British Comedy’s US Disasters

Some things are just uniquely suited to a culture, a time and a place. The question is, does anybody really want to watch a poorly rehashed version of a British comedy? Admittedly, there have been a few UK sitcoms that have managed to make a go of it across the pond – such as The Office, which was a phenomenal success in the mid-2000s, running for over 200 episodes, thereby eclipsing the UK’s episode count.

Similarly, Sanford and Son ran for 78 more episodes than Steptoe and Son, whilst Ghosts is currently making a good go of it in the US as it approaches its third season. Even One Foot in The Grave managed to enjoy great success in late nineties as an American sitcom. Unfortunately, it was reimagined as a vehicle for Bill Cosby, called simply, Cosby.

Still, many of these series worked because they were able to craft their own identity. As media continues to become more globally inclusive (largely thanks to the rise of streaming services) the idea of remaking anything to fit another culture is gradually becoming more of an outdated concept. But in the past, American TV producers have repeatedly tried and failed to remake many beloved British sitcoms with terrible consequences. Here are just a few of British Comedy’s US disasters:

The Young Ones – Oh, No! Not THEM!

In 1990, Fox decided that the time was right to commission a remake of The Young Ones, somewhat bafflingly titled, Oh, No! Not THEM!. One of the few facts we know about this sitcom was that it used The Beatles track ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ as its theme tune, perhaps setting itself up as a 1960s themed series, based on the hippy antics of Neil.

Nigel Planer was involved in the production, although it isn’t clear whether he reprised his original role from The Young Ones, as the unaired pilot has never seen the light of day. All we really know is that Nigel Planer didn’t enjoy making the show and the project went no further. Bizarrely, all that was leaked online was the animated title sequence, apparently that was the best part about it.

Peep Show

There have been dozens of articles over the years about the possibility of a Peep Show remake in the US. As time passed, fans naturally assumed that these ideas had fizzled out. However, in 2015 we finally found out that at least one had made it to pilot stage when a copy leaked online.

This 2005 remake is probably one of the strangest on our list. Starring The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki as Mark (with an overexaggerated David Mitchell hairstyle). This leaked copy seemed to be recorded on the world’s oldest video tape, which inexplicably made the whole thing feel as if it pre-dated Peep Show itself by several decades. Added to the obvious low budget of the production, it’s really no surprise that this version of the ‘El Dude Brothers’ failed to get anywhere.

The IT Crowd

If you had to remake an iconic British Sitcom for the American market, The IT Crowd was probably going to be a safe bet. As such, it’s probably the best pilot on this list (that’s been released) not that it has an awful lot of competition.

Richard Ayoade reprised his role as Moss, something he later remarked that he’d regretted doing. Roy and Jen were replaced with Joel McHale and Jessica St.Clair in an episode that replicated the first episode of The IT Crowd fairly closely. Richard Ayoade said of the experience, ‘It was a bit like a play where everyone else had left. It was very odd.’ Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t picked up for a full series.

Absolutely Fabulous

Roseanne Barr had big plans to launch Ab Fab in the US, which included casting the legendary Carrie Fisher alongside Barbara Carrera. However, that version of the series never materialised and instead a 2008 pilot saw Kathryn Hahn as Eddie and Kristen Johnston as Patsy living it up in LA with Zosia Mamet as the eternally embarrassed, Saffy. The pilot was never released and plans for a full series ended with that one episode.

Red Dwarf

Notorious amongst Red Dwarf fans, the two Red Dwarf US pilots caused chaos for the original British cast and just about everybody else involved. Robert Llewellyn reprised his role as Kryten. Doug Naylor and Rob Grant (Red Dwarf’s creators) were also on-board. However, interference from other producers and writers meant that these two disastrous attempts at Red Dwarf USA seem to have ended before they’d began. The story of Red Dwarf USA was eventually made into a documentary for the original Red Dwarf Series V DVD release.

