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Comedy pilots land on Fox, CBS

By Tim Surette - TV.com
March 4, 2008 at 10:46:00 AM | more stories by this author

Spaced remake confirmed for Fox, DVD in July; CBS cashing in on Millionaire.

Back in late October last year, Anglophiles shrieked in horror when it was revealed that (another) one of the UK's beloved cult comedies was being imported and remade for American audiences. This time the show was Spaced and the importer was producer-director McG's Wonderland studios.

Pegg's

Pegg's "WTF?" face says it all.

Aside from annoying hardcore fans of Spaced, the news also riled its creators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, better known as the team behind Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

Now the Americanization of the comedy, which follows a man and a woman who pretend to be in a relationship in order to get an apartment, is one step closer to complete. Fox has officially picked up a pilot of the show (feel free to vent in the comments section below), according to Mediaweek.

Speaking of venting, Pegg released a statement on his Web site regarding the American Spaced, and his thoughts weren't pretty. Although Pegg admits that he will be getting some form of compensation, he says his problem with the whole thing is more about respect than money.

"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," wrote Pegg.

However, it isn't all bad news for the show that mocked movies, music, and video games. News of Spaced's pickup also revealed that the original 14 episodes of the show will be coming to DVD in the US, according to MTV.com. The street date for the box set is scheduled for July 23, which should give viewers plenty of time to see Spaced in its original glory and set a benchmark for the American version to not live up to.

Fox will also be going across the pond for inspiration for another sitcom. The network has picked up a pilot for an American version of Outnumbered, a comedy about a husband and wife dealing with their nest of three rowdy children. The show debuted in 2007 and currently airs on BBC One.

Finally, CBS continued its push toward pilots--the network added four last week--by picking up Single White Millionaire, says The Hollywood Reporter. The comedy comes from Ricky Blitt, who crafted the short-lived 2007 Rob Corddry comedy The Winner. Millionaire features a wealthy 30-something looking to settle down.

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12 Comments

 
simon says it perfectly in his newsrant on his page.

if you dont include the people who created the original, dont call it like the original.. i personly like the german office (stromberg) better than the uk or the us version, but comparing all 3 just shows what a good adaption to different audiences means..
Posted 03/06/2008 7:15am
Let us not forget that the best show on TV right now is a remake of a classic British show.

I'm talking of course about Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which is a remake of The Young Ones.
Posted 03/05/2008 11:14am
That concept sounds a bit like Three's Company...which, hey, look at that, was based on a British show anyway.
Posted 03/04/2008 8:57pm
How about we first wait and see who is cast in the American version, and then, I dunno, watch it? I enjoy the American version of The Office much, much, much (x99) more than the British one - a large part of this is because I am able to watch it without subtitles, though.
Posted 03/04/2008 8:37pm
why are american versions always supposed to fail? wasn't the office based on a BBC show? and wasn't Queer As Folk based on a BBC show? I'm sorry, yes there have been some short lived remakes (Coupling comes to mind, even though I liked the American version better) but some remakes like QAF and The Office are amazingly successful shows. I just don't understand how they can do it without the approval of the show's creators?
Posted 03/04/2008 6:54pm
Yaaaaay to Spaced on DVD. Boooooooo to McSpaced getting the go-ahead.
Posted 03/04/2008 3:52pm
well that should be good news becuase hopefully it will not air more reality then needed.
Posted 03/04/2008 2:06pm
comedy yes but please please no more reality shows
Posted 03/04/2008 1:56pm
was that show done already it was called ned and stacy
Posted 03/04/2008 1:42pm
I liked the original spaced but I wont talk down the american one because I see no reason to, we have no idea what it will be like, who knows it might be the next office.
Posted 03/04/2008 1:42pm
why call it spaced? like pegg said just call it something else and be rid of the connection between spaced and this complete mess.
Posted 03/04/2008 1:09pm
Sweet this is awesome news, a new DVD release of this great show!

P.S. the American version is a guaranteed fail.
Posted 03/04/2008 11:13am

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