There Wasn’t an ‘Outsiders’ Sequel — But There Was a TV Show

Gabrielle Moss August 14, 7:00 am

THE OUTSIDERS, front from left: Robert Rusler, Jay R. Ferguson, Harold Pruett; back from left: Boyd Kestner, Rodney Harvey, David Arquette, 1990. — Zoetrope Studios / Courtesy: Everett Collection

In March 1983, Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Outsiders brought together an incredible lineup of up-and-coming young actors to tell a story of gangs, class, love and tragedy in 1960s Tulsa. The film did respectably at the box office, but was more remembered for its cast: a mix of established performers like Matt Dillon and Leif Garrett and then-emerging actors like Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe (the film was Lowe’s cinematic debut).

Almost every member of The Outsiders‘ ensemble cast saw their careers take off immediately afterward — Cruise starred in Risky Business and All the Right Moves later that year, and Macchio’s The Karate Kid, as well as Swayze and Howell’s Red Dawn, dominated the box office in 1984 — so scheduling alone made a cinematic sequel with the original actors likely impossible. Novel author S.E. Hinton was also adamant that the book would never have a written sequel.

THE OUTSIDERS, from left: Boyd Kestner, Jay R. Ferguson, Rodney Harvey, 1990.

Aaron Rapoport/20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection

But when home video became more common in the late ’80s, The Outsiders became an incredibly popular rental, and interest in continuing the story of the Curtis boys began to grow. In 1989, Coppola was reported to have plans to produce a two-hour made-for-TV sequel on FOX, after several other networks passed on the idea. It mutated from a movie into a TV series, and FOX broadcasted the pilot for The Outsiders on March 25, 1990, drawing 14.1 million viewers. Anchored by Ponyboy’s narration, each episode tackled classic teen issues from loneliness and longing to unplanned pregnancy, with a 1966 greasers-and-socs spin. Airing on a youth-oriented network and spinning off a popular film, expectations were that the show would be a hit. “I’m not trying to be like bragging, but I am literally in every teen magazine,” Jay R. Ferguson, who played Ponyboy (the role originated by Howell), told the L.A. Times in 1990.

Despite its promising start, the show — which begins directly after the action of the film, with Dallas’ funeral — only ran for one season, with its final episode airing that July. But even though it only had a short run, the show remains interesting today, especially due to its cast.

>> 5 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘The Outsiders’ Movie

It Was David Arquette’s First Role (And Billy Bob Thornton’s First Big One)

Sheryl Noday/20th Century Fox Film corp./courtesy Everett Collection

Over 2,500 unknown actors were auditioned for the show, and while the cast doesn’t equal the film in star power, a few of those unknowns went on to become fairly bright lights in Hollywood.

Taking over Estevez’s role as “Two Bit” was a 19-year-old David Arquette in his first acting role. Arquette would go on to become a familiar face in ’90s cinema, starring in the Scream franchise and turning up in films like 1999’s Never Been Kissed.

THE OUTSIDERS, Billy Bob Thornton, 1990.

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection

Billy Bob Thornton was slightly more established than Arquette at the time; he had had a number of brief roles on small films and shows like Matlock. But The Outsiders was the future Oscar winner’s first major role — he appears in 10 of the show’s 13 episodes as Buck Merrill, the role originated by Tom Waits in the film.

Aaron Rapoport/20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection

Some other recognizable faces pop up in the show as well. Kim Walker, best known for her turn as the vicious Heather Chandler in 1989’s Heathers, plays the far kinder Cherry Valance, and Jay R. Ferguson, who played Ponyboy, has appeared as Ben on The Conners since 2018.

>>Where Is the ‘The Outsiders’ Movie Cast Now?

Another Future Oscar Winner Shows Up, Too

According to an interview Arquette did with Entertainment Weekly in 2018, Leonardo DiCaprio almost got the role of Ponyboy, but producers ultimately decided to go with Ferguson. Watching Leo’s audition, it seems like the future cinematic dynamo, who was 16 at the time but extremely baby-faced, probably just looked too young for the part. He ended up instead with a cameo in the pilot as “Boy Who Fights Scout.” Despite this early setback, I think that things turned out OK for Leo in the end.