In an interview with "Radio Times" in January 2015, Linehan revealed that he wanted to revive "Father Ted" as a musical stage production. He stated that he would never revive the television series itself, "because of the risk you poison people's memories of the original", but that the completely new format would make the project worthwhile. Linehan mentioned the possibility of a dance number with "spinning cardinals". He said that the musical would have to reference the Catholic child abuse scandals, stating, "The jokes would have to have a little bit more edge, because you just can't ignore this stuff." Mathews was "not as convinced" of the musical idea, though Linehan still insisted it could work.