It’s early, and we don’t have details, but it seems like a good time to tell you that half a century later, I still want a baby dinosaur as a playtime buddy.
That’s the power Land of the Lost had over me as a kid.
In case anyone was wondering: yes, Gen X did rule the airwaves, and now our favorite prehistoric fever dream might be clawing its way back into the cultural conversation.
Land of the Lost — the gloriously weird, slightly terrifying Saturday morning staple — is officially in early development at Netflix.
Cue the Sleestak hiss.
While details are scarce, here’s what we know: the project is being shepherded by Legendary Television, with original creators Sid and Marty Krofft on board as executive producers.
Marty’s daughter, Deanna Krofft Pope, will also produce, which frankly feels right — if we’re reopening the time portal, it should stay in the family.
No writers or cast have been announced yet, but that’s not stopping those of us who grew up watching the Marshall family tumble through a crack in time from immediately imagining what this could be — and hoping it honors the gonzo magic of the original.
Because let’s be clear: Land of the Lost was bonkers in the best way.
Dinosaurs. Sleestaks. Time crystals. A tiny humanoid monkey friend named Chaka who seemed weirdly trustworthy. An epic banjo theme song.
And of course, a baby brontosaurus who felt like the world’s greatest imaginary pet.
You don’t forget things like that — not when they imprint on your imagination as a kid.
You also don’t forget how high that cave was.
No kid in their right mind would want to scale a cliff to go home after a long day dodging lizard people. And yet… I wanted to live there.
I wanted to forage for giant strawberries and befriend a shaggy proto-human and watch Will (played by Wesley Eure, swoon) do heroic things with perfect ‘70s hair.
So yeah — I’ve got feelings about this.
Every weekend, my backyard became my playground, and a section of my swingset transported me through time so I could live in this imaginary world.
It’s too easy for someone to screw this up. We’ve already witnessed it firsthand.
The last time Land of the Lost was resurrected, we got a Will Ferrell-led comedy that played the whole thing for laughs.
It mocked instead of embraced and winked when it should’ve wondered. And it was, to put it kindly, a dismal mess.
But there’s reason for hope this time around.
Netflix did pull off a respectful, thrilling reboot with Lost in Space — another classic rooted in sci-fi weirdness and family bonds. If they take that same approach here? We might be in for something special.
The trick, of course, is tone. This show worked because it was earnest.
As goofy as it sounds on paper, Land of the Lost didn’t feel like a joke. It was scary sometimes!
The Sleestak were legit nightmare fuel.
And the idea of a world outside of time, with portals and creatures and ancient tech you didn’t understand — that stirred something in kids. It made you want to go exploring.
It made you believe in the wild stuff.
So please, Netflix. If you’re reading this: don’t chase irony. Don’t sand off the strangeness. Don’t cram it into a limited binge and walk away before the audience has time to fall in love.
Let this be an adventure that lives a little, that breathes. One that feels like it came from Saturday morning and not a corporate algorithm.
There’s magic in those rubber-suited monsters. There’s joy in a family trapped in time.
And there’s a whole generation of Gen Xers who would love nothing more than to sit on the couch and watch their own kids — or let’s be real, their cats — get spooked by a Sleestak.
And if you need a test audience for the dinosaur puppets? I volunteer, especially if there’s a baby one. I’m still not over that brontosaurus named Dopey.
Should I be cautious or cautiously optimistic about this potential reboot? Drop your thoughts in a comment below!
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