Dr. Drew Pinsky has revealed he’s been working behind the scenes to reboot his classic reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.
The show, which followed troubled celebrities as they received treatment for various addictions in a recovery center, aired on VH1 from 2009 to 2012.
Speaking to the Unpopular podcast this week, the famed physician, 62, admitted the only thing stopping the series from returning is VH1.
Ready for a comeback? Dr. Drew Pinsky (pictured in March 2020) told the Unpopular podcast he’s been working behind the scenes to bring Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew back to television
He also said he wants to bring back the show’s original treatment team, which includes counselor Bob Forrest and resident technician Shelly Sprague.
‘We’re reconvening the team. I love that team,’ he explained.
Drew revealed that he’s already found a location for the potential reboot thanks to a residential facility owned by one of his friend’s.
Flashback: The show, which followed troubled celebrities as they received treatment for various addictions in a recovery center, aired on VH1 from 2009 to 2012
‘I thought, “God, I bet if we brought my staff up there we could put this whole thing into one of his units, take over the unit, use their licencing and policies and procedures and use my clinal team,” and low and behold we could do that.’
While he’s keen to bring the show back to the small screen, the show’s original producer has been unable to get VH1 to give them the green light.
‘The producer has talked about it periodically, but he has talked to VH1 and they own it and they won’t let us do anything,’ he explained.
‘I love that team!’ Drew shared that he wants to bring back the show’s original treatment team, which includes counselor Bob Forrest and resident technician Shelly Sprague (pictured)
Remember this? Shelly served as the show’s residential technician and was known for her strict but loveable personality
‘They own the whole thing, to the point where the old executive producer hired attorneys to see if there’s some middle ground where we could do something.
‘And essentially if I work with that team and take care of celebrities that have mental health problems, that’s it.’
Drew also reflected on some of the backlash he received at the time after a number of the show’s cast members died from various causes.
‘They own the rights’: While he’s keen to bring the show back to the small screen, the show’s original producer has been unable to get VH1 to give them the green light
‘Now I think people understand that opiate use disorder is a fatal illness,’ he said.
‘The heat I was getting early on was because people didn’t understand how dangerous the illness was, how rare it was to recover, how high the fatality rates are, and I think finally that awareness has hit people.’
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew premiered on VH1 in 2008 and ran until 2011 in its original format.
It rebranded for its final season in 2012 as Rehab with Dr. Drew, and featured non-celebrity patients instead.
Tragedy: Drew said that the general public are now more aware of the dangers of opiate addiction following the deaths of several cast members. (Joanie ‘Chyna’ Laurer pictured)
It also spawned the popular spin-offs Sober House and Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew.
A number of notable and controversial celebrities appeared on the show over the years, including actor Daniel Baldwin, Guns N’ Roses rocker Steven Adler, Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, NBA star Dennis Rodman, and ‘Long Island Lolita’ Amy Fisher.
A number of stars from the series also died, including Jeff Conaway and Joanie ‘Chyna’ Laurer from overdoses.
‘The heat I was getting early on was because people didn’t understand how dangerous the illness was, how rare it was to recover, how high the fatality rates are, and I think finally that awareness has hit people,’ Drew said. (Jeff Conaway pictured)