Remaking British shows for North American TV.

[Kegg]

^
Temis is however right that how Homeland handles the spy aspect of the show owes way more to 24 than it does to Prisoners of War to the extent Homeland pretty much took a lot of plot ideas from the Israeli series and then worked them into a vaguely related thriller.

[diankra]

lurok wrote:

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Though I don't think we've had a West Wing remake, and it's a different genre, I wonder if WW had any influence, stylistic or otherwise, on The Thick Of It? (which I believe has been adapted or remade for US?)

Re: New Tricks US - how about Olmos and McDonnell (right ages). I'd watch that.

West Wing: sort of, but on radio (Radio 4) - Number 10, with Anthony Sher and Damien Lewis as the two Prime Ministers it's had so far over five seasons. Also, there's been some TV series which are like The West Wing as originally pitched, with the focus on the President's staff, such as Party Animals.

As for New Tricks: it's amazing that nobody in the States seems to realise the retired could be a huge market (mind you, nobody in the UK expected New Tricks to do as brilliantly as it has). Just hire the main quartet from iconic 80s cop stars (how about Harvey Keitel, Tom Selleck, Daniel J Travanti and... oh, Kathleen Turner, and watch it top the ratings...

[beamMe]

lurok wrote:

---

Though I don't think we've had a West Wing remake, and it's a different genre, I wonder if WW had any influence, stylistic or otherwise, on The Thick Of It? (which I believe has been adapted or remade for US?)

Re: New Tricks US - how about Olmos and McDonnell (right ages). I'd watch that.

Isn't West Wing, somehow, a non-sitcom version of Yes, (Prime) Minister?

[AviTrek]

diankra wrote:

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West Wing: sort of, but on radio (Radio 4) - Number 10, with Anthony Sher and Damien Lewis as the two Prime Ministers it's had so far over five seasons. Also, there's been some TV series which are like The West Wing as originally pitched, with the focus on the President's staff, such as Party Animals.

As for New Tricks: it's amazing that nobody in the States seems to realise the retired could be a huge market (mind you, nobody in the UK expected New Tricks to do as brilliantly as it has). Just hire the main quartet from iconic 80s cop stars (how about Harvey Keitel, Tom Selleck, Daniel J Travanti and... oh, Kathleen Turner, and watch it top the ratings...

The retired are on fixed incomes and have their spending habits fixed. Viewers don't matter, advertisers matter, and advertisers aren't interested in paying for retired viewers. That's why the ratings reported are for 18-49 not total viewers.

[Tom Hendricks]

I was such a huge fan of the british version of "Coupling" and I couldn't wait for the american version of it. I thought if it was half as good as the british version, that it would be a huge hit. I was way wrong, the american version was basically lifeless. They chose all the wrong actors for it, it was no where as funny. It sill makes me sad to this day.

[scotpens]

sojourner wrote:

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It was called Earth 2. It lasted for about the same number of episodes.

At first I thought you meant Earth II, the 1971 pilot for a proposed series about people living on an orbiting space station, starring Tony Franciosa. Damn, I feel old.

C.E. Evans wrote:

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We had a slew of such shows during the '80s and '90s--The Golden Girls, Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis: Murder (to name some)--that had rather long runs.

What about All In the Family, which was based on the British sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and ran from 1971 to 1979? Archie and Edith Bunker were presumably in their fifties.

Of course, compared to Alf Garnett, Archie was a teddy bear.

[lurok]

diankra wrote:

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Also, there's been some TV series which are like The West Wing as originally pitched, with the focus on the President's staff, such as Party Animals.

Thanks for that tip. Will check out when finish WW.

[diankra]

AviTrek wrote:

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The retired are on fixed incomes and have their spending habits fixed. Viewers don't matter, advertisers matter, and advertisers aren't interested in paying for retired viewers. That's why the ratings reported are for 18-49 not total viewers.

I follow your point, but I equally wonder how if that's the case (over in the UK) ITV has an entire channel filled with comforting detective shows aimed at the retired, and manages to finance it from ads for stairlifts!
Possibly the focus on the young viewers is as misguided as the previous focus on mass audiences for the likes of Beverly Hillbillies and Two's Company... Some of those 60-pluses are heading out to watch the Rolling Stones live, at $400 a ticket...

[Corwwyn]

Tulin wrote:

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You can bet the Yanks will NEVER remake "New Tricks".

Americans are TERRIFIED of anybody over forty appearing on tv, let alone somebody over 65!!!

I don't know about that...

Matlock (Andy Griffith was no spring chicken in that show);

Boston Legal (how old are William Shatner and Candice Bergen now?);

Going waaaaay back, Fred Mertz (ie William Frawley) in I Love Lucy was 64 in the first season and 70 in the last;

and of course, The Golden Girls...