2015–2020), and ...
will produce a female-led remake for 20th Century Fox TV and
ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. Th ...
. The suit will be donned by Meera, an Indian-American woman. Actress
Hannah Simone Hannah Simone (born 3 August 1980) is a British-Canadian actress, television host, and former VJ and fashion model. She is known for portraying Cece on the Fox sitcom ''New Girl''. Early life Simone was born in London to an Indian father an ...
was cast as the lead for the reboot. On February 12, 2018, Simone was announced as the lead in
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's reboot; however, ABC declined to pick up the series.


Comics

During July 2008, it was announced that Katt was writing a comic book series based on the television series for his publishing company, Catastrophic Comics, in conjunction with Arcana Studios. The three-issue mini-series debuted later that year, featuring an updated retelling of the original pilot episode set in the present. Katt also contributes to the show's Facebook page.Spiegel, Danny. "Hero Worship" '' TV Guide''; June 21, 2010; Page 77


See also

*
Reluctant hero ''Reluctant Hero'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Killer Be Killed. It was released on November 20, 2020, by Nuclear Blast. Writing The band began writing the album in 2016, before going to Hybrid Studios in Californi ...
– a heroic archetype found in fiction, typically portrayed as an everyman forced to rise to heroism, or as a person with unwanted special abilities


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greatest American Hero, The 1980s American comedy-drama television series 1980s American comic science fiction television series 1981 American television series debuts 1983 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming American superhero comedy television series Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan English-language television shows Saturn Award-winning television series Television shows adapted into comics Television series by Stephen J. Cannell Productions Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series created by Stephen J. Cannell