(FOX)

FOX is looking to return to Bedrock. The network is working with Warner Bros. Animation on an adult spin-off of the venerable primetime animated series The Flintstones. The Bedrock series would take place 20 years after the original series and revolve around Fred and Wilma’s offspring, Pebbles (voiced by Elizabeth Banks), as she begins her career. Meanwhile, Fred would be nearing retirement. It’s unclear how her beau Bamm-Bamm Rubble fits into the mix. The project’s been in the works for the past two years.

This wouldn’t be the first time that viewers have seen an older version of Pebbles. She was an infant in The Flintstones but her age has bounced around in various later incarnations. She was a pre-teen in 1977’s A Flintstone Christmas and 1978’s The Flintstones: Little Big League specials. She co-starred as a teen in series like The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971), The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972), and The Flintstone Comedy Show (1980). Pebbles was also seen as an adult who works in advertising in a series of 1990s TV movies in which she married Bamm-Bamm and they had twins (one with white hair, one with red — like their parents).

This isn’t the first time that FOX has been interested in a Flintstone series. In 2012, the network ordered an adult reboot from Seth MacFarlane but cancelled those plans after reading early scripts.

Here’s more information about FOX’s series plans:

FOX ENTERTAINMENT, WARNER BROS. ANIMATION AND ELIZABETH BANKS’ BROWNSTONE PRODUCTIONS TO DEVELOP PRIMETIME ANIMATED ADULT COMEDY “BEDROCK”

Half-hour Comedy Based on Pioneering Animated Series “The Flintstones,” With Banks Set to Voice the Beloved Character of “Pebbles Flintstone”

FOX’s Free AVOD Platform, Tubi, to Stream “The Flintstones” Beginning on May 1

FOX Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and multi-hyphenate Elizabeth Banks have joined forces to develop BEDROCK, a primetime animated adult comedy series continuing the story of everyone’s favorite modern Stone Age family, the Flintstones. The pilot script will be written by Lindsay Kerns (“Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” “DC Super Hero Girls,” “Trolls: The Beat Goes On!”), with Banks voicing the character of “Pebbles Flintstone,” in addition to her role as a producer.

BEDROCK catches up with the Flintstone family two decades after the original, with Fred on the brink of retirement and 20-something Pebbles embarking on her own career. As the Stone Age gives way to a shiny and enlightened new Bronze Age, the residents of Bedrock will find this evolution harder than a swing from Bamm-Bamm’s club.

“Long before the Simpsons and Springfield, the Griffins and Quahog or even when the Belchers started serving burgers on Ocean Avenue, there were the Flintstones and Bedrock,” said Michael Thorn, President, Entertainment, FOX Entertainment. “Their imprint on the animation universe is undeniable and the idea of adapting it for today’s audience is a challenge we here at FOX are very much looking forward to taking on with Warner Bros., Elizabeth and Lindsay. No pressure whatsoever, really.”

“The Flintstones are the first family of primetime animation,” said Peter Girardi, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming at Warner Bros. Animation. “Elizabeth and Lindsay have a brilliant take on these characters, and FOX and Brownstone are the perfect partners to bring them back to primetime. This is going to rock (sorry).”

In addition, FOX Entertainment’s free streaming platform Tubi has acquired the AVOD rights to all six seasons of the iconic series “The Flintstones,” including all 166 episodes, which will begin streaming on Tubi on May 1.

Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, “The Flintstones” was television’s first primetime animated series — airing for six seasons, spanning 166 episodes – and was also the first animated program nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. This past fall, the franchise celebrated its 60th anniversary.

If picked up to series, BEDROCK will be co-produced by Warner Bros. Animation and FOX Entertainment. Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman will executive-produce through Brownstone Productions (“Pitch Perfect” franchise, “Charlie’s Angels,” “Shrill”). Brownstone’s Dannah Shinder, and Lindsay Kerns (“Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” “DC Super Hero Girls,” “Trolls: The Beat Goes On!”) will serve as co-executive producers.

About FOX Entertainment
FOX Entertainment’s 30-year legacy of innovative, hit programming includes 9-1-1, 9-1-1: LONE STAR, THE MASKED SINGER, LEGO MASTERS, PRODIGAL SON, LAST MAN STANDING, THE SIMPSONS, “Empire,” “24,” “The X-Files” and “American Idol.” Delivering high-quality scripted, non-scripted, animation, live content and major sports, FOX won the 2019-2020 broadcast season for the first time in eight years and was the only major network to post year-over-year growth among Adults 18-49 and Total Viewers. In addition to its broadcast network, FOX Entertainment oversees the operations of FOX Alternative Entertainment, its in-house unscripted studio that produces THE MASKED SINGER, I CAN SEE YOUR VOICE and THE MASKED DANCER, among other series; and the award-winning animation studio Bento Box Entertainment, which produces animated content for FOX, including the Emmy Award-winning hit BOB’S BURGERS and new series DUNCANVILLE, THE GREAT NORTH and HOUSEBROKEN, as well as programming for other broadcast, streaming and cable platforms. Tubi, FOX Entertainment’s fast-growing ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) service, features more than 30,000 movies and television series, and news content that’s available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Australia.

About Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. WBA’s current series include Animaniacs for Hulu, Green Eggs and Ham and Wings of Fire for Netflix, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Batwheels, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Harley Quinn, Jellystone!, Little Ellen, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Tiny Toons Looniversity, Velma and Young Justice for HBO Max, DC Super Hero Girls, Teen Titans Go!, ThunderCats Roar for Cartoon Network, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who?, The Tom and Jerry Show and Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! for Boomerang. WBA’s full-length theatrical film, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, was released in summer 2018. As home to the iconic animated characters from the DC, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films – including the DC Universe Movies – for DVD, Blu-ray(R) and digital media. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards(R), 35 Emmy(R) Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, a BAFTA Children’s Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 20 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).

About Brownstone Productions
With an exclusive television deal at Warner Bros. Television and first look film deal at Universal, Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman’s Brownstone Productions’ slate currently includes multiple film, television and digital collaborations across various networks and studios including Universal, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, FOX, Freeform, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu and Peacock. Their current film slate includes INVISIBLE WOMAN, THE GRACE YEAR, SCIENCE FAIR, THE PAPERPAG PRINCESS, UNCANNY VALLEY, THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS(R), and COCAINE BEAR at Universal Pictures; MISS CONCEPTION at Sony Screen Gems, and BOTTOMS at MGM’s Orion Pictures. On the television side, Brownstone’s slate includes Season 3 of the critically acclaimed series SHRILL at Hulu; DC SUPER HERO HIGH and OVER MY DEAD BODY at HBO Max; and FOXY at FOX. Elizabeth Banks and Brownstone Productions are represented by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, Relevant, and Ziffren Brittenham. Lindsay Kerns is represented by Mosaic, WME, and Ziffren Brittenham.

What do you think? Have you enjoyed The Flintstones TV series over the years? If this project makes it to series, will you check out Bedrock on FOX?