The Horrible American Remake of Absolutely Fabulous | Cinewhirl

[@vnoe8659]

The biggest mistake Hollywood makes when trying to recreate a British sitcom is that they forget the American audience has already seen the real thing (thanks to PBS and several cable outlets) and knows how funny the show premise CAN be.

[@Donathon-qx8kq]

Well you have to admit it worked in the day....I mean Sanford and Son and Threes Company (don't forget All in the Family)...in my plutocracy it's monkey see monkey do.., your right.... for the most part UK comedy doesn't work in a puritanical country

[@cinewhirl]

Yeah, it's quite odd when the original is widely known

[@kiragoe]

It's rare when an American remake does well, most don't. But 'Shameless' was remade and did just as well as in England and ended up remaking every series.

[@mbrackeva]

Mistake two is when they take a series that relies a lot on the skill and uniqueness of the actors. You can't just "replace" the likes of Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders, and certainly not by 2nd or 3rd rate actors.

[@Garcelle1987]

​@@kiragoe The US office was also a huge success as well.

[@ThatGuy-y2c]

Absolutely Fabulous was lightning in a bottle. You can’t just remake that.

[@cinewhirl]

agree!

[@karenweston2714]

I think Roseanne and Carrie Fisher could've reinvented the show. It would be different and very American yet capture the spirit of the original. A young Jenna Fischer would've been perfect for Saffy!

[@phily8093]

I'm sure they'd be great in a sitcom, but not Ab Fab. You can still make it about vacuous, superfical people, or Hollywood PR people, or has beens, but when you try to remake this? Yuck!

[@phily8093]

I'm sure they'd be great in a sitcom, but not Ab Fab. You can still make it about vacuous, superfical people, or Hollywood PR people, or has beens, but when you try to remake this? Yuck!

[@HC-cb4yp]

Even Absolutely Fabulous couldn't remake Absolutely Fabulous...

[@wilkby]

I think of Edina’s rant in court in front of the judge that there should be a tax on stupid people quite often these days.

[@FashionJewelryandmoreFYI-vz1by]

That was one of the most iconic episodes

[@jamieking8011]

Same.

[@alanwisdom7777]

The characters of Eddy and Patsy are so well played by Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley that it is impossible to have them reinterpreted by other actors. No one can ever be another Patsy except Joanna Lumley, quite simply this role is made for her 1000% and the same for Jennifer Saunders no one except herself can play Eddy . Any new version would be doomed to failure Ab Fab forever ✨

[@kathys1285]

Exactly they fed off of each other just in sync with each other hysterical communication 😅 just everything with them was at ease with each other not just them ALL the characters were excellent performance

[@charliephxaz]

Actually, the mid-90s sitcom Cybill was loosely based on AbFab. The network standards and practices didn't allow them to be as off the wall but the character dynamics of the leads was the same.

[@markh8564]

I was thinking the same thing. Cybill was a great Americanized version of AbFab without being a direct copy - the mother with two ex-husbands who couldn't quite get her life together, the responsible, independent daughter and the rich, drunk friend played by the brilliant Christine Baranski. Watching this failed attempt makes me glad that Cybill didn't play a carbon copy of Eddie. Kathryn Hahn is great but she shouldn't have just played a clone of Jennifer Saunders. She should have been allowed to make the character her own.

[@placova]

There was also 'High Society' which was another knockoff: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Society_(1995_TV_series)

[@clareshaughnessy2745]

I liked Cybill - it was no ab fab, but I liked it

[@TayWoode]

Oh wow I never thought of that, I used to like that show and I can see what you mean now, sometimes a loosely based works better than a try too hard copy

[@jwb52z9]

Christine Baranski is just about the only other actor who can come close to doing a character like Patsy.

