Johnny Galecki Is Working On A New National Lampoon's Vacation Series
Now that The Big Bang Theory has ended, the series' former star Johnny Galecki could sit back and take an extended break from the business if he was so inclined — he certainly made enough money from the show to retire if he wanted. But instead, he's decided to bring back a classic franchise by producing a new National Lampoon's Vacation series for HBO Max, according to Variety.
Dubbed The Griswolds, the show will reintroduce fans to the fictional family led by Clark Griswold and his wife Ellen — who were originally played by (the shady) Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo in the films — as well as their two children Audrey and Rusty, who were played by a rotating cast of young actors throughout the franchise. Hopefully, we'll also see the return of the quirky cousin Eddie in the show, which will follow the group during their current daily lives in the suburbs of Chicago.
Galecki himself played a young Rusty Griswold in 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The star talked about the experience in 2014, telling Rolling Stone, "This was such a seminal part of my career, and understanding of comedy and life in general. I remember practically every day."
The holiday film followed 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation as well as 1985's National Lampoon's European Vacation. After the festive film, there was also 1997's Vegas Vacation and a 2015 remake/sequel starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate simply titled Vacation.
While it's not yet known if Galecki will appear in the new series based on the franchise, if he did, it would be just one of his recent projects that involves reprising a beloved role.
Johnny Galecki is keeping busy after The Big Bang Theory
Johnny Galecki earned countless fans thanks to his role as Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory. And while he had to say goodbye to the show when it wrapped up in May 2019 — and you might have been curious about what he's been doing since – the simple fact is that the star has been keeping quite busy.
Along with working on the new Vacation series, Galecki also brought back another one of his past roles when he popped up on The Connors — a spinoff of Roseanne — in 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, the actor and producer's company, Alcide Bava Productions, is also behind the CBS comedy Bait & Tackle.
However, Galecki doesn't only have business matters on his mind. At the end of 2019, the star celebrated the birth of his first child, a son named Avery, with girlfriend Alaina Meyer. On December 4, the new dad took to Instagram to share the announcement and a photo of the little family holding hands, writing, "With full and grateful hearts we welcome our beautiful son into this incredible world. Thank you for all of your love and support."
If the little one is interested in getting into the business when he gets older, perhaps he can play the newest member of the Griswold family. Grandpa Clark would surely be proud.