Nearly two decades after the Camden family said goodbye,7th Heavenis reportedly on its way back to television. The project, now in early development at CBS Studios, is reportedly bringing back starJessica Bielas executive producer after she starred in the original show. However, the real question is why CBS is reviving a show that has recently been the subject of much online ridicule by people just discovering old episodes, and was tarnished by revelations of lead starStephen Collins’ child sexual abuse.
From 1996 to 2007,7th Heavendelivered 11 seasons and over 240 episodes following Reverend Eric Camden (Stephen Collins), his wife Annie (Catherine Hicks), and their expanding brood through roughly a decade of first kisses, moral lectures, and some quaint and tidy answers to messy problems. However, according toVariety, the new reboot will not be connected to the original show in any way and will feature a new “diverse” family. So why use the7th Heavenname and bring all the baggage that comes with it?
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Variety’s report is sketchy on details, but the “early development” project will have Anthony Sparks as showrunner, who will also be an executive producer alongside Biel. The original series was one of the last to be produced by TV legend Aaron Spelling, and while it proved popular enough to sustain an incredible number of episodes, it is not regarded as one of Spelling’s finest shows.
What Was Wrong With ‘7th Heaven?’
7th Heavenwas the longest-running series to feature on The WB, one of the network’sbiggest successes alongside the likes ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer. When The WB merged with UPN to form The CW, the show aired one final season on the new network. However, just because a show has a long life, doesn’t mean it is good, as many of the series’ critics have been quick to point out over the years.
7th Heavenwas often praised by the Parents Television Council for its wholesome and positive messaging, and for showing the consequences of premarital sex, underage drinking, and peer pressure. In counter to that, a number of critics openly called the series “the worst long running show on television” and slammed its characters as being such a caricature of a real family that it was “so clean it is obscene.”
This is an opinion that has reared its head thanks to TikTok. Like all good viral social media topics,7th Heavenhas found plenty of people to share some of its most “unhinged” moments that have been called “heavy-handed moralizing, Christian propaganda.” The idea of attempting to revive a show with a strong moral compass and plenty of goodness and light seems pretty obscene in itself given the way the world works right now.
All of this is in addition to the controversy over the show’s lead, Collins, whose career ended abruptly in 2014 following multiple allegations of sexual abuse against minors. After admitting to several “inappropriate” relationships with female minors, Collins became the subject of the 2025 docuseriesHollywood Demons, which looked into the darker side of the industry and followed othersuch documentaries as Quiet on Set.
Whether7th Heavendoes return remains to be seen, but for now the wheels are in motion to reboot the series, albeit as a completely different series. There have been no details of potential casting or network revealed at this time.
Source:Variety
7th Heaven
