The absolutely fabulous ladies
of Absolutely Fabulous.
The UK's classic comedy Absolutely Fabulous is one of the most beloved sitcoms ever to grace the television screen, developing a passionate fan base on both sides of the Atlantic and winning several awards in its home country. Now Fox is one step closer to ruining it making an American adaptation.
If you're a fan of the show and haven't already thrown something through your computer monitor after reading the above paragraph, by all means read on.
Fox today ordered a pilot of the American adaptation, making it the first attempted AbFab redo to go to pilot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The story follows a pair of women in the fashion industry who also happen to be on the border of total psychosis. Their binge drinking and recreational use of drugs (in a funny way, of course), send the level-headed daughter of one of the ladies to the edge.
There is one ray of hope that gives the remake a chance to not be a total disaster. Jennifer Saunders, who starred in and wrote the original, is executive producing the adaptation.
Hey, it worked for Kath & Kim, right? Oh wait, actually it didn't. Let's hear it AbFab fans, what do you think?
Comments (37)
NO NO NO NO NO!Come off it can't nobody come up with an original concept no more? Just got to keep flogging off old shows, great shows. Bet we can make a list of at least 10 shows they have flogged and tried to remake only to fail.Writers get your bloody pens out and come up with your own ideas!
Have just read that Kristen Johnston is to play Edina. Are Fox mad, surely she should be Patsy and if they do go ahead with that casting who the hell could possibly fill the Patsy role along side her???
I somehow doubt the new series will do justice to the original. Edina and Patsy (not to mention Saffron and Bubble - who were fantastic) just cannot be reproduced. If it should happen to work, FOX is the perfect network to carry it. Fox tends to give their shows several seasons to "figure it out" and get the right audience on board (Simpsons, Married..., etc.). Good Luck FOX.
BTW, anybody heard any rumors about the cast of the U.S. version??
Good luck, Fox, hahaha! I think hell will freeze over before anything can top Jennifer's & Joanna's performances. I just don't get it, plain and simple. Why try and remake it? It's about the equivalent of trying to cover classic rock songs, like Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven. I think I'll probably watch the U.S. version, just to prove that I was right all along, but I'm predicting (like so many other here) that it won't be a long run... And shouldn't, either. Bring back the original!
Bad, bad news. I think it won't work.
I pity the poor women who are dumb enough to try and be Eddie and Patsy! There is only one Eddie and Patsy, and if they want to capture the spirit of the series, thats one thing, but to copy it and expect it to resonate with fans of a classic sitcom like that is ridiculous! Thats like expecting someone to play Lucy and Ethel in a remake of the Lucy show, it can't be done! What could be done is to take a similar concept, Americanize it, and make a new show that follows in same vain as Ab Fab did. I love Molly Shannon, and if there hadn't been a Kath and Kim that I already new, I may have liked the show, but again you can't just redo a show and all its plots, and expect people to acclamate to different people playing the same people we already know. BAD IDEA!!!!!moreless
It will fail IMO!
Saw the original british version & I don't really see how a remake of this show would make it on the air -- especially on FOX. The character interactions for the most part are a bit too risque, off-the-wall, etc. for the FOX exec's.
Doubt it'll survive.
I wonder if this will even go beyond pilot stage. People have been talking about a US Ab Fab for years but it's never gotten off the ground. Unless they manage to get actors who nail the parts, let's hope this Ab Fab development will stall, too.
I hope it's good, but I highly doubt that it will be. Never know though.
Nothing could be better than the original - however, since Jennifer Saunders is involved, I;ll give it a watch.
member since: Sep 29, 2005Sadly This is a hard hitting hard drug taking alcohol -river of debortuary. IS America to ready to see woman smoking Hash taking E very often cocaine and sometimes heroin? Which is; after the joke and backbone, if you will, of the show...Not that it is telling kids to do the same... it's about to women old enough that should know better therein lies the humor. Understand that you get the show. Without Joanna, June, and the rest of the cast. I think it will dry up very quickly as did Cracker
Kath and Kim is australian. Ab Fab was great in the UK mainly because of brilliant performances by all the cast, especially Joanna Lumley. Whether it survives being 'translated' is anyone's guess.
Well, if Fox will let Jennifer Saunders take it over the top the way she did with AbFab, it could be worth watching. Otherwise, bleeeeh.
oh boy more sitcoms
The Office is one of those rare British Shows that survived a US makeover. Other British remakes like Kath and Kim, Coupling, and Cracker haven't faired nearly as well. I'm very disappointed to see that Jennifer Saunders is the Executive Producer of the US remake. Then again, just because network ordered a pilot of the show, doesn't mean that it will make it to the Networks schedule. Remember the US version of Footballer's Wives? Of course not, the show's pilot was never picked up by CBS.
Actually ncisgirl101 there WAS a British verion of "Mad About You" and I THOUGHT someone DID do a version of "Friends" and/or "Sienfeild" or something. Also, lest we forget the sucsessess such as "All In Family" based on a British show, "Sanford Son" also based on a British show and for the T&A fans there's always "Three's Company". Never got around to seeing this show and this version will probably be bad but you never know. :)
Oh hell no.
Why? They slaughtered Kath and Kim! Why would they ruin Ab-Fab!?
I love american TV shows, don't get me wrong, but why can't America just ACCEPT that sometimes great sitcoms come from countries that aren't America... I mean, you don't see and Australian version of 'Friends'.
Just leave it lie.
Why can't the USA leave shows alone??? First Life on Mars was ruined because the USA thought they could do a better job than the UK and now AbFab?? No!! Get some original ideas please and leave these shows alone!
Please don't do this! Just make another season of the original instead. And even that I'm on the fence about.
They already tried this at CBS in the 90's. It was renamed High Society and starred Jean Smart. It was AWFUL, and was pulled after 13 episodes.
With the exception of The Office, British TV shows that have been "adapted for america", just don't work. Even the long running Three's Company, at it's best, was crap compared to the British show Man About the House. I get the feeling all we will see is about 3-5 months of watered down crap. I hope bringing in one of the creators is the answer, it worked on The Office
oh no please don't I really don't need to see another good show re done and fall completely off track that it hurts to watch
stop stealing good british shows and cr*pping them up!!
We dont want a remake Jen! we want you back on the show, on the front of tha cam.. Miss you and Joanna! =D
The Office worked, didn't it? I'm not saying this will be definitely be great, but I think we should give it a chance before we start screaming "Hell no!". As the article says, Jen Saunders is there controlling the project. There is hope that this will not ruin it. I'm waiting to see who will star as Eddie and Patsy
You want to know what AbFab fans think? We think it's just wrong.
Everyone asks - why why why? And the answer is so simple. The main networks don't have a single creative mind left in show authorization; all those work for cable. And when they accidentally DO allow a creative show to be made they are too stupid to see it for what it is, so they axe it so they have space for the next great remake; led in by the next great reality show. One word: Idiots.
This is a Fox trainwreck in the making, and I would bet that if aired, would not show the entirety of its run before being pulled. It may not find a welcoming audience. Fox would be better off trying remakes of it's 1st year programs to push some nostalgia factor . . . something with werewolves or such.
WHY FOX? WHYYYYYY?
Stop the remakes! Kath & Kim should be lesson to everyone!
Whats with all the remakes?
I rewatched seasons 1-4 over the past month, the perfect way to spend Christmas break. Long live Edina and Patsy!
Is nothing sacred????????????????????
At least the plan for the Spaced remake fell through.
God help us all.