In February of last year, NBC announced that it was going to resurrect Heroes for a 13-episode miniseries. There was much rejoicing (sort of), but one question remained on everyone’s lips: “Why not Coach?” We cried to the heavens, but there was no response.
Then, in May, we heard that Netflix was planning to make a Wet Hot American Summer series, reviving the cult classic film. Again, there was much rejoicing, but that question still remained: “Why not Coach?” We cried to the heavens again, but there was still no response.
In October, when the winds became chilly and the days grew shorter, that gum we like came back in style and Showtime announced that it was bringing back Twin Peaks. People cheered. Everyone started dancing. But, in the back of our heads, we kept wondering: “Why not Coach?” We asked the heavens, and we were punished for being ungrateful.
This week, all hope seemed lost. All of our favorite shows (and Heroes, plus one of them is a movie) were coming back, but it wasn’t enough. Then Fox stepped out of the shadows and told us that everything would work out just fine. It told us that X-Files is coming back. We rejoiced, but it was hollow. X-Files is cool, but it’s not the one show we truly desired. This time we begged and pleaded: “Why not Coach?” Our cries to the heavens were ignored. We feared that they would be forever.
Today, though, something changed. It was like a crack had split into the darkness of the sky and light was spilling out for the first time in decades. Was it Fox again? Was it bringing back Firefly? No, it was NBC, and it had come to ask one, simple question: “Why not Coach?” And there was much rejoicing. Why not Coach, indeed.
Though this may feel like a wonderful dream, we assure you that this is real life: Coach is coming back for a 13-episode run on NBC. Deadline says it will be a sequel to the original series—set 18 years after it ended—and Craig T. Nelson will be returning to star as Coach Hayden Fox. This time, Coach gets called out of retirement to help his adult son coach football at a prestigious college in Pennsylvania. As of right now, no other actors are officially attached, but there will be time to figure out the details later. All we care about—all we’ve ever cared about, really—is that Coach is finally coming back.