Britcom
British comedies that didn’t quite cross the Atlantic…more on the way?
With the announcement this week that both Gavin & Stacey and Spy have been picked up in pilot stage by U.S. television networks, Fox and ABC, respectively, and the news weeks back that there will now be an ‘American’ Downton Abbey, one can’t help but revisit some past history of comedies trying to head west [...]
Jeremy Lloyd awarded OBE for British comedy brilliance
Doing a bit of new years ‘catch up’, we ran across some brilliant news regarding Jeremy Lloyd, co-creator and co-writer with David Croft of Are You Being Served and ‘Allo, ‘Allo. Seems as though Jeremy Jeremy Lloyd was awarded an OBE, which is short for Officer of the Order of the British Empire, in the [...]
Mr. Bean to retire following stellar 2012 Olympic performance?
With his most recent memorable performance coming at the 2012 London Olympics before an audience of roughly 75 million viewers between the U.S. and the UK, it looks as though Mr. Bean will soon get in to his classic Mini and drive away, hopefully not in a recliner strapped on the roof. Rowan Atkinson, the [...]
Election Day – Vote for Britain’s Best Political Sitcom 2012
Vote for Britain’s Best Political Sitcom – 2012 Today is the day that most Americans either thought would never get here or couldn’t get here fast enough — Election Day 2012. While America goes to the polls to elect the next President of the United States (POTUS), it’s time to spend about $3 billion less [...]
Could the Vicar return as The Bishop of Dibley?
Dawn French, on ITV’s Daybreak program, set the British comedy audience ablaze recently when she, once again, didn’t rule out the possibility of getting Richard Curtis’ Vicar of Dibley band back together at some point in the future. Before you set your DVR for the next meeting of the Dibley Town Council, this isn’t the [...]
Fox orders U.S. version of Gavin & Stacey
U.S. broadcast networks have struck again and will try to mine a bit of UK gold with the announcement that the Fox network has ordered a pilot of the British comedy sitcom, Gavin & Stacey. This will be the second attempt at a U.S. version with the first being the 2009 ill-fated ABC version. Ill-fated [...]
30-Rock EP sets sights on the greatness of Whites
As 30 Rock co-executive producer Ron Weiner makes plans to put the final season of the Tina Fey hit comedy to bed, he’s not letting any grass grow under his feet and has already lined up a couple of projects with Universal Television. The second project will be the one of most interest to Tellyspotting [...]
Me and Mrs. Jones premieres 12 October on BBC One
Starring Sarah Alexander (Coupling, People Like Us, Green Wing) and Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly), Nathanial Parker (Merlin) and Robert Sheehan (Misfits), the new BBC comedy, Me and Mrs. Jones, produced by Hartswood Films (Sherlock, Coupling, Jekyll, Men Behaving Badly), is one to definitely keep an eye on when it premieres on 12 October on [...]
Happy Birthday, Chef, a.k.a. Lenny Henry
Here’s wishing a coveted third Michelin star to Le Chateau Anglais and Chef Gareth Blackstock for his alter ego, Lenny Henry’s 54th birthday today. Given that Chef Blackstock’s restaurant was one of the few in the United Kingdom to receive a two-star rating from Michelin we felt it the only fitting gift we could give [...]
Dawn French on writing with Jennifer Saunders
When the great comedy duo of French and Saunders (Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders) went their separate ways back in 2010 following the end of Jam and Jerusalem, there was more than a bit of sadness in the air. Wanting a bit of time to focus on individual projects sounded great on paper, but there [...]
