Peacock’s much-anticipated “Punky Brewster” reboot is finally here — and it’s packed with ‘80s nostalgia.
Soleil Moon Frye reprises the title role in the revival. Punky is now a single mom of three, and Freddie Prinze Jr. joins the cast as Punky's ex-husband, Travis.
The original series aired from 1984 to 1986 on NBC and from 1987 to 1988 in syndication and followed the story of Punky, a plucky young heroine with a penchant for color-blocked outfits and mismatched shoes being raised by her grumpy but loving foster dad, Henry (George Gaynes).
Much of the new series focuses on Punky’s kids, Hannah (Lauren Lindsey Donzis), Diego (Noah Cottrell) and Daniel (Oliver De Los Santos). But, of course, there are plenty of playful callbacks to the original series. Here are the references we spotted.
1. A photo of Punky’s own foster dad with his beloved camera hangs on a wall in her living room (in Henry's old apartment). “Morning, Henry,” she addresses it. “What a beautiful day.”
2. “Mom, you’re wearing two different shoes,” daughter Hannah tells Punky, pointing out her red and orange Converse sneakers. “Haven’t done that in a while,” Punky replies, referring to her old signature look.
3. The opening, which sees an overall-clad Punky spray-painting her name on a wall, features a more modern, mellow rendition of the show’s upbeat theme song, "Every Time I Turn Around."
4. Cherie (Cherie Johnson) is back as Punky’s old best friend, showing up to offer a much-needed hug. “How do you always know?” Punky asks. “Because we’ve been friends since we were 7,” she replies.
5. Fenster Hall, the shelter where Punky was briefly sent in the original, still exists. Cherie asks Punky to stop by to take photos of the children there for its foster care website. One of its residents, Izzy (Quinn Copeland), reminds Cherie of Punky — and Punky is moved to foster Izzy.
6. Holy macanoli! When Hannah shows Punky a prospective suitor on a dating app, she exclaims a familiar phrase. Speaking of catchphrases, Punky rediscovers her “Punky power,” and encourages young Izzy to find her own inner spark.
7. Hannah and Izzy hide out in Punky’s old treehouse. “Mom built it with her friends when she was a kid,” Hannah explains. “That was before the internet, when there was nothing to do.”
8. Izzy is playing with Punky's expensive camera lens and accidentally drops it — reminding us a lot of the 1985 episode "Punky Brewster's Workout," in which young Punky broke Henry's camera while using it to shoot an exercise video with her pals.
9. Izzy is distraught when she loses her beanie, explaining, "It's not just a hat. It's the last thing I remember my dad ever giving me." In the 1984 episode "Bye Bye, My," Punky had a similar reaction to Henry throwing out a broken baby doll given to her by her estranged mom.
10. Punky's hilariously snooty pal Margaux (Ami Foster) is still part of the gang — fabulous as ever, she now works at a firm that runs PR for WWE. "We've been friends since we were your age," she tells Izzy. "I know, I look younger, thanks to my hyperbaric sleep chamber."
Peacock is part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.