The US TV networks are back indulging one of their favourite hobbies: taking British comedy and trying to make it work for American audiences.
We’re already reported on the planned Stateside version of Little Britain, but now comes word that – of all things – The Vicar Of Dibley is getting the Yank treatment.
The Fox TV show will be called The Minister Of Divine, but otherwise echoes the UK show, following a woman becoming a minister in a small town. Though in this incarnation, the central figure is a former rebel returning to her hometown of Divine, Georgia.
Sitcom veteran Suzanne Martin is in charge of getting the pilot made, with a little help from executive producer Richard Curtis (AKA the creator of Dibley). And though it will still have to compete in the tough world of comedy pilots, the Fox honchos appear to have faith (pun entirely intended).
"Martin did something smart - she set the show in the South to take advantage of a culture that embraces the church and its customs," Fox’s vice president of comedy Susan Levison told Variety. "And she gave the lead character a little more outrageousness. She's a woman with a past who's trying to make amends, and isn't afraid to call things as she sees them. It felt very Fox to us." Which, given the evidence of other shows on the network, means that it better not turn out well, or it’ll be cancelled after half a season.