‘There’s something around’: Everything we know about the Looking for Alibrandi reboot

It’s been 26 years since we were first introduced to Josie Alibrandi and her tight-knit Italian family in the film adaptation of Looking for Alibrandi.

Now the film, which defined the teenage experience for a generation of Australians, may be getting a TV series reboot.

That’s right — Pia Miranda, Kick Gurry, Anthony LaPagalia and many more may be returning to our TV screens soon.

Here’s everything we know about the Looking for Alibrandi reboot series:

What was the original Looking for Alibrandi film about?

The film, which was released in 2000, was based on Australian author Melanie Marchetta’s bestselling young adult book of the same name. It followed teenage Josie as she entered her final year as a scholarship student at an elite Catholic girls school.

The book and the film are beloved for their depiction of teen life in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Italian-Australian community, and Sydney’s cliquey private school environment.

What is the Looking for Alibrandi series about?

In an interview with Stellar in July, Anthony LaPaglia, who played Josie’s absent father in the original film, let slip that there was a reboot in the works.

“They’re doing a series set 20 years later,” he told the publication.

“Pia [Miranda] is doing it; she doesn’t age. I look so old now. I don’t know what sort of deal she made with the devil.”

We don’t know much about the proposed series at this stage but given it will be set 20 years after the original film, it’s likely to follow adult Josie as she navigates the ups and downs of adulthood… and perhaps a teenage daughter of her own?

Will the original cast be returning for the Looking for Alibrandi reboot?

While Pia has been reluctant to confirm the series is going ahead, she did tell Stellar over the weekend there have been discussions about rebooting the iconic early noughties film.

“There’s something around, but there’s nothing solid,” she said in September.

She also told the publication she would only sign on to the reboot if the scripts are “incredible” and if Kick Gurry, who played her on-screen love interest Jacob Coote in the original film, also returns for the project.

“I would never do it without him,” she said.

Where will the Looking for Alibrandi series be set?

The book and the original series was set in Sydney’s inner suburbs. Josie lived with her mother in a terrace house in Glebe and attended a nearby all girls’ Catholic school. Some scenes were also filmed in the CBD and Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Given the popularity of the original setting, it’s likely the series will be set around Sydney’s inner suburbs again.

What has Pia Miranda said about the reboot?

While Pia has remained tight-lipped about the reboot, Woman’s Day posed the question to her in a recent interview.

“Well, I can’t confirm or deny anything, because nothing’s set in stone but, you know what, I will say that if I’m going to revisit that, I would only revisit it with Anthony, Greta [Scacchi] and Kick and it would have to be an amazing script. TBC!” she told us at the time.

When will the Looking for Alibrandi series be released?

At this stage we don’t know when the Looking for Alibrandi reboot series will hit our TV screens. However, as the project is yet to be officially confirmed and production hasn’t started, we’re probably looking at a premiere date towards the end of 2027 at the earliest.