UPDATE: Happened this afternoon when FBC officially passed on the U.S. remake of the hit UK series. ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS was hot, hot hot. But then Fox execs wondered if it was really for their audience. In other words, too femme? Also EVA ADAMS and TWO DOLLAR BEER are dead.
I am now totally convinced Fox is filled with idiots. I don’t know many women who wouldn’t have watched it.
Oh thank god. This is the best news I’ve heard all day. The original is so perfect and you shouldn’t mess with perfection.
1st
Ab Fab would be better for Bravo, no?
if that show was turned “too femme” then they really blew the remake.
*sigh* Because apparently women don’t watch TV.
Sony should take Abfab to ABC. Look at ABC’s shows: Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, SuperNanny, Ugly Betty, Brothers and Sisters, The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars. Strong female appeal. ABC is a much better fit for Abfab than Fox.
Truly stupid call. Toni Trucks is an outstanding talent. Fox’s loss.
I’m not terribly surprised. Having been at the taping, Fox made a great call on this one. It was too much of a sitcom to work with what made the UK version great.
Comedy transplants are really tough. Shows that work extremely well in their native countries won’t necessarily find an audience here (re: kath and kim, ugh what a basterdization).
I remember when Roseanne wanted to do a US version of this and it was killed. As much as I like the UK version, I just don’t think the characters and humor would translate well for Yanks. It’s a hard sell to make a weekly comedy in the US with despicable characters.
I agree
I don’t know if they passed solely on it being too “femme.” Translating a limited run British series into an open-ended running American series is really tricky. They made as many episodes in the original show’s entire run to fill maybe two regular seasons of American TV. The network may have viewed the project as too much work and passed on that. Or the could have passed because of a testosterone/estrogen imbalance.
Also the behaviour of many current celeb-fashionista types these days make Edina and Patsy seem almost normal or quaint. ;)
two dollar beer was a steaming pile of wordshit, good times
This decision wasn’t about the show appealing to women or not–the show was just terrible and unfunny
Thank God on the Ab Fab pass, it would kill me to see them ruin the original. Now, on Eva adams, when I heard that pitched, I thought “Brilliant one line of a show – but REALLY???” I couldn’t believe anyone got away with it. Execs, when you hear the pitch, please ask, is this relatable to the human experience AT ALL? Yes, daring and original is good, but you got the wool pulled over your eyes from the get.
When I read about Eva Adams, all I could think of was 13-22 episodes of the “The Hot Chick” with Rob Schneider.
Word on the street is that Fox is planning to air another season of So You Think You Can Dance in the winter to go along with the usual summer edition.
Should definitely change things up for Fox come midseason!
Can’t believe they passed on Eva Adams. That show is hot in markets all over the world. Freemantle is doing a version of Lalola in Belgium. The FOX Network that rides high on American Idol may face some tough competition if another US network picks up Eva Adams.
As others have said, it is for the best that AbFab is not going on the air – American TV almost always takes the edge off of import shows – they know what they are buying – they know what made the original work and that’s the FIRST thing the suits change – they seem “unlikeable” – who are we “to root for”. Its like they go off to a camp and learn a few catch phrases and that’s what is thrown at writers during development. And it truly was the personality of the two british leads and the sharp writing that made AbFab what it was. It’s always been show BUSINESS but the corporations are truly running everything – they interfere with every little part of a show and they now tell showrunners who they can hire and can’t hire – that’s what’s wrong with broadcast TV comedy – you cant crowbar writers into a room just because they have deals at the net and expect that room to produce. A writer’s room is a very important and fragile thing – that’s the one place the suits should respect and leave alone.
Eve Adams is more buzz than anything. In all markets the show started with high ratings and after two months dipped and dipped. Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico… the show wasn’t a huge hit anywhere (although the producers did a wonderful job in convincing everyone otherwise).
I’ve seen Lalola and it’s various incarnations. It’s so much more than “The Hot Chick.” I can’t Fox isn’t developing this. It’s practically the next Ugly Betty.
I hope they at least show the reruns of AbFAb one
of the funniest shows ever on TV.
Andre is wrong. In Argentina, Lalola took away most of tv awards and in Chile they had to change the end and make it longer because audiences demanded more and more of it.
Apparently the cast for the US version was not the best. The Dawson’s Creek guy? That’s really an insipid guy.
Anyway, that’s Fox…
LaLoLa sounds pretty sexist, NOT AT ALL funny, and a poor reworking of Blake Edwards’ ‘Switch’, which wasn’t all that funny to begin with. Also the downer ending makes it not worth watching. Do the opposite (a maneater becoming a guy) and I might, repeat MIGHT, give it a shot. As it stands, it’s just sexist.
two attempts to remake UK hits failed in the past 2 years which kind of sucks because I would have liked to have seen this show and the IT crowd cross the atlantic. but maybe the USA isnt ready for it.
Why oh why can’t Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley make MORE AB FAB?
…American TV BORING BORING BORING!