‘Cheers’ to get a British sitcom makeover
For long-time readers of Tellyspotting, many have come to know that I’m not the biggest fan of remakes, reboots or sequels. While there are certainly cases that directly counter my feelings (All Creatures Great and Small, Poldark, Upstairs Downstairs), the streets are littered with failed American remakes of highly successful British comedies and there are more than a few instances where British remakes of successful American sitcoms have lasted only a few episodes or never made it out of the pilot stage.
With the news that legendary American sitcom, Cheers, will be adapted for a British audience, I sincerely hope I’m wrong. Conventional wisdom says why try to recreate perfection. In this instance, Men Behaving Badly writer, Simon Nye, will be working with Big Talk Studios (The Outlaws, Ludwig, Rev, Friday Night Dinner), which is part of ITV Studios, and throw conventional wisdom out the window to adapt Cheers.
After 11 seasons and 275 episodes followed by the equally brilliant spinoff, Frasier, starring Kelsey Grammer, no one can deny the greatness of Cheers. With that in mind, EP Kenton Allen acknowledged that adapting a series like Cheers is both ‘huge honor’ and a ‘huge challenge’, adding that “I might be insane,” recognizing that there is “a massive amount of work to be done around taking inspiration from the original characters but creating something fresh.“
Unfortunately, little is known about the adaptation other than it will be set in a British pub (surprise!) but with Simon Nye involved, it is one that I definitely want to keep an eye on and give it a chance.
In: Comedy
