I grew up watching Michael Knight and KITT fight the bad guys. But it was a much simpler time in those days when the heroes and good guys were obvious and the bad guys were even more obvious. It seems like that’s changed over the years as the line between “good and evil” has blurred.
That’s why I was so excited to hear that this iconic TV show Knight Rider (along with its car) is making its way back to the airwaves on NBC!
And this time, the show is using one of the most recognized Ford cars ever made–with several modifications, of course. This time around, Mr. Knight’s son will be driving around in a Ford Shelby Mustang while fighting the bad guys. Maybe a whole new generation can grow up watching a man and his Ford Mustang fight crime, just as I did so many years ago (it was a different brand of vehicle back then, though).
According to Variety, a trade magazine for the television industry, Knight Rider will likely have a Friday night time slot when it debuts as a new series later this year. NBC checked to see if it was still as popular as it was in the 80s by showing a made-for-TV movie earlier this year. Apparently, the verdict is in, and enough people tuned in to give producers the “green light” to make a new series.
Although this isn’t unprecedented, networks don’t usually revive an old series nearly 30 years after it went off the air the first time. But I, for one, am very happy that it’s coming back and I’m waiting on the edge of my couch. Are you excited, too?

Is anybody else as excited as I am at the announcement that Knight Rider might be returning to the airwaves as a series?

Probably not.

But last week, NBC aired a made-for-TV Knight Rider movie as a test to see if the popularity was still there for the talking car. Apparently, it is. The network aired it again less than a week later and attracted an impressive number of viewers. I was one of the millions. Were you?

David Hasselhoff is still cool and hip, but he’s getting a little too old to do the moves that Michael Knight needs to do. But the driver isn’t the only new element of the 2008 Knight Rider.   There’s also a new car named KITT, a Shelby Mustang selected from a variety of other Ford vehicles to be the co-star of the new movie. Hopefully, NBC will keep the model for the TV series, because it made a huge splash on the screen.

Here are some statistics to give you an idea of how popular Knight Rider was during its first airing last week:

• It got a 5.0 rating and a 12 share in adults from the ages of 18-49. That means that of all the people in that demographic watching TV at the time, 12 percent of them were watching Knight Rider.
• It got the highest rating for this demographic of all other TV movies in nearly three years.
• The movie garnered the network’s biggest overall viewership for this time slot (except for sports) since the 2006 Emmy Awards.
• More than 12 million viewers tuned in to see the return.

Look for an official announcement in April that NBC will add the TV series to its fall lineup. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.