[@danielgillespie7899]

So many mistakes were made with this but that is par for the course with American remakes of British shows. Firstly, it should have been set in New York. That is the fashion centre of the United States, not Los Angeles. Secondly, the actors should have been older. Half the joke of Eddie and Patsy is that they are past their prime. But of course Hollywood couldn't possibly bring themselves to cast not one but two post menopausal women. Oh, the horror. Thirdly, Eddie and Patsy are not out of touch with current trends. That's their whole thing. Eddie is fully aware of the current trends. To a ridiculous extent. And Patsy has a hand in setting current trends in her role at the magazine (that she never goes to). That's part of the absurdity of the show. That these two drunk and drugged out lay abouts have, in their own way, an undue amount of social influence. Eddie may be an idiot but she runs her own events company (at least I think that's what her company does) and actually does her job well enough to make far more money than she deserves. Patsy is a leech that has been draining Eddie for years and this is often the source of Saffie's displeasure with her. And it's from all of that that the comedy flows. I don't think they understood any of that. Or perhaps in typical American fashion they thought they could take the bare bones of the show and make it their own thing. That never works. If you want to make your own thing then just make your own thing. America did this with the Australian show Kath & Kim and it was similarly dismal.

[@RunnerX13]

I think the American casting was pretty well done. Sanders was in her early 30s at the start of the show and Haan was around the same age. They do seem like caricatures though but I could seen them growing into the roles. I agree with with everything else you said. The major fail is the sitcom style filming

[@willwright3831]

Eddies thing is PR. She PRs things. People, places. LULU!!! Agree with everything, especially about living in New York. That was the obvious choice.

[@Satrina777]

​@RunnerX13 Agreed, I was going to say.. this wasn't Golden Girl's lol, they were nowhere near post menopausal for the majority of its run. Post menopausal is typically at least 55-60+ Are they post menopausal now? Yes, 30 something years later lol

[@AngeloDiBen]

Perfectly said. I’m so glad you typed it all so I didn’t have to.

[@sonicsnout]

American producers probably wanted more sex appeal, which is hilarious because Joanna Lumley is an absolute smoke show during the AbFab years.

[@AurumEtAes]

Ab Fab is a product of the 90s and it belongs in the culture (fashion/celebrity/PR industry/magazines still relevant as internet hasn’t taken over…) It belongs in that era. It’s wierd to remake it so far out of its time

[@Kknightstar]

Agree 💯 I loved abfab but it’s not funny now

[@13blackcatzzz]

​@@KknightstarIt's still hilarious af

[@Kknightstar]

@@13blackcatzzz as set in the 90’s yes, as set in the present not so much

[@13blackcatzzz]

@@Kknightstar It makes it even funnier now.

[@philambrez]

As an American, I have to say that the original, British Ab-Fab was a cult classic that ran on an obscure cable channel that no all carriers (regionally) decided to make available - Comedy Central. It was their #1 show until "South Park" came along. Practically everyone had heard of the show, but due to regional cable carriers not airing Comedy Central, much of the USA were never able to see it. It was a time before streaming services. Whenever a friend of mine came to visit, we would watch AB-FAB and they would be aghast. American censors at the time refused to show a variety of items that were routinely part of the British sitcom: smoking, alcoholism, drug use, contraception, explicit references to casual sex, prostitution, etc. For these reasons, when it was revealed that Roseanne was going to make an American version of the show, every American who knew the original was in 100% agreement that American censors would destroy the American version to the point that it wouldn't be funny at all. Your video was quite eye-opening, as I always assumed that "High Society", which did run in the US to very poor reviews and ratings. It was not funny because it had to be censored down to the point that the best the two main characters could do is get drunk at home, not drive, and fall asleep on the floor. The best episode was undoubtedly the obligatory American "Thanksgiving" episode, where the two main characters, who are rich and have never cooked in their lives, try to make Thanksgiving dinner (in America, that's obligatorily baking a turkey), which they do by reading a recipe literally, and truthfully it is funny, as they "dress the turkey" and add 1 cup of Sherry then are told to "reduce it by half". All other episodes were tragic and not worth mentioning, in my opinion. I believe that you should cover "High Society" as a way to compare and contrast British / American censors' sensibilities. Just an idea.

[@paulguise698]

I couldn't agree more Phil, did you watch the Only Fools and Horses U.S remake? also on this channel, that was pretty shocking also

[@jmartin45]

Great take. As another American I agree

[@tracyaskew1651]

Some shows you don't touch. This is one of them. Every character and actor assigned to that character was perfection. The chemistry was perfection. I'm sorry, but the US just can't come close to British humor. We just can't.

[@patrickporter6536]

American humour: little boy kicks grown man in nuts. Hilarious.

