‘Kath & Kim’ Are Comin’ To America
The hilariously funny Australian sitcom Kath & Kim, which stars Aussie comediennes Jane Turner and Gina Riley, has been adapted for the US market and will be debuting on NBC this fall … starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair. Now, depending on whether or not you’re familiar with the original series, this might sound like extremely bad news. I have been watching the original Kath & Kim on the Sundance Channel for years and absolutely love it the way it is … so I’m concerned that the US version will not be able to do the show justice. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the Kath & Kim charcters in the US version and the OZ version:
My initial reaction to hearing about this new US version of the show was not a good one … the thing I love best about the Aussie version is that the comedy is so dry, so deadpan and offers no explanation to the audience (whereas American comedy is kinda force-fed to the viewer). As an American viewer, who prolly has no concept of this social culture in Australia, you either get it or you don’t … and if you get it, it’s funny as hell. BUT … there are a couple of clips that tease what the US version of the show will be like and, to be completely honest, the clips are very funny. After the jump, check out the clips …
The US version looks like it’s going for the more obvious laughs but they work, at least, they worked on me. The majority of folks in the US are not familiar with this Australian TV show so they won’t have a frame of reference to compare the US version to — which may be a good thing. I am not counting on liking the new version over the original (comparing the two is going to be hard to get over) but I’m willing to give the show a shot. It could turn out to be a success like Ugly Betty (which is a foreign show that has been adapted for the US market) or a flop like Coupling (which was adapted from the British version — the US version got canceled mid-season). I love both Molly Shannon and Selma Blair … they can make it work … in fact, they can make the characters their own independent of the Aussie version. If the show is going to be a lasting success, that is exactly what they are going to have to do.
[Source, Source via ONTD!]
Tags: 'Kath & Kim', Gina Riley, Jane Turner, Molly Shannon, Selma Blair
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July 11th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Hopefully it won’t be like the American version of Coupling… the original BBC version of that was hilarious, but the American version just bombed!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I’m sure most people are going to like it since they won’t have any idea about the Aussie version….it’s just like Ugly Betty..people here love the American version, which is nothing like the original Colombian version….btw, the best version ever.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I have never seen this show before but it looks like Absolutly Fabulous. If it is anything like that I am going to love it. I’ll keep my eye out for it!!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:38 am
lolol i watched a few clips from the original aussie one. so funny.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:40 am
It looks hilarious! never heard of the original but Molly Shannon and Selma Blair are awesome.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:42 am
FINALLY, someone gets it. My boyfriend and I had the exact same reaction—the US version seems to try for the deadpan but makes it waaay too obvious. I mean “O-V-U-R”? Ugh, no. A real Kath and Kim joke is so subtle that you don’t even realize it till several beats later. Another thing is that part of the great formula of Kath and Kim is that the two lead actresses are so close in age as to give the mother-daughter dynamic a level of creepiness and hilarity that just doesn’t spark with Molly Shannon and Selma Blair. And ANOTHER thing: WHAT could possibly be the American analogue of Trude and Prue!?!
July 11th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I am the 1st to admit that I have never seen the Aussie version, but from the 1st promo for the US version I was pumped to see it! I love Molly Shannon and Selma Blair and hope that this show will be ab fab! BTW, Molly is only about 8 years older than Selma.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I can’t possibly see how they’re going to be even remotely the same sort of show. Our Kath and Kim is full of “Aussie-isms”, which is the whole charm of the show. That sort of Ockerism just doesn’t translate.
Hearing Kath say “look at moy, look at moy” in an American accent just won’t be the same.
It’s all a bit of a foxy-moron really.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
This is a fear of mine as well, the Aussie-isms are what make the show amazing. My guess is that they’ll use American-isms to compensate … trashiness, etc. It could work, we’ll see.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Hmmmmm, I’m not convinced by the trailers. Kath and Kim is one of the best shows ever and if they don’t mention the words ‘you big hunk of spunk’ then how can it be worth watching??
July 11th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
i dunno…it looks kind of obvious and lame….sorry people.
you never know, they might just make the comedy this obvs for the first few episodes to gradually get people into the dry comedy. i hope so.
July 11th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
not even funny. kimmy is supposed to be chubby, and as said above… the same age as kath (actress wise) so its totally weird. this will just not work
July 11th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
nooooooo the australian one is sooooo much betterrrrrrr don’t ruin it for everyone!!
July 11th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Both women from the original are producers so it should be good. I imagine they can’t wait to tell Americans how trashy they are.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
DUDE, Where’s the perm??
There are so many firzzy hair jokes in the aussie.
And the whole sharon thing, desperate, loves sport. Do americasn even now what cricket is?
July 12th, 2008 at 9:51 am
ugh, that is just *awful*. jeez, you americans don’t get anything right. it SUCKS.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
One of the reasons why I feel the original show will be more successful than the new US version is that the Aussies appear REAL (in an over-the-top sense). The characters’ clothing, hairstyles, accessories are organic, naturally a part of them. With Molly and Selma, the outfits appear too sleek, too polished and put together. It seems like a masquerade - making beautiful women seem quirky and absurd by throwing on fitted mis-matched clothing. I wish they got “nobody” actors actors to pull this off. It’s so hard not to see “Molly” and “Selma” as anything but themselves. (Selma more than Molly).
July 14th, 2008 at 4:06 am
I’m sorry but this show cannot be recreated into an American version. American humor is so in your face that it is impossible to miss. The Australian Kath and Kim humor is subtle which is what makes the show so brilliant and so popular in the first place down here in Aus. Changing the show for an American Audience will change the very core of the show. And anyway the American version will have to be totally different because the whole Aus show if full of AUSTRALIAN jokes, to make an American version will just turn out to be a some what crappy version of the original version. And Kath and Kim with American accents just won’t work.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:12 am
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo. good luck to them. i’m sure they will do their best but…somehow dont think it will catch on. at this lay-te stay-ge, i’m having iss-ewes at the mow-ment ploi-se.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
selma blair is SO NOT FUNNY. hate her…it looks awful