Why We Need A 'Charlie's Angels' Reboot

The universe can't just say things like there are rumors of an upcoming Charlie's Angels reboot with Elizabeth Banks directing (maybe) and not make it happen. That's like saying there's going to be an upcoming free trip to Hawaii, and I can maybe go. OK, maybe that's a bit of a dramatic comparison, but the Charlie's Angels franchise is something that is as important as it is underappreciated. I understand why the 2011 Charlie's Angels reboot was cancelled after only a few episodes, but the success of the films and the original series should be all the proof the world needs that Charlie's Angels still has something that the world desperately needs. In fact, the reboot would have all the things that I spend most of my time begging to see in other media: strong female characters leading the show and supporting each other, their stories in the hands of a female director. But let's break down why that's so important.

Charlie's Angels first hit the airwaves in 1976, and it got a lot of heat for being little more than "jiggle TV." I mean, the sheer amount of excuses that any other TV show can concoct to get its female characters into skimpy outfits and bikini are probably unmatched by the situations that the 1976 series put the girls into. Even better, the show was initially pitched as a much sexier show called Alley Cats, but Kate Jackson — the first actress handpicked for the series — came up with the much better title of calling the girls Angels. And, as it turns out, beautiful women solving crimes was a huge draw for people regardless of how much or how little clothes they wore to do it.

Fast forward to 2015 and... we're still trying to get a Black Widow movie made. "But Kadeen," you might be saying. "The Angels weren't superheroes. That's a completely different argument!" Is it? The budget for the special effects and stunts present in a superhero movie are so far beyond the budget for the special effects and stunts present in a Charlie's Angels movie that the fact that there aren't a hundred reboots in the works to gear us up for more ladies cornering the market on the crimefighting game is a source of constant pain to me. This Charlie's Angels reboot shouldn't be a rumor. It should be a reality. It should be one of many movies or TV shows about women fighting crime together, instead of the rare breath of fresh air between The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and the latest James Bond film.

Even better, under Elizabeth Banks, this would be the first Charlie's Angels adaptation that would be directed by a woman. Sure, Kate Jackson had some creative control of the show when it was created, but her fate and that of her character were still in the hands of men in suits. And the difference between a male director and a female director when it comes to a series as divisive as Charlie's Angels is the difference in how often the women are used as sex objects and how often they make themselves sexual subjects to get a job done. How well that balance and distinction is struck varied from episode to episode — and varied from scene to scene in the films — but it's the important thing when giving Charlie's Angels far more depth than just being jiggle TV.

So I ask again: please make this Charlie's Angels reboot a reality, and please make Elizabeth Banks the director — or any other woman who will bring a new and much needed perspective to the stories and cases that the girls have to deal with. As women leading their own films and movies, without sharing that box office lead status with a man, continues to be just as rare as it's always been, I need someone to give Charlie's Angels another shot.

Women fighting crimes, having flaws, supporting one another like sisters, and beating down anyone who would try to destroy that sisterhood (or the world)? Yes please. Women working for a shadowy male millionaire in a suit and proving every single second that they're very, very good at their job? Too relatable. And with some luck, it will all come with some awesome dance numbers. Just because.

Image: Columbia Pictures; Rebloggy (3)