In the world of television, it’s never too early to get a jump on the next season. Last year it seemed everyone became a die hard survivalist with ‘Lost’-themed hits like NBC’s ‘Kidnapped’ and the CW’s ‘Runaway.’
But this year, networks are hoping the British can lend a hand in the creative department as four major networks are already remaking several shows from the U.K. If only General Cornwallis were alive to see this renewed American sitcom dependence on England, he probably wouldn’t feel so bad about losing to Washington at Yorktown in 1781, thus effectively ending the Revolutionary War.
Hollywood Reporter lists a smattering of new hopeful hits coming your way. ABC has hopped in the driver’s seat for ‘Life on Mars,’ in which a modern day car wreck sends a cop back in time to the 70’s. Wait, didn’t Austin Powers kinda do that with the Shaguar? The Alphabet is also hiking the sitcom ‘Football Wives,’ based on ‘Footballer’s Wives’ about (wait for it…) the wives of professional football players. That remake is quarterbacked by heavyweight X-Men and Superman Returns director Bryan Singer.
Meanwhile, another Singer affiliate Hugh Jackman (a.k.a. Wolverine) has anted up with CBS to star in gambling dramedy ‘Viva Laughlin!’ The CW is off to the wilderness with ‘Wild at Heart,’ a series about a veterinarian who moves his family to a game reserve in South Africa.
This, of course, isn’t the first time American networks have traveled abroad for ideas. Popular NBC satire ‘The Office’ is a well known import from England, as are reality shows ‘American Idol,’ ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and ‘Big Brother.’ No telling whether the new crop of pilfered pilots will make a splash in this part of the world as they did in their mother country, but look for them to flash across your TV screen sometime next fall.