[@adieljonsson864]

imo US can do humor just as well as the UK, just (almost) never on network television. Anything on a major (or aiming for) a major US network has to be as bland and broadly appealing as possible, which is why so many of the jokes are just childishly silly and lacking in any bite.

[@greggkimball4110]

"All in the Family" and "Sanford & Son" would tend to disprove your theory.

[@greggkimball4110]

"All in the Family" and "Sanford & Son" would tend to disprove your theory.

[@greggkimball4110]

"All in the Family" and "Sanford & Son" would tend to disprove your theory.

[@mohammedamir799]

I think the biggest problem is the actors all are mimicking the original characters. There is nothing special or unique. It just falls flat. Unfortunate.

[@beldarin]

It only really worked because we already knew that IRL, Saunders was adorable, hardworking and fun, and that Lumley was iconicly stylish, classy, & well mannered. The surprise of them both being so hideously uncouth had the audience immediately engaged. Joanna Lumley a foul mouthed chain smoking alco? OMG! I can't think of an American counterpart that would have worked so well at subverting their own years-long reputaion. Michelle pfeiffer perhaps?

[@alifloydtv]

Jessica Walter!

[@ogami1972]

Cybil Shepherd.

[@cityhawk]

Megan Mullally

[@LaineyTsang]

You nailed it, and I have everyone here beat! Christine Baranksi!! She’d be perfect.

[@DelosFive]

Jennifer Saunders, is not 'hardworking' at all - even she admits that. She's late all the time, procrastinates every project she works on... it's all in her biog AND in Dawn French's accounts of their whole working career. Ruby Wax worked with them on AbFab AND on Girls on Top and constantly refers to how lazy Jennifer is.

[@flashrobbie]

Thing is those characters really could exist in the UK, 60's rockstars former groupies and such. Why didn't they just take any of the vacuous attention whores from Real Housewives and satirise them?

[@dontplz]

this was filmed in 2009/8? did housewives exist then?

[@HC-cb4yp]

Real Housewives is already a satire...

[@burlatsdemontaigne6147]

They did exist in the UK. Jennifer Saunders character was a barely disguised pastiche of PR agent Lynne Franks - who was an absolute horror!

[@RenegadeContext]

There's no way an American version could have pulled off the darker stuff like the coat hanger jokes

[@cinewhirl]

Oh yeah, I didn't delve into that side of it too much, but a lot of what Patsy says in particular is way darker in the original than this one!

[@RenegadeContext]

@@cinewhirl she's not right for patsy either. Patsy is a stunner but auch older woman and that's part of the joke. Also Eddie needs to be more of a mess

[@patricksawyer8272]

Well said. The humor was so dark that sometimes you wouldn’t quite catch it on the first viewing. It was a tremendous show.

[@RenegadeContext]

@@patricksawyer8272 it was so well done

[@HC-cb4yp]

Yeah - MAYBE if it was on HBO or something... the ORIGINAL HBO.

[@creech444]

There was actually another remake of AbFab that lasted I think a full season. It was a more Americanized version called "High Society" with Mary McDonald and Jean Smart with a larger supporting cast. Here Dot and Ellie are the two women, Dot runs a publishing company she got in a divorce and Ellie is a partying writer (which is sort of hard to buy). Dot has a son this time, and more of it is set in the office, where you still have the flightly (gay male) assitant. There are some episodes online here on KZbin.

[@cinewhirl]

As far as I could find out, that show shares a similar premise/inspiration but is not strictly a remake

[@newtonduck1]

High Society was funny!

[@kaimanat8553]

Pasty should've been played by Janis Dickinson. If they'd have also included Grand, Ed's mother, in the pilot there'd have been a lot more to play off of in the apartment scenes

[@cinewhirl]

Yeah, it felt like it was missing a character

[@justmeiniowa]

Janice would have been PERFECT casting for Patsy.

[@MichaelCharles-zn6rh]

Cybill was the closest we ever got to AbFab. Instead of applying British sensibilities onto a US setting, they took the very smallest essence of AbFab and applied US sensibilities.

[@barryledgister4496]

It was on in the 90s too, running around the same time as AbFab, so the Brit show hadn`t become too much of a formula to copy. And I think Cybill Shepherd has enough input to do it her way...great,great show. Sometimes better than AbFab...it had Christine Baranski in, so couldn`t fail.

