It was my birthday in 2019 when NBC announced Peacock and a part of the streaming services was going to be a reboot of Punky Brewster. To my late 30’s head, it meant I would finally know what happened to that funky girl I used to watch in syndication every day.
I don’t remember Punky being on NBC during primetime, I was 2 when at the time. I do remember watching her, Cherrie, Margo, Alan, Henry, and Cherries grandmother’s adventures during a weekday afternoon. I can tell you all about Punky, how she was abandoned in a grocery store parking lot with her dog Brandon and how she somehow found a vacant apartment and would stay there at night until she was found by Henry, the building manager. He let her stay with him so she wouldn’t have to go back to an orphanage. I remember episodes when they built the treehouse, the adventures they took when Henry took Punky and her friends fishing, Cherrie hiding in a refrigerator. Not to mention her creativity (remember her room?) Punky was an inspiration as someone who overcame her life’s obstacles by not letting the negative affect her daily, and she was always looking for the good in everything and she wasn’t afraid to tell you. One day, Punky was gone. I couldn’t argue with my grandfather for the tv in the living room since Punky was on at the same time as M.A.S.H. I like to think Punky was the foundation of my free spirit attitude.
Where did Punky go?
Punky was apart of my afternoon. Her optimism, fashion sense, and adventures. Then one day, she was gone. Her name in color would not show up on my tv again. I always looked to see if nick at nite, or some station would put it on randomly as they did with Alf. I could never find it.
Over the years I always wondered what happened to Punky. Where is she? How did she handle her high school and college years. Did she stay with Henry? Did her mom ever start looking for her? How old was Brandon when he died? What happened to Henry? And Cherry and her grandmother? I would mention it when while talking to someone about old tv shows and brought up that they should bring back Punky Brewster and I would get looks and get asked why. This was before televisions show reboots were cool. I mean, I cant be the only one who wonders what happened to Punky!
I remember how excited I was to rent the dvds via Netflix and she was back. And to see the expressions on anyones face who asked “have you watched anything recently?” and I would reply “Only Punky Brewster!” The looks I would get, they expected to hear my opinion about a major movie not a tv show about a 7 year old and a cranky old man. But I loved Punky so much that my daughter would watch the episodes on YouTube.
Punky Brewster socks
Punky had her own sense of style and she really didn’t care. Known for wearing bright colors and mixed match shoes. I remember my mom telling me not to wear “Punky Brewster socks” (and to this day, I’m not afraid to put on my Punky Brewster socks).
The return of Punky Power!
I signed up for Peacock back in June when early sign-up was available. I had no idea how often I would watch it, but to have a Punky Brewster binge (and psych) whenever I wanted, then I knew it would be worth it. I counted down the days and didn’t pay attention to anything that was released to the media. I was hoping the show was going to drop at midnight EST, however, at 12:15am it wasn’t anywhere on Peacocks catalog. I went to bed knowing when I wake up – I would finally know what happened to Punky. I woke up feeling like a kid on Christmas morning as I opened up the peacock app and saw Punky was featured front and center. At last, I was going to be reunited with a lifelong friend..
I loved so many things about the reboot. The details of Punky’s apartment, the friendship between her and Cherrie, what she did for a living to learn how to have a relationship with her ex-husband (played by Freddie Prince Jr.) to her kids, to having a similar dog house for her current dog-like Brandon’s during the ’80s. And coming across Izzy and being inspired to be Izzy’s Henry. Even during difficult times Punky still had her “punky power” and overcame life obstacles with optimism. One thing I wasn’t expecting is that we learned more about her Mom. The message of the show is still clear, whatever life throws at you use your punky power and see the good in every situation (or in my case put on my punky socks and turn up your Jilly power).
It was over 30 years in the making in my tv world. Punky power is back! I am hoping for a season two!
(Now if the tv gods could bring back Alf)