NBC is developing a new version of “Coach” with “Modern Family” star Ty Burrell, and Deadline broke the story on October 21st. Burrell is set to executive produce with the intention to star, in Deadline’s words. The show is a single-camera take on the 1989 ABC sitcom, which was shot with multiple cameras. Brothers Daniel Libman and Matthew Libman write it after co-creating Peacock’s “Mr. Throwback.” John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment also executive produce, and Universal Television is the studio. Variety adds that Burrell is attached only as an executive producer for now and that his starring role is not yet decided.
That gap matters. TheWrap says Burrell is “eyed to star” and that the intention is for him to lead the show if the project moves forward at NBC, according to a person with knowledge of it. Variety calls the reboot “a starring vehicle” for Burrell should it go to series, and Just Jared notes that NBC has not officially ordered one. Deadline, Variety and TheWrap do not say whether the network has bought a pilot, a script or a full season, so this is development and nothing more. Warning beyond this point there are spoilers for the scrapped 2015 “Coach” sequel.
The show is a single-camera take on the 1989 ABC sitcom, which was shot with multiple cameras.”
The premise swaps football for basketball. The official logline reads “A legendary coach returns home to Minnesota to rebuild his alma mater’s basketball program and reconnect with his community”, and both Variety and TheWrap print it. Deadline calls the lead “the role earmarked for Burrell.” The original followed Hayden Fox (Craig T. Nelson), head coach of the fictional Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles football team, who later moved on to coach the Orlando Breakers, a made-up NFL expansion team. The logline never names Fox, and CBR says it is unclear whether the reboot shares a universe with the original or starts fresh.
The writers know sports comedy. Deadline says the Libmans co-created “Mr. Throwback” with Adam Pally and David Caspe, and that Pally and NBA star Stephen Curry headlined it. Curry played a fictionalized version of himself, and Kimberly Gregg (Ego Nwodim) was his childhood friend turned professional partner, according to LateNighter. Peacock released all six episodes on August 8th, 2024, and NBC aired the pilot on September 12th, drawing 1.67 million viewers according to LateNighter. Peacock canceled the series after one season in April 2025, as Variety first reported. The brothers also worked on “Happy Endings” and “Black Monday,” and they co-created the YouTube Premium series “Champaign ILL” with Caspe and Jordan Cahan. Deadline notes that “Mr. Throwback” and “Coach” share a sports theme.
Burrell’s last long run was “Modern Family,” which ended in 2020 after 11 seasons. As Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), he collected eight straight Emmy nominations with two wins and a SAG Award. Deadline says “Coach” would be his first on-screen role since the finale. In the meantime he moved his family to Utah and took voice work on “Duncanville” and “Rick and Morty.” He told People in August 2025 that he was “itching” to act again. ABC ordered his multi-camera pilot “Forgive & Forget” in March 2024 and then passed on it later that year.
His other credits fill out the picture. Variety and TheWrap list the films “Finding Dory,” “Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Muppets Most Wanted.” CBR adds that he starred in the Fox sitcom “Back to You.” People says he stars in the scripted Audible podcast “The Good Life” with Jennifer Garner, Colton Dunn, Jillian Bell and Ego Nwodim. Nwodim was in “Mr. Throwback” too, so the Libmans are not the only link between Burrell and that show.
The original ran on ABC from 1989 to 1997 and lasted nine seasons under creator Barry Kemp. Hayden worked beside assistants Luther Van Dam (Jerry Van Dyke) and Michael “Dauber” Dybinski (Bill Fagerbakke), and his on-and-off romance with TV anchor Christine Armstrong (Shelley Fabares) ended in marriage. Deadline says the role earned Fabares two Emmy nominations. The Hollywood Reporter counted nearly 200 episodes in the run. Variety’s 2015 report notes that Nelson was nominated for a Golden Globe and won the 1992 Emmy for best comedy actor. Kemp is not among the new producers that Deadline and Variety list.
NBC has tried this before and it went badly. In March 2015 the network ordered 13 episodes of a sequel straight to series, and Variety reported that it would pick up 18 years after the original ended. Fox was retired and came back as assistant coach to his grown son Tim (Andrew Ridings) at a new Ivy League team in Pennsylvania. Kemp wrote it, he and Nelson executive produced and Fagerbakke was set to return as Dauber. Kemp told TV Insider that NBC called him in November 2014 to ask about updating the show and then ordered it right after the March pitch. Kemp added that NBC saw a way to market it alongside its top-rated Sunday Night Football. The Hollywood Reporter quoted NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt saying at TCA that the show paired a talented star and a great showrunner with “a presold title.” Deadline says NBC dropped the sequel after one episode was filmed.
Why it ended stayed fuzzy. The Hollywood Reporter said insiders believed the comedy was not going well and that many at NBC were not optimistic from the start. TV Insider said network insiders felt Kemp did not heed their notes. Kemp told TV Insider the network and he had “creative differences” but that NBC admitted he delivered what he promised. He added that “Some millennials said it felt a little dated.” The sequel also had Christine already dead, and Kemp told TV Insider that the news got out before he could reach Fabares. She died on Saturday, August 22nd, in Los Angeles at 82. Nelson called her “just an extraordinary woman” through a representative to Entertainment Weekly. Her romance with Hayden grew over the whole run, so any talk of a reunion now starts without her.
So is Nelson part of this? Deadline, Variety and TheWrap mention him only as the star of the original and the 2015 sequel. Just Jared writes that it is not known whether he or any original cast member will appear. An old headline has been making the rounds again, “Coach Is Coming Back to NBC With Craig T. Nelson.” That was Vulture’s March 2015 story about the sequel that never aired, not a sign of a new project. Nothing in the announcement ties the new lead to Nelson’s character, so how much of the original survives is still open.
Several headlines read firmer than the trades do. CBR’s says Burrell is rebooting a classic ’90s sitcom and Collider’s says NBC “Officially Revives” it, while Deadline’s own headline says the project is in the works. The stakes are still real. TV Insider noted in 2015 that Universal Television is NBC’s in-house arm and owns the franchise, and Universal Television is the studio again. The format change also answers the complaint that the sequel felt dated. Collider lists “Scrubs,” “King of the Hill,” “Futurama” and “The Rockford Files” among the revivals in motion. CBR adds that Netflix just debuted a revival of “A Different World.” NBC has announced no premiere date and no cast beyond Burrell’s attachment.
What Do You Think? Is Ty Burrell the right coach for a basketball-first “Coach,” or should NBC have given him a new show? Does the single-camera format fix what sank the 2015 sequel? And should Craig T. Nelson get a cameo if the series goes ahead?
See you on the next binge!
