“Highway to Heaven” reboot headed to TV, with late star Michael Landon's widow producing

Raechal ShewfeltThu, May 7, 2026 at 1:18 AM UTC

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Michael Landon on 'Highway to Heaven'
Credit: Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via GettyKey Points -

A reimagined version of TV's Highway to Heaven will air on Fox in the 2027–2028 season, the network announced.

The original series, which aired from 1984 to 1989, starred Michael Landon as an angel who had returned to Earth to help people.

Landon's widow is set to produce the reboot of the series.

A reimagined Highway to Heaven is headed to TV.

Fox announced Monday that a new version of the drama, which originally aired from 1984 to 1989, will debut on Fox in the 2027–2028 season.

Costarring Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith and Victor French, Landon's Little House on the Prairie costar, as Mark Gordon, the drama depicted Landon as an angel who had returned to Earth to help people. French was the cop who made Jonathan's angelic acts possible.

Writer and producer Jason Katims, who's known for his work on shows including Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, will serve as showrunner. Katims will also produce as part of a team that includes Cindy Landon, Michael's widow, of Michael Landon Productions, and Amblin Television.

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"Highway to Heaven has always been about connection, compassion and the idea that small acts can have big ripple effects and make a lasting difference," said Cindy, who married Michael in 1983. "I'm proud to help carry Michael’s legacy forward with partners like Fox and Amblin, who understand the heart of this series and are bringing it to a new generation at just the right moment."

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In his own statement Katims said, "I'm excited by the challenge of putting a contemporary lens on this classic tale. The idea of telling a very grounded, human story about an angel feels immediately emotional to me — and fun. I love going outside my comfort zone to tell a tale about someone trying to do better as an angel than he did as a man."

Lifetime aired an movie version of Highway to Heaven, which starred Jill Scott as the angel, in 2021.

Michael Landon died of pancreatic cancer in 1991. In addition to Highway to Heaven, he was known for having starred in and often written and produced the TV series Little House on the Prairie, between 1974 and 1983. Before that, he starred on the Western show Bonanza, in which he played "Little Joe" from 1959 to 1973.

Michael Landon and his future wife, Cindy, in 1982
Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

But unlike with Little House and Bonanza, Landon was the creator of Highway to Heaven, which earned seven Emmy nominations during its run.

"I was driving through Beverly Hills to pick up my kids on a Friday night, and people were honking at each other," Landon told the Los Angeles Times in January 1988, of the night he conceived the project. "There is no worse place for that than Beverly Hills; I think when people have a little bit more money, they really believe that the Red Sea will part and their car will go forward."

He continued, "And I thought, ‘Why is everybody so angry? If they would just spend that same time being nice. It's obvious the flow of traffic is going to go much better if everybody has his opportunity.'"

on Entertainment Weekly

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