Linwood Boomer, who would go on to create Malcolm in the Middle and produce ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’ penned the first draft script, but when a huge team of other writers were added to the mix, it became a simple case of too many cooks.

Interestingly, Doug Naylor mentioned that ‘some guys from The Simpsons’ were part of the writing team; which makes one wonder whether the pilot had, in some way, inspired the eventual creation of Futurama.

Most intriguing of all was Jane Leeves’s casting as Holly. Had Red Dwarf taken off in America back in 1993, she most likely would not have been able to join the cast of Frasier, as such, one of the greatest will-they-won’t-theys in American television (which saw Frasier’s brother, Niles Crane fall hopelessly for Leeves’s Daphne) may never have happened.

Fawlty Towers – Snavely, Amanda’s and Payne

American TV executives made three attempts at launching Fawlty Towers stateside. The first attempt was 1978’s Snavely (catchy title) directed by Hal Cooper, starring Harvey Korman and Betty White. The pilot tried (fairly lamely) to remake various elements of classic Fawlty Towers episodes, which seemed to beg the question: ‘Why not just watch the real thing?’.

The second attempt was 1983’s Amanda’s, which saw Basil Fawlty reinvented as female hotelier, Amanda Cartwright, played by Bea Arthur.

While the former Golden Girl, Bea Arthur was certainly an unlikely choice for a gender-swapped Basil, this attempt to recreate Fawlty Towers did at least, make it to a full series, although its success was short lived. The series was eventually axed before all the recorded episodes got a chance to air.

The third attempt was in 1999, although that too failed to make it to a full season. The plug was eventually pulled before the last two episodes were broadcast. The last Fawlty Towers reboot, titled ‘Payne’ starred John Larroquette as Royal Payne (Yes, that’s his name) and Rick Batalla as Mo – who apparently was the Indian version of Manuel. More episodes of this show aired in the UK than in the US. There’s one that never saw the light of day anywhere, probably for the best!

The Vicar of Dibley – The Minister of Devine

Not much is known about this unreleased Vicar of Dibley US pilot, other than it cast Kirstie Alley as the new Church Minister, Sydney Hudson, alongside quirky members of the parish such as Hubert, Buzz and Wesley . Strangely named characters aside, attempting to remake such a quintessentially British show for the American market was ambitious to say the least. Despite that, Richard Curtis was apparently on-board, yet the project once again stalled at pilot stage.

Are You Being Served? – Beane’s of Boston

Beane’s of Boston was the supposed Are You Being Served? remake which aired on CBS in 1979. Both the sitcom’s creators, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft joined the American team to reimagine The Grace Brothers stateside.

At one stage, Jeremy Lloyd put himself forward to play Captain Peacock (retitled Mr Peacock in this pilot) after their initial casting fell through. However, he was talked out of it by David Croft. Dad’s Army fans will know that Croft had form in that department, as he had famously talked Jimmy Perry out of playing Private Walker. Clearly, he believed that writers should stay behind the camera.

Casting aside, the pilot failed to make any real impact, not least because the US Mrs Slocombe possessed neither the brightly coloured wigs, nor the infamous ‘pussy’. The shop was shut after one episode.

Porridge – On the Rocks

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais were reportedly so committed to this project that they spent time travelling around America visiting various prisons to research the scripts. Despite their dedication, they were forced into making far too many changes to please the network, ABC. Consequently, the show lost any gritty realism that they’d tried to inject.

The show did run for a full season of 24 episodes in 1975, before it was mutually agreed that the series had run its course. Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais returned to the UK to make the third and final series of Porridge the following year. Oddly, Rick Hurst who played ‘Fletch’ reimagined as ‘Clever’ also starred in the aforementioned Fawlty Towers remake, Amanda’s, as Earl the chef.

Although a far cry from our version, the US Porridge wasn’t really a failure. But, if it had been more of a success, one wonders if there would ever have been more Porridge in the UK.

