Lifetime
Lifetime is rebooting the popular television series, “Highway to Heaven.” This time, the premise will be presented through a series of movies rather than through a TV series.
Jill Scott & Barry Watson Will Star in the Movies
Jill Scott and Barry Watson will star in the series of TV movies, TVLine reported.
Scott will take over Michael Landon’s angelic role from the TV series. She’ll be starring as an angel named Angela who helps people with their problems. As her “cover,” she works as a school counselor.
Watson will be starring as Bruce, a school principal who knows Angela’s real identity.
Lifetime’s official synopsis reads:
Lifetime’s ‘Highway to Heaven’ follows Angela (Jill Scott), an angel sent back to Earth by God, to help others in need. In the premiere movie, Angela assumes the role of a temporary school counselor and finds herself working alongside the principal Bruce (Barry Watson) as she intervenes in the lives of a troubled student Cody (Ben Daon, The Astronauts) and his father Jeff (Robert Moloney, Riverdale/You Me Her) after the tragic loss of Cody’s mother, Melissa (Ashley Ross, A Series of Unfortunate Events). As Angela seemingly works miracles with Cody and Jeff, Bruce is in disbelief when he learns of the divine nature of Angela’s work.
The first movie is being produced for Lifetime by Rain Productions and Propagate. The movie will be executive produced by Jonathan Baruch, Rob Wolken, Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Gregory Lipstone, Rodney Ferrell, Shawn Gee, Jill Scott, Cindy Landon, and Wayne Lepoff.
Grammy Award winner Scott has numerous credits to her name, including “First Wives Club” (Hazel Rachelle), “Black Lightning” (Lady Eve), “Black-ish,” “Flint” (Nayyirah Shariff), “Second Sight,” “Get on Up,” “Love Beats Rhymes,” “Black Panther” (mini-series as Storm), “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” (Precious Ramotswe), “Girlfriends” (Donna), and more.
Watson’s credits include “Into the Dark,” “The Loudest Voice,” “My Mom’s Letter from Heaven,” “A Dog’s Way Home,” “A Very Nutty Christmas,” “Date My Dad” (Ricky Cooper), “Murder in the First,” “Masters of Sex,” “Hart of Dixie” (Davis Polk), “Gossip Girl” (Steven), “Far from Home,” “Samantha Who?” (Todd), “Rip City,” “What About Brian” (Brian Davis), “7th Heaven” (Matt Camden), “Malibu Shores,” and more.
Lifetime Is Working with Landon’s Estate on the Series of Movies
The original TV series ran on NBC from 1984-1989, covering five seasons and more than 100 episodes, TVLine reported.
According to a press release from Lifetime, the movie series is being produced in “cooperation with Cindy Landon and the Michael Landon Estate” and is inspired by the 80s drama.
The press release noted: “With a constant theme throughout of love and kindness, the reboot aims to inspire hope and community as it addresses contemporary social and emotional issues, this time with a female angel as the anchor of the movie series.”
Cindy Landon and Wayne Lepoff are serving as executive producers of the first movie, representing Landon’s estate.
Tanya Lopez, Executive Vice President, Scripted Programming, Lifetime & LMN, said in a press statement about the new movie:
The original ‘Highway to Heaven’ was appointment viewing for millions and in a time when we need those messages of hope the most, we are excited to bring back the iconic series in a new way. Having worked with Jill previously for some of Lifetime’s most celebrated movies, we know she is the perfect actor to bring her passion and brilliance to this role. I just love her…Jill amplifies everything she touches in ways that make her pop off the screen. And the addition of Barry was just icing on the cake. I believe we have assembled a dynamic new duo with both Jill and Barry at the helm.
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Lifetime Is Rebooting ‘Highway to Heaven’