Brighton Belles

Failed UK remakes of successful US sitcoms demand time

If you been with Tellyspotting as a P1 since Day 1, or if you have joined the conversation at any point over the course of the last ten years, you are probably acutely aware of my lack of tolerance for poorly done American television remakes of British television output. That said, it never dawned on me that when the tables are turned, the track record is not much different when you look at UK attempts to remake American situation comedies, even ones were considered quite popular from an audience standpoint. Here are a four examples I found to easily illustrate my point.

Can British remakes of American shows work?

Hang Ups, the new Stephen Mangan comedy based on Lisa Kudrow's original, is a rare example of the UK successfully taking on a US hit.

Failed British re-makes of American telly

When you look at UK attempts to re-make American situation comedies that were considered quite popular from an audience standpoint, they don't all work either. Here are a four examples I found to easily illustrate my point...

Yet another woeful sitcom from ITV. This was the ill-fated 1993 Brit version of US smash The Golden Girls starring Sheila Hancock, Wendy Craig and Jean Boht. A ratings disaster, only six of the original 10 episodes were shown in the premier run.

Yet another woeful sitcom from ITV. This was the ill-fated 1993 Brit version of US smash The Golden Girls starring Sheila Hancock, Wendy Craig and Jean Boht. A ratings disaster, only six of the original 10 episodes were shown in the premier run.