Peep Show US Pilot

So, they're trying to make a US version of Peep Show again, this time by cable network Spike TV...

As far as I recall this is at least the second network (I think the other was ABC) who have tried a US pilot of the show.

With a healthy 30 episodes of the UK show under its belt (and with no sign that the show can't run and run) why not try and broadcast the US the British original over there? If HBO had no problems with Extras, why not try and get a deal on it with them? Or, if negotiable, get it on BBC America. As was shown with broadcasting the original version of The Office, Americans are quite able to accept a British-set and acted show, if it speaks to universal human experience - which Peep Show surely does. (And Peep Show doesn't have so many uniquely British cultural references in it, as The Office often did.)

Are they wasting their time? I remember Bain & Armstrong saying that the previous pilot (if I recall correctly) thought it would be a clever idea to chuck-out the 1st-person perspective/voice-over element! Sort of the mainstay of the show's appeal.

Oh what? Why!?! Not Peep Show. Don't let them Yankify Peep Show.

Incidentally, you're up early/late, Tim.

They should just show the British version. Go on!

It doesn't have the guaranteed pull of Ricky Gervais though. That's probably why they'd remake it.

Talking of Peep Show spinoffs:

http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2008/10/02/7508/peep_show_%96%A0but_for_girls

Quote: Griff @ October 2 2008, 9:41 AM BST

Talking of Peep Show spinoffs:

http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2008/10/02/7508/peep_show_%96%A0but_for_girls

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I love Isy Suttie. I would watch her eating a rich tea biscuit.

Why's it such a problem to make an American version of the show?

It won't diminish the quality of the original, which will still exist; Bain & Armstrong will get a crap-load more money for their creation, which they deserve; a percentage of Americans will search out the original on DVD so they can pretend they liked it for years, which means even more money for Sam & Jesse and a wider audience for the original which may even help Mitchell and Webb's careers too; and everyone on here will have something to complain about for years to come.

Everyone's a winner.

It might even be a good translation which gives us all more comedy to enjoy; but at the end of the day, if it's shit we don't have to watch it.

Thirty episodes over there is only a little over one season - it's a different market, so why not adapt the show for them?

Yeah... Didn't they say that they find it hard to write dialogue for female characters though?

Phill: I agree.

Quote: Tim Walker @ October 2 2008, 5:33 AM BST

did.)

Are they wasting their time? I remember Bain & Armstrong saying that the previous pilot (if I recall correctly) thought it would be a clever idea to chuck-out the 1st-person perspective/voice-over element! Sort of the mainstay of the show's appeal.

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Although voiceover has been used more succesfully in American shows like Scrubs and My Name Is Earl, so there's no reason why that element can't work over there.

Quote: Phill @ October 2 2008, 11:27 AM BST

Why's it such a problem to make an American version of the show? ......

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I agree up to a point, but who wouldn't prefer programming money be spent on new projects from fresh, gifted and original writers? Whatever people think about the US remake of The Office (and remembering that that format offered a lot of leeway to play with the characterisation and show dynamic), I don't believe the US versions of British shows are actually superior to the originals.

If Bain and Armstrong are contributing, fine; but I'd rather see their ideas turned into new episodes of the UK Peep Show than a US version that might not cut it. You can look at it in two ways: remaking an entire sitcom so it can cross the Atlantic is too much bother when the original is likely to be better; (B) reusing UK sitcom ideas for the US market is lazy on the part of programmers.

But then again, this is merely an opinion, and is not worth a great deal.

Quote: Tommy Power @ October 2 2008, 2:37 PM BST

... who wouldn't prefer programming money be spent on new projects from fresh, gifted and original writers?

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I would prefer programming money to be spent on me, despite not really being fresh, gifted or original; but what would the non-comedy writing segments of the public want? Would they rather have a new comedy from someone they've never heard of, starring someone they've never heard of, or another series of Friends?

Where Friends can be any hit TV show which is massively successful in a huge amount of countries.

Quote: Tommy Power @ October 2 2008, 2:37 PM BST

I don't believe the US versions of British shows are actually superior to the originals.

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Would Americans generally agree the British originals are better? I'm prepared to bet any Americans who post on comedy forums would; but what about the general population? Do they even know it's a remake? Do they know the original exists? Maybe it's not about being better, just being different for a different culture?

