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NBC plans second adaptation of The IT Crowd

Last attempted in 2007, NBC is now planning a second crack at The IT Crowd.

2013-12-10_2003If at first you don’t succeed…?

Another remake of The IT Crowd is in development in the US is -for the second time.

Deadline reports Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) and Neil Goldman & Garrett Donovan (Scrubs, Community) have a pilot commitment from NBC through and Warner Bros. TV.

The UK original starred Chris O’Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and ran for 4 seasons.

NBC last attempted a version during 2006-07 with Joel McHale and was picked up to series for midseason but never aired after it became a casualty of management change. A German version in 2007 lasted only 2 eps.

Lawrence is also helming a small screen adaptation of 1998’s Rush Hour, which originally starred Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

This week it was also confirmed O’Dowd’s own Moone Boy would have a US adaptation.

8 Responses

  1. I have watched Season 1 of the origanal UK edition and I loved it (I still need to find time to watch other episodes).

    I feel like there is potential if they find the right people then it could be as successful as The Office (9 seasons, 200 episodes), but on the other hand it could just end up on the shelf like the first time around.

  2. On remakes, there’s a bunch of other British ones coming. They’re doing Misfits, which you know will be terrible.

    Utopia (British show, not Aus) this has a massive chance, great show and David Fincher is directing the entire thing for HBO. So how can it not be good!

    On Kath & Kim, I actually found the US version funny, at first there was a negative reaction but it actually was entertaining if you stuck with it.

    With the IT Crowd, someone mentioned casting. This is another area a straight up remake would go wrong. Each character was taylored around the Actors. Moss was written for Richard.

  3. The IT Crowd is like Red Dwarf, something of its time and place that will never translate to a US 22+ episode series.

    For every Wilfred or In Treatment, where they make an interesting and worthwhile version, there are lot of poor copies or absolute turkeys.

    I guess most US dramas and sitcoms fail to get renewed anyway, and having a successful OS show gives you a strong pitch.

  4. The cast was terrific but the real humour and brilliance came from Graham Linehan. Without him, you ain’t got a show. Also the American version should have Matt Berry as the boss.

  5. I saw the 2006/2007 US pilot and it was really unfunny. The only funny person was Moss because they retained Richard Aoyade. The rest of the cast was shocking and the whole thing seemed uninspired. I think it’s doomed to fail again.

    I’m also really sceptical about a US version of Moone Boy working because 80s Ireland feels like the third most important character.

    Then again NBC’s About a Boy seems to have done fairly well, although I could never bring myself to watch it.

  6. I am a fan of the original, but they need to do a fair amount of retooling of the concept.

    On one of the DVD’s Graham Lineham talked about the problem with the remakes being that they just copied everything. Even the things that didn’t work and the things he would change if he could have started again.

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