Among the various sociopolitical and economic indicators that pundits and analysts keep track of, we’d like to hope there’s a special little category for “TV networks deciding it’s time to get back into angel shit.” It seems to happen pretty periodically, after all, what with your Joans Of Arcadia and your Touched By An Angels—including today, when Fox announced that it was bringing back one of the granddaddies of the “Everybody’s screwed, so let’s all hope God decides to just pitch in and fix it” genre, Michael Landon’s Highway To Heaven, for a modern reimagining.
Specifically, the network has announced that it’s teaming up with Landon’s widow, Cindy Landon, and former Friday Night Lights writer Jason Katims for a modern take on the series that dared to ask: What if an angel had access to America’s beautiful and historic transportation infrastructure? (Answer: Five seasons of lightly Christian-y town-of-the-week adventures with Victor French.) Katims will serve as showrunner on the new series, writing a statement as part of the press blitz today that makes it sound like even he‘s a little baffled as to why he’s doing this: “I’m excited by the challenge of putting a contemporary lens on this classic tale,” Katims wrote, amidst glowing praise from Landon and Fox president Michael Thorn. “The idea of telling a very grounded, human story about an angel feels immediately emotional to me—and fun. I love going outside my comfort zone to tell a tale about someone trying to do better as an angel than he did as a man.”
The original version of Highway To Heaven, which starred Landon as an angel and French as his retired cop buddy, aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The new version will apparently debut on Fox sometime during the 2027-2028 season—at which point, God alone knows how much divine intervention we’ll all be feeling the need for.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.