For example, I love the film 'True Lies' - yet I have never seen and have no desire to see the original French movie. The American version stands perfectly well as a film without the need to compare it to a different version.

Quote: Tommy Power @ October 2 2008, 2:37 PM BST

If Bain and Armstrong are contributing, fine; but I'd rather see their ideas turned into new episodes of the UK Peep Show than a US version that might not cut it.

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If I was them I wouldn't want to be involved. I might like to be consulted in the initial set up, but I wouldn't want to be involved in writing the actual episodes. It's going to be team-written so you'd have to get your idea for your characters past six or seven strangers instead of your best mate/writing partner. Plus, looking at my contracts, if I had an American series made as a spin off of one of my films I would get loads of thousands of pounds. On top of that I get loads more thousands of pounds for EVERY episode, regardless of whether or not I'm involved. I'd love that because I'd be loaded and be able to point at the series and say:

"See that bag of shit? That's what happens when I'm not writing it."

Quote: Phill @ October 2 2008, 4:12 PM BST

I would prefer programming money to be spent on me...Friends can be any hit TV show which is massively successful in a huge amount of countries.

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If a prodco thinks a sitcom like Peep Show will work for an American market, I think remaking it is a waste of time. A top-quality product already exists; I'm just advocating the advancement of local sitcoms rather than the repackaging of foreign ones (this applies everywhere). If they plan to take Peep Show in an entirely new direction a la The Office, it's not a "remake" in the true sense of the word; rather, it's a distinct show. Friends is quite different; it is a US sitcom that has been successful, not a UK sitcom that has been successful but apparently needs to be reworked from scratch to cross an ocean.

Quote: Phill @ October 2 2008, 4:12 PM BST

Would Americans generally agree the British originals are better? ...The American version stands perfectly well as a film without the need to compare it to a different version.

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I don't see why not knowing something is a remake makes it more acceptable; the point is, the original exists and is surely universal enough in its themes, characters and setting to be understood by Americans. As for "True Lies", it is logical to remake it - the Franco and Anglo cultures are sufficiently different (e.g. linguistically) for the remake to be efficient and potentially necessary for the opening up of a wider market.

Quote: Phill @ October 2 2008, 4:12 PM BST

If I was them I wouldn't want to be involved... "See that bag of shit? That's what happens when I'm not writing it."

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Fair enough. I wasn't sure what the plan was here. If Bain and Armstrong aren't writing it, and the only feature being transferred is the basic premise (i.e. two chaps live together and communicate with the audience telepathically), it is not a straightfoward remake. As I said, The Office is basically a completely different show. The original thread leads one to believe the US version will remain quite faithful to the original.

Interesting discussion. I would disagree totally that Peep Show isn't specifically British. But heyho.

BTW Phill; spot on.

I've no idea, obviously, but I doubt it would be a remake in a shot for shot, episode by episode sense - that would be pointless and still leave them with just one season's worth of material.

I assumed they're talking about taking the concept only and reinventing everything else.

Quote: Phill @ October 2 2008, 4:53 PM BST

I assumed they're talking about taking the concept only and reinventing everything else.

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In that case, I've got no problem with it. But it's not a "remake" in the true sense of the term.

My concern is that they'll use the same episode and series plotlines, even if the dialogue is altered to make it more "accessible" to Yanks. I believe that's what they did with Coupling. If this is the case, I think it's fundamentally silly. Why waste all that effort on creating a copycat product? I don't think Americans are so insular that they can't understand the original Peep Show.

The other problem is that the very dynamic that makes the UK version so enjoyable (i.e. hearing the characters' thoughts, using POV shots) may become so commonplace that we no longer appreciate its innovation. If we're seeing two comedies which use these techniques, they may become less attractive.

Quote: Aaron @ October 2 2008, 4:48 PM BST

I would disagree totally that Peep Show isn't specifically British. But heyho.

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Hmm. Well, I believe I can follow it comfortably enough. And that double negative was momentarily confusing, Aaron!

But then you watch a lot of British comedies, so are accustomed to our particular twists of society, quirks, eccentricities - and that.

Quote: Tommy Power @ October 2 2008, 5:09 PM BST

I don't think Americans are so insular that they can't understand the original Peep Show.

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Not so much a failure to understand as a reluctance to accept, I would guess.