Entertainment
Every Reference The 'Burbs Remake Makes To The Original Tom Hanks Movie
By Brian Myers
| Published
When Peacock released all eight episodes of its new series The ‘Burbs in early February, some speculated the endeavor would serve as a true remake of the 1989 film of the same name. Viewers were instead greeted with a stand-alone set of episodes that, while sharing some similarities with its source material, forged its own way into the annals of modern creepy comedies. Though fans will see both as separate entities, showrunners for the series packed it full of nods and references to the movie that inspired it.
Connection To The Source Material
The ‘Burbs is a 1989 comedy that follows residents of the fictional suburb Hinkley Hills as they begin to believe that their newest neighbors are killers. When elderly neighbor Walter Seznick mysteriously vanishes, the men from the cul-de-sac develop a scheme to expose the reclusive Klopek family as mass murderers. Of course, nothing goes to plan, and wacky antics and memorable one-liners ensue. Despite having an all-star cast that included Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Gale Gordon, and Bruce Dern, the movie showed mediocre box office receipts and was the subject of mixed reviews by the critics of its day.
Like the movie, the streaming series centers around the new owner of the creepy house on the block. In the reboot, the mystery is explored by neighborhood residents Samira (Keke Palmer), Dana (Paula Pell), Tod (Mark Proksch), and Lynn (Julia Duffy). The quartet works to expose the truth behind a mysterious disappearance, focusing their suspicions on the reclusive Gary Wilson (Justin Kirk). Both the show and the film use copious amounts of dark humor and witty dialogue, interspersed with the very horrific idea of what it might be like to live on the same block as an elusive murderer.
Callbacks And Cameos Aplenty
On the surface, that’s where the similarities between the 1989 comedy and the modern show seem to end. The film goes off the rails quickly, with its main characters beginning to believe that their new neighbors are ghouls who engage in human sacrifice, while the show focuses on an old missing-persons case from Samira’s husband’s childhood. As the most die-hard fans of Tom Hanks’ most underrated project have pointed out, however, is that each episode of the series pays homage to its cinematic predecessor. Cameo appearances, character references, and word-for-word one-liners have all worked together to neatly tie together a modern hit with a cinematic classic.
Sharp-eyed fans have noticed that the show’s recurring guest star Wendy Schaal (Family Guy, Innerspace) plays the role of Judy, the community’s sharp-nosed librarian. Years earlier, Schaal played Bonnie, the young wife of grizzled Vietnam veteran Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) and neighbor to the film’s main protagonist Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks). While Schaal’s part in the 2026 series is minimal, her casting was a nice touch and a great nod to the movie.
But Schaal wasn’t the only cast member from the 1989 project that movie fans will recognize. In the season finale, viewers are treated to a cameo appearance by 80s/90s movie icon Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter). Feldman’s unnamed character leaves a scene with a line that directly references one uttered multiple times by his 1989 character, Ricky Butler. When the pool hustler he portrays wins his game, he grabs the money from the table, looks into the camera, and declares, “God, I love this place.” That line is a near word-for-word quote from Ricky’s “God, I love this street,” which broke the fourth wall at the end of the movie.
The Ultimate Fan Service
Watching the show isn’t even necessary to get all of the references to the movie. One look at the episode titles will make any fan of the film laugh, as each one is a direct quote of its witty dialogue. “Sardine?,” “Mind Your Own Business,” “The Goddamned Brownies,” and “Do Not Mess with Suburbanites,” lines from 1989 that The ‘Burbs fans all know by heart, and are but some of the episode titles listed for the series. Pay careful attention to the dialogue spoken in the show, and you’ll also pick up on other quotes from the film that have been carefully inserted for modern audiences.
If the neighborhood in the new show seems familiar, that’s no coincidence. The series was filmed on Universal Studios Colonial Street, the location of countless films and television shows that stretch back decades. The houses that Kiki, Lynn, Dana, and Tod creep around also appeared in everything from Desperate Housewives to House of 1000 Corpses to Deep Impact. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the 1989 movie was also filmed in the same backlot, with several of the homes in the series serving as landmarks that are fairly easy to identify. The Hinkley House of the series is the same as the house that the movie’s Ricky Butler resided in.
Perhaps the greatest nod to the film was a glimpse of an old photograph of the founder of Hinkley Hills, H. Horace Hinkley. With a town named in his honor and a home that still bears his surname, Hinkley’s black-and-white image is seen by Kiki in the first episode as she visits the town library. The photo is none other than the star of the 1989 movie, Hanks.
You can catch The ‘Burbs series streaming on Peacock. The comedy classic film The ‘Burbs is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.