[@larsg.2492]

Somehow, in the weird corners of my mind, whenever I try to think of a US aquivalent of AbFab, Cybill comes to mind. The characters are so different, but the dynamics are similar.

[@cinewhirl]

Cybill was inspired by Ab Fab apparently, so you are right on the money!

[@slatsdeploy]

Biggest mistake: making Saffy too soft and "smiley." Not many people realize the UK version was a hit because of Saff's constantly aggressive tone of severity towards Eddie and Pats' debauched inanity (if Saff wasn't her serious character in the UK version, the show would've just been another "The Young Ones"). The power exuding from UK Saffy complements Eddie and Patsy making the best entertainment imaginable! US Saffy's softness allows a blatant power imbalance causing the show to feel just like another "Will and Grace." Poorly executed attempt to show off Saffy's power is only one of the miserable elements of this embarrassing garbage.

[@HC-cb4yp]

And yet... It always felt like the party came to a crashing halt when Saffy entered the scene... but I guess that was the idea... but not a very American idea...

[@gaz9411]

Yay you're back :) another awesome video. I really like Kristen Johnstone, Third Rock from the Sun was great, but yeah she's no Joanna Lumley, they have a totally different energy. This seemed more like 2 Eddies. Patsy's more the bad influence, just calmly making terrible suggestions and smirking as everything goes to pieces. With the original, you got the feeling that Eddie might be able to get her shit together if it wasn't for Patsy, but it felt like these two would be just as lost without each other.

[@cinewhirl]

Thank you! And yeah, good points I think you're right

[@jonathanlandau-litewski7405]

It was never ever going to work. That original energy and those characters are just so early 90s and absurdly British! The whole London 'zeitgeist' scene was captured brilliantly. The 'class' tiers in the UK aren't the same as the US either. One of the best British comedy shows ever produced ❤

[@travisr82]

Even the original didn’t survive outside the 90’s

[@jonathanlandau-litewski7405]

@@travisr82 totally. I really disliked the newer series- it just seemed so forced and I legitimately got second hand embarrassment from some of the scenes. And Saffy having a baby with that absolute caricature of a partner was just so far from the original that it never even deserved to be called Absolutely Fabulous. It was lightning in a bottle at a very specific time and the originals will always remain incredibly funny.

[@davidc5278]

I agree that it feels like a skit - a skit about Americans trying to do a British comedy. I like the idea of Roseanne Barr’s version - with Carrie Fisher as the lead, you know the writing and comedy would be completely different - and it would make sense with an American comedy. And I like the idea of seeing Barbara Carrera as Patsy. The show would have a seriousness - more of a dramedy to it -

[@itoobable]

I always thought that the show "Cybill" starring Cybill Sheppard and Christine Baranski was an attempt at an american ab fab. It was actually a prety funny show :)

[@katherinemcintosh7247]

Oh my. I did not know about this until just now, and could have lived the rest of my life without. 🙄 Why anyone would think they could do a successful remake of AbFab…that s absolutely insane. Insane. The original,was just too good to be redone. Honestly.

[@lloroshastar6347]

Its a shame because I like the actors playing Edina and Patsy though I don't think the scripts are good, I agree that Patsy is miscast even though I like the actor. The actor playing Saffy really isn't selling it for me, Julia Sawalha was a perfect fit for that character.

[@beatnikmary]

A much more satisfying American show for fans of AbFab (and Downton Abbey, weirdly) was Another Period, starring Natasha Leggaro and Rikki Lindholme. So good!

[@robertpage3195]

You've only got to look at how America TV ruined such great UK shows as The Office and Shameless and don't even get me started on how they destroyed Dubstep

[@famicomplicated]

Kathryn Hahn starred more recently in the Marvel show “Wandavision”, which is also getting a spin-off with her as the main character “Agatha”. Good actress, deserved better than this tripe! Great video as always!

[@billie7799]

To be fair I did like the rolling down the hill 😅 I’d love to know more about the French film remake!

[@cinewhirl]

Haha same, okay I'll stick it on the list!

[@kathys1285]

Eddy falling out of cars was brilliant 🤣🤣🤣🤣 try doing that now THATS funny 😆

[@magