Posted in: TV | Tagged: barry watson, Highway to Heaven, Jill Scott, lifetime, Michael Landon, reboot, Victor French

Highway to Heaven: Lifetime Reboot Blesses Jill Scott, Barry Watson

Lifetime greenlit an event TV movie series Highway to Heaven, a reboot based on the 1984 Michael Landon-created TV series of the same name. Grammy Award winner Jill Scott (Black Lightning) will play Angela, a gender-bent variation of the Landon angel character with Barry Watson (Naomi) co-starring in the role of Bruce, a junior high school principal, whom Angela reveals her true identity, according to Deadline Hollywood.

Also joining the cast in the new Highway to Heaven are Ben Daon, Robert Moloney, and Ashley Ross. In the original NBC drama, Landon starred with Victor French, who played Mark Gordon, an ex-cop Jonathan teams up to help others in need. The inspirational series ran for five seasons from 1984-89 garnering seven Emmy nominations. Sadly, French passed after filming the final episode. Landon passed in 1991. The new Highway to Heaven is looking to carry on the legacy continuing the themes of hope and love as Lifetime will work with Michael's widow Cindy Landon and his estate with Scott also serving as an executive producer.

In the premiere movie, Angela (Scott) assumes the role of a temporary school counselor and finds herself working alongside the principal Bruce (Watson) as she intervenes in the lives of a troubled student Cody (Daon) and his father Jeff (Moloney) after the tragic loss of Cody's mother, Melissa (Ross). As Angela seemingly works miracles with Cody and Jeff, Bruce is in disbelief when he learns of the divine nature of Angela's work. "The original Highway to Heaven was appointment viewing for millions and in a time when we need those messages of hope the most, we are excited to bring back the iconic series in a new way," said Tanya Lopez, EVP, Scripted Programming, Lifetime & LMN. "Having worked with Jill previously for some of Lifetime's most celebrated movies, we know she is the perfect actor to bring her passion and brilliance to this role. I just love her…Jill amplifies everything she touches in ways that make her pop off the screen. And the addition of Barry was just icing on the cake. I believe we have assembled a dynamic new duo with both Jill and Barry at the helm."

Bleeding Cool TV on Instagram: For all of the stuff too random and bizarre to make the site, make sure to follow us on Instagram (with an official launch on June 19): Bleeding Cool TV (@bleedingcooltv).

BCTV Daily Dispatch: For a look at what's going on across the television and streaming landscape, sign up for Bleeding Cool's daily email round-up of the news you need to know here.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!