The New (and Never Made) Flintstones Show

 The Exposure Sheet is back after a little Labor Day break, and just as I promised, I introduce you to the first of several posts for what I call "Scrapped September". Each week, I'll discuss a different Hanna-Barbera project that never came to be, showing what it would have looked like, who was working on it, and why it was ultimately canceled. Our first project of the month is a Flintstones one, and it asks a question probably nobody has ever asked: What if we took the "stone-age" part out of "the modern stone-age family?"

Developed around 1972, The New Flintstones Show would've seen a more modern take on the denizens of Bedrock. Or, more specifically, an early 1970s idea of how a modernized Flintsones would look like. From what I could find, not much exists in regard to this project and its history. It was only a few years ago that we even learned this was an idea, and that was through a listing on Heritage Auctions from 2017, which is where all the concept art you see in this post comes from. It should also be mentioned that these concept sketches come from Willie Ito, who worked on many Hanna-Barbera cartoons between the years 1961 and 1975. That aforementioned Heritage Auctions post also includes this snippet of info on the project in its description (you can also find the original auction right here).

"'THE FLINTSTONES' was also considered for an updated version. Pebbles and Bamm Bamm are now teenagers with the usual trials and tribulations, Fred and Barney are the usual "blue collar" workers, Wilma and Betty, the loving housewives putting up with their shenanigans."

In the end, however, the show was never greenlit. Instead, we got 1972's The Flintstone Comedy Hour, which kept the Flintstones and Rubbles in prehistoric times, which is where they have stayed ever since. It's never been elaborated on as to why this show never entered production, but I have to imagine it's because the heads of Hanna-Barbera came to the same conclusion most of us have already had: Who would want to see The Flintstones without all of the elements that made them iconic?

 

Even though I'm not really a fan of this concept, it would have been interesting to see how the franchise would have evolved if they had modernized the characters. Had it been successful, maybe we would have seen Fred and the rest of the crew in other time periods, like medieval times, or something like that. Whether it worked or not, I think it would have definitely been a game-changer for The Flinstones!