australian television information archive

Noice one: Kath and Kim hit for six in US

American TV network NBC is so confident the US version of Kath and Kim will be a hit with US audiences it ordered six episodes of the show today.

It is common practice for a TV network to shoot just a pilot episode for a new show to test its likely success.

Often the pilot is not turned into a series and the project is dropped.

NBC, however, will skip the pilot and shoot the six episodes.

The US version of Kath and Kim, based on the popular Australian sitcom, will star well-known American actresses Molly Shannon and Selma Blair.

The series is expected to begin shooting six weeks after the screenwriters' strike is resolved.

"This hilarious new series exemplifies how we are changing the pilot process by ordering shows that we believe in and green-lighting them straight to series," NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman said.

"We are confident that this proven international hit will effortlessly translate to American audiences and we couldn't be more excited that Molly and Selma will be playing the leads."

Silverman has had huge success turning foreign TV shows into US hits.

He bought the rights to the Colombian version of Ugly Betty and the British series The Office and made successful US versions out of both.

The US Kath and Kim, just like the Australian series, will follow the dysfunctional relationship between mother Kath and her daughter Kim.

Shannon, best known for her days as a star of Saturday Night Live, will play Kath and Blair, who has starred in romantic comedies A Guy Thing and The Sweetest Thing, will become Kim.

The Australian stars of the sitcom, Gina Riley and Jane Turner, will be executive producers of the US series.

February 06, 2008
AAP