It’s that time of year when the US television networks start to announce their line-up for the upcoming new season in the autumn. ABC and CBS have now stepped up the plate, announcing a raft of new dramas, with three being notably based on previous British television formats.
Of course, most attention is being heaped on the announcement that Life on Mars will be given the trans-Atlantic treatment following the production of a pilot last year under the tutelage of producer David E Kelley, he of the Ally McBeal and Boston Legal pedigree, amongst others.
ABC will broadcast the show, based on the hugely successful BBC1 series starring John Simm and Philip Glenister, in a co-production deal with original UK production house Kudos. Staying with the show following the pilot are Irish actor Jason O’Mara as Sam Tyler, with his countryman and Star Trek legend Colm Meaney taking the all-important role of Gene Hunt.
Obviously the question will be whether the limitations of the original of the original Life on Mars will be a natural fit for the voracious demands of US network television. The UK original was pushing it to stretch to two seasons of eight episodes. If Life on Mars does well Stateside, there could be 22 episodes a year. Clearly there will have to be some format changes to take the strain off O’Mara and Meaney if it is to succeed.
As for the casting, I think that works really well - O’Mara, a onetime jobbing face on British TV in shows such as Monarch of the Glen, has been popping up in various roles across the pond for a while now. And Meaney seems to fit the shouty, slightly shambling mould of Gene quite well, so I’ll be awaiting a first look at this with anticipation.
Elsewhere, CBS will be debuting The Eleventh Hour starring Rufus Sewell in an eco-thriller drama that originally served as a vehicle for Patrick Stewart in its short-lived British incarnation on ITV1. Frankly, I thought the original was a good idea, just very badly executed with all the elements that have made ITV drama so shabby lately. Let’s hope this does the concept more justice - certainly Rufus Sewell is good compromise casting between US TV’s desire for beautiful people, yet he’s slightly quirky and can actually act. Always a bonus.
CBS has also commissioned comedy The Worst Week of My Life, based on the wonderfully farcical BBC original starring Ben Miller. I always enjoyed this show’s clever blend of comedy of manners with Miller’s excruciating talent for down at heel slapstick. But of all these shows, this is the one that is quintessentially British at heart. Will that very specific kind if humour translate well? Remember Men Behaving Badly? I don’t…
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