OK, so I'm interested. That right there is why studios sometimes try to do a new version of an old show. That being acknowledged, does it ever really work? I mean, do new versions of old shows ever succeed, becoming succesful TV series?

Here are the remakes I can remember.

1998's Fantasy Island was a crime against good taste and died a merciful death after just a few episodes.

The Love Boat: The Next Wave wasn't so much a remake as a sequel: it takes place on the same ship a generation after the original crew has left. I wouldn't normally call this a "remake" but it sorta fits into the category. Anyway, it barely survived one season. However, if you count the next generation of The Love Boat then you have to count Star Trek: The Next Generation which obviously was a huge hit.

The Fugitive from 2000 was one of the best new shows in the last decade (IMHO), but for whatever reason didn't catch on and was cancelled after just a few episodes.

The New WKRP in Cincinnati was awful but did (IIRC) manage to stagger into a second season. 2003's Dragnet was cancelled after five episodes, although apparently there are five more epsisodes in the can that they could show if they so chose. Y'know, it's weird how long networks keep up the websites for dead shows.

The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy went through many different remakes after the initial series. The remakes were of varying quality and success, but at least Vivian Vance eventually got it in her contract that she chose her own wardrobe.

Overall, I think the verdict is that while remakes rarely succeed, new shows in general rarely succeed, and so remakes probably have a better than average success rate.

Opine.