The Remote Island

American "Ab Fab": There's Good News and Bad News

Posted by Ben Kallen

 

After more than a decade of trying, American TV is finally moving forward with a remake of Absolutely Fabulous, the campy British sitcom about "two boozy, over-40 best friends who are desperate to stay hip and youthful." So is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Answer: Both!

The good news:

-- Some major talent is behind the re-do, including the show's original cocreator and costar Jennifer Saunders, SNL writer Christine Zander, and Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz. They're likely to make sure the show's bordering-on-offensive humor doesn't get watered down, but doesn't go too far over the top either.

The bad news:

-- Yeah, they've been trying to do this for years, and always unsuccessfully. First Roseanne Barr attempted, and failed, to remake the show with actress-writer Carrie Fisher (whose novels have an Ab Fab flair). Cybill was pretty much a clone of the show, as was the short-lived High Society -- not to mention the upcoming Kath and Kim, which, though actually a remake of an Australian comedy, is in the same ballpark.

-- Remakes of British TV shows: For every great success like The Office, there's a terrible failure like Coupling.

-- A show about a pair of nutty female alcoholics in L.A.? There already was one: The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman, with Laura Kightlinger. Okay, it was on the Independent Film Channel, which means just about nobody ever saw it, but it was actually pretty funny. (Check out one of the episodes here.)

The wait-and-see news:

-- Casting is everything. Any suggestions?

Previously:
Top 10 New Shows: Kath and Kim


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About Ben Kallen

Ben Kallen is an entertainment, health and humor writer who's been lectured to by Sidney Poitier, argued with by Lea Thompson and smiled at by Jennifer Connelly. He's the coauthor of The No S Diet and author of The Year in Weird, along with hundreds of magazine articles. He lives near the beach in Los Angeles, just like the gang from Three's Company.

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    Ben Kallen is an entertainment, health and humor writer who's been lectured to by Sidney Poitier, argued with by Lea Thompson and smiled at by Jennifer Connelly. He's the coauthor of The No S Diet and author of The Year in Weird, along with hundreds of magazine articles. He lives near the beach in Los Angeles, just like the gang from Three's Company.

    Nicole Ankowski has lived in Ohio, Oakland, and on the high plains of South Dakota, but is now proud to call Brooklyn home. She wrote for alternative weekly papers in the first two states, and tried to learn Lakota in the last. (The vowels can be tricky.) She just earned her MFA in Creative Writing and has been published in Beeswax literary journal. She is unable to resist good writing or bad TV.

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