The Thick of It

The US pilot of The Thick of It was another vehicle that failed to gain any traction. Armando Iannucci, who was executive producer for the attempted American reboot, remarked: ‘It was terrible … conventionally shot and there was no improvisation or swearing.’. He added, ‘When we were doing the pilot of The Thick of It at ABC there were just scores of people working on it, all called vice president this and that, and a lot of them were buffoons.’.

However, this story has a happy ending, as Armando Iannucci did eventually have another crack at re-imagining (as apposed to remaking) The Thick of It and the result was the multi award winning Veep.

Gavin and Stacey – Us & Them

Before James Corden’s success in the US there were a few different networks that were keen to adapt Gavin and Stacey for an American audience. Eventually, Fox green-lit seven episodes of Us & Them, but after they were made, Fox took the decision not to air them – it would be years before the streaming service Sony Crackle (me, neither) picked it up and finally made the show available in the US.

Both Ruth Jones and James Corden were initially approached to write the scripts, but turned down the opportunity. James Corden told Indiewire, ‘How can we write a show about two American families when we’re from England and Wales? We were like, ‘good luck.’ But it’s not a surprise they were never able to make a go of it.’

Only Fools and Horses – Kings of Van Nuys

In 2012, somebody at ABC decided it might be a good idea to have a go at remaking the jewel in the crown of UK sitcoms, Only Fools and Horses. This time it was to be renamed, somewhat confusingly, The Kings of Van Nuys. Weirdly, the original title, Only Fools and Horses, actually comes from the obscure expression ‘Only fools and horses work for money’ – old cockney slang, that is in fact an Americanism. The basic meaning is, ‘Only fools work hard for a living’ implying that ‘wiser traders duck and dive’. The BBC were keen for John Sullivan to change this title, purely because they feared nobody would know what it meant.

Christopher Lloyd was cast as Granddad in this remake, which certainly would have been interesting to see. Del was played by John Leguizamo who starred alongside Dustin Ybarra as Rodney – an intriguing trio. However, the pilot wasn’t picked up and the short clip that surfaced online bears no resemblance to the Trotters we know and love.

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin – Reggie

Leonard Rossiter’s edgy sitcom based on a series of books by David Nobbs shook up the comedy landscape in 1976. Naturally, ABC had a go at reimaging the series in the early eighties with Richard Mulligan starring as Reggie. The series ran for six episodes before being cancelled. Martin Clunes’s UK reboot fared only slightly better when the show made a surprise return in 2009. However, neither remake could quite capture the ominous tone of the original and both have largely been forgotten.

Spaced

The supposed US remake of Spaced outraged the original cast and crew. With Charlie’s Angels director, McG at the helm of this ill-fated remake, Simon Pegg issued an open letter expressing his distaste for the idea:

‘My main problem with the notion of a Spaced remake is the sheer lack of respect that Granada/ Wonderland/Warner Bros have displayed in respectively selling out and appropriating our ideas without even letting us know.’

In the end the plug was pulled after a pilot was made. A few clips have since surfaced online, showing that we really didn’t miss much.

Dad’s Army – The Rear Guard

Not even Dad’s Army could escape the curse of the American reboots. Before he attempted to remake Fawlty Towers, Hal Cooper had a crack at Britain’s beloved war-time sitcom. In 1976, ABC created an American pilot starring Cliff Norton as Captain Nick Rosatti (Captain Mainwaring) and Lou Jacobi as Sgt Max Raskin (Sgt Wilson). It followed the episode ‘The Deadly Attachment’ almost verbatim, except that it changed a few bits of dialogue, including Dad’s Army’s most famous exchange of them all, ‘Don’t tell him, Pike!’ to ‘Don’t tell him, Henderson!’ Oh dear… Needless to say, plans for a full series ended there.

So, there you go! Proof, if proof were needed that sitcoms are born of a coming together of the right actors, the right writers, the right directors and the right cultural mood. These things can’t just be recreated or relocated, and probably shouldn’t be attempted.