The Griswolds are back. But this time, they’re not going on vacation.
According to THR, HBO Max has agreed to a deal to develop a new single-camera comedy series, simply titled “The Griswolds,” based on the National Lampoon’s “Vacation” franchise, and they’ve enlisted a former member of the family to help. Johnny Galecki, one of the various Rusty’s, has agreed to produce the comedy under his new company, Alcide Bava.
While it’s still too early to tell how “The Griswolds” fits in the world of “Vacation,” or if any of the franchise’s stars will return, the HBO Max series is putting a new spin on the world of everyone’s favorite accident-prone family by focusing on their lives when they return from a vacation. Obviously, the Griswold family is just as nutty and chaotic at home when they don’t have the pressure of trying to come up with the world’s best vacation.
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As mentioned, Galecki does have a history with the “Vacation” franchise, as he played the young son, Rusty, in the classic “Christmas Vacation.” Over the course of the five-film series, five separate actors have taken on the role of the eldest Griswold son, with Galecki being the fourth. He also has some extensive sitcom experience, as an actor in the cast of “Roseanne,” “The Conners,” and of course, the long-running, record-breaking “The Big Bang Theory.”
There’s no timetable for an eventual release of “The Griswolds,” as HBO Max hasn’t even officially launched yet (that’ll happen in May). So, it’s unclear whether the series will focus on Clark Griswold in his prime (which would require a complete recasting, as Chevy Chase is probably a bit too old for that) or if the series will pick up from the continuity established in the recent reboot of “Vacation,” with an adult Rusty having a family of his own.
But hey, if HBO Max and Galecki are able to capture the joy of the early films (and parts of the reboot), then the streaming service might have a real hit on its hands.