US picks up Britcoms
- Published: 12 August 2008 13:12
- Author: Katherine Rushton
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- Last Updated: 12 August 2008 16:09
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Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd has found a new home in the US, after a trio of comedy sales by distributor FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME).
The Independent Film Channel picked up three series of office-based series The IT Crowd and two series of sketch show Modern Toss, both originally commissioned by C4.
Meanwhile, cable channel Adult Swim has acquired spoof BBC2 science series Look Around You from FME, created, written and performed by Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper.
"There is an increasing appetite for British comedy shows in the US as cable channels acknowledge the growing appeal with young American audiences," said Lisa Honig, FME's vice president of programme distribution for North America.
The IT Crowd, about two geeky IT guys and an HR manager working in the basement of a large corporation, was one of C4's highest-rating sitcoms of 2007 and peaked with 3.4m viewers. It will launch on IFC on 29 September.
The sale follows a false start for a remake of the series in the US. An American version was piloted by NBC in February last year and looked set to go to series – but appears to have hit the buffers since the arrival of new NBC entertainment president Ben Silverman.
Modern Toss, which is based on the frank comics of the same name and combines live action and animation, will launch in the US early next year.
The first series of Look Around You was a tongue in cheek take on 1970s educational films and starred Serafinowicz as a scientist. The second series parodied BBC's classic science series Tomorrow's World and featured Serafinowicz as presenter Peter Packard.
