(CNN) Don't look now, but the major TV networks are getting ready to party like it's 1989.

The development process for next season is still young, but the initial stages have produced a notable wave of reboots and revivals of familiar properties. CBS, for example, has ordered an update of "Murphy Brown," a program that premiered the same year as "Roseanne," in 1988, which will make its return in March on ABC.

Other pilots plucked from the revival bin -- some without "Murphy's" assurance of ever seeing the light of day, it's worth noting -- include new versions of "The Greatest American Hero" and "Cagney & Lacey" (which premiered in 1981), "Magnum P.I." (1980), "Party of Five" (1994) and "Charmed" (1998).

Why the frequent trips into the way-back machine, which has been a growing and consistent component of the TV landscape, including, among others, Netflix's "One Day at a Time" (which just began its second season), "Full House" and "Gilmore Girls" revivals?

'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life'

While critics grouse about the lack of creativity such projects exhibit, developing them represents a content-driven solution to a marketing problem, one that recognizes changes in both the TV and journalistic ecosystems.

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