Can you imagine if the '80s sitcom Family Ties was remade today? This is exactly what the cast discussed when they reunited for a video chat in November 2020. Much of the virtual chat centered around the politics of the show, particularly the concept of hippie parents raising a strictly conservative Republican son.
While the beloved sitcom, one of the best of the '80s would never work today with the same cast, what about a new cast? A modern-day interpretation of the series would be fascinating, but who would play the characters?
Elyse Keaton: Jane Krakowski
The matriarch of the family, Elyse was played by Meredith Baxter-Birney, and Krakowski has a bit of a resemblance to her. For this reason and more, she would be the perfect choice to play the working mom raising four kids with her husband. While Elyse is often forgotten on lists of the strongest sitcoms moms of that decade, she certainly deserves to be on them.
Krakowski, who mostly does comedies, has a diverse resume that includes series like 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Dickinson. It would be great to see her in a traditional multi-cam sitcom.
Steven Keaton: Jamie Dornan
The upbeat, lively dad who works as a general manager of WKS had his signature facial hair, smile, and free-spirited hippie attitude. Jamie Dornan would be a great actor to take over the role originally made popular by Michael Gross.
Dornan has mainly played dramatic roles, most notably in the 50 Shades movies and the series The Fall, in which he played a serial killer. So, this would be a cool career pivot that could demonstrate his versatility as an actor. And Dornan is no stranger to the small screen, having appeared in series like Once Upon a Time and Death and Nightingales. Many dramatic actors have surprised with comedic roles and vice versa, and this might be a good one for Dornan to make that switch.
Alex P. Keaton: Timothée Chalamet
It's unimaginable to consider anyone else for the role of Alex P. Keaton, which was originated by the brilliant Michael J. Fox and quickly became the breakout character of the show. But if any young actor from this generation could tackle it, it would be Timothée Chalamet.
Fiercely intelligent and conservative, Alex wore a suit and tie to school and would often butt heads with his liberal parents; he was a Republican through and through. Chalamet has shown his dramatic acting chops in films like Call Me By Your Name and Beautiful Boy but can also be funny, too, as seen recently when he hosted Saturday Night Live. So, this would be a fun role for him to take on.
Mallory Keaton: Camila Mendes
Alex's older sister and the eldest Keaton child, Mallory was a typical teenage girl with a more relaxed attitude like her parents. For much of the season, she has a leather jacket-wearing, long-haired bad boy boyfriend named Nick of whom her father does not approve.
Originally played by Justine Bateman (sister of Jason Bateman), Camila Mendes could bring a modern, more layered twist to the character. While her most notable role to date is that of Veronica Lodge on Riverdale, a much different character to Mallory, a role like this would give Mendes the opportunity to show a more comedic side and expand her resume.
Jennifer Keaton: Raegan Revord
Raegan Revord has impressed in her role on Young Sheldon as Missy, the sarcastic and self-absorbed twin sister of Sheldon Cooper. In Family Ties, the athletic Jennifer was played by Tina Yothers.
While Missy is the young girl who cares about appearances and looking traditionally "pretty," a big storyline is also her talent for baseball, abilities that land her on an all-boys team after some coaxing of the chauvinistic coach. Coincidentally, Young Sheldon is set in the late '80s, the same time Family Ties was on the air.
Andrew "Andy" Keaton: Elias Harger
While Andy, the youngest Keaton child, was very young when he appeared on the show — actor Brian Bonsall was just five years old when he first appeared — the biggest storyline pertaining to him was that Alex was grooming him to be a little Republican.
Elias Harger is much older but given his portrayal of Max on Full House sequel series Fuller House, but it's too good a role for him to pass up to anyone. He's too young to play Alex, but as a smart and conservative young middle schooler who, like Alex, loved to dress conservatively to school, he would be worth making the character a few years older.
Irwin "Skippy" Handelman: Dylan Minnette
Minette is no stranger to playing the awkward high schooler, a role he took on for the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, where he led the cast as Clay Jensen. Throw a pair of glasses on him and he'd work as Irwin, the Keaton family neighbor with a huge, unrequited crush on Mallory.
Originally played by Marc Price, "Skippy," as he was nicknamed, was close friends with Alex and was fairly close with the entire Keaton family. Minnette's character on 13 Reasons Why wasn't beloved by fans so playing someone more light-hearted might suit him better.
Nick Moore: Thomas Brodie-Sangster
It might seem like an odd choice, but Brodie-Sangster proved in his recent role as Benny in Netflix series The Queen's Gambit that he could pull off the bad boy vibe. So, having him don the '80s mullet, leather jacket, earring, and rebellious attitude is totally doable.
As the boyfriend of eldest Keaton daughter Mallory, Scott Valentine did a great job with the character. But Brodie-Sangster could be a clever new casting choice, and it's easy to imagine chemistry between him and Mendes.
Lauren Miller: Maisie Williams
Courteney Cox originally played this character, a girlfriend of Alex's and a psychology major at college. While Lauren didn't ultimately end up with Alex, it was an intriguing dynamic since she was not only a liberal but also a feminist. Interestingly, it isn't their politics that tear them apart but the fact that Alex has an affair with another student.
Maisie Williams would play the strong Lauren brilliantly. She is best known for her role as the fiercely strong and independent Arya Stark on Game of Thrones and she recently starred in the deadpan comedy revenge drama Two Weeks To Live. Williams hasn't really shown her playful and comedic side on roles on-screen just yet, but she has shown that she's a pretty funny person on many talk shows and in interviews.
Ellen Reed: Yara Shahidi
Ellen Reed is Alex's girlfriend before he meets Lauren. Played by Tracy Pollan — who is married to Fox in real life — she was his first serious relationship. She also leaned more liberal, as an artist and a feminist, proving that Alex was ironically attracted to that type.
Yara Shahidi would be a smart casting choice. A young woman who is fiercely smart and presents feminist values herself, she'd bring a strong personality to the role. She plays an artistic type on the series Grown-ish, a spin-off of Black-ish, so it wouldn't be a big departure from a character she already plays.