Emma Stone Made Her Acting Debut In A Failed Revival Of A Classic '70s Sitcom

Bernard Slade's musical sitcom "The Partridge Family" debuted on ABC in 1970, and it became a touchstone for a generation of youths. Several of the cast members — David Cassidy, Susan Dey, Shirley Jones, and Danny Bonaduce — became crush objects, and the show's accompanying records were all enormous sellers. The series was about a traveling family of musicians led by their mom, Laurie (Jones), and filled out by her four sons and two daughters. Their father wasn't part of the picture. Their musical journey began when the Partridges happened into a top-40 hit thanks to the hustling of the 10-year-old Danny (Bonaduce) and their new manager, Ruben Kincaid (Dave Madden). They took to the road in a specially painted bus, performing on the road and confronting typical family dramas. From 1970 to 1973, the Partridge Family released seven records. 

The show inspired multiple side projects. In addition to multiple records, there was a bizarre Hanna-Barbera animated series called "The Partridge Family 2200 A.D.," as well as board games, reunion specials, and comic books. In 1999, a TV movie about the making of "The Partridge Family" aired on ABC. It was called "Come On Get Happy," and it starred Shawn Pyfrom as Bonaduce and Rodney Scott as Cassidy. 

In an ambitious move, VH1 launched a major reboot of "The Partridge Family" in 2004 in the form of two outsized projects. The first was a reality competition series called "In Search of the Partridge Family," wherein young actors and musicians would participate in sing-off-style competitions, all in the hopes of winning roles on a rebooted version of "The Partridge Family." The winners were then cast in said reboot, a series called "The New Partridge Family" that aired on January 22, 2005. The series, sadly, never made it past its pilot episode. It seems that TV producers overestimated the public's interest in "The Partridge Family" in 2005. 

Most notable from the reboot: a young actress named Emily Stone was cast as the new Laurie Partridge. These days, Emily is better known as Emma Stone, the Academy Award-winning actress. 

There is very little information online about "In Search of the Partridge Family," and only scant clips can be found online. The old press releases can be found on difficult-to-navigate media websites like Trakt, and they explain how talent scouts scoured the country looking for young performers to join the Partridges. Cassidy, Bonaduce, and Jones served as the contestants' musical coaches, and they were put through a musical "boot camp." The final episode of the show had head-to-head sing-offs between the final few candidates, and then audiences called in to declare their favorites. Emily Stone caught a lot of attention by singing a hit Meredith Brooks song. One can also find Stone singing "We Belong" alongside fellow finalist Alexis Mero. 

Resourceful internet sleuths can find the actual 2005 "The New Partridge Family" pilot and enjoy Stone's spirited performance. Stone, while not given the greatest material, is wholly devoted, full of energy, and tries to bring a little extra pizzazz to the part. One can see that Stone, even as a teenager, had that movie star "It" quality. Suzanne Stole was also pretty great as the new Shirley, and French Stewart was the big celebrity "get," playing the new Ruben Kincaid. Unlike the original series, the Partridge Family father made a cameo appearance right at the end of the pilot. In a cute casting twist, Bonaduce played Shirley's ex-husband. He left the family, it is explained, when he wanted to be a roadie for REO Speedwagon ... and when he came out as gay. He left to go live with his boyfriend. 

The pilot was presented as a faux VH1 mockumentary, with the characters giving testimonials to the screen as if they were a real up-and-coming band. Like in the original, the young Danny (Spencer Tuskowski) was the real mastermind behind the band. Their gigs were well-received, but they rarely got any money. "The New Partridge Family" also had the same colorful bus, painted to look like a Piet Mondrian painting. This time, it was a remnant of their dad's time with REO Speedwagon. Because it was 2004, the kids had an ironic, detached attitude and were embarrassed to be an old-timey family act. Those were so gauche. 

Like the original "Partridge Family," the new family performed a nonthreatening brand of bubblegum pop that is exciting enough but that disappears from the memory once it's over. "Miss Independent" and other pop hits of the day played on the soundtrack. "The New Partridge Family" aired on VH1, but it felt solidly like a Disney project. It was airy and forgettable. It's not surprising that it didn't get picked up. 

Emily Stone, meanwhile, changed her on-screen name to Emma Stone, and continued to audition. She turned up in single episodes of shows like "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," "Malcolm in the Middle," and "Medium." 2007 was a banner year for the actress, as she appeared in seven episodes of the TV series "Drive," and had a notable guest role in the raunchy comedy film "Superbad." That led to more film roles in features like "The House Bunny," "Zombieland," and "Easy A," her first leading role. The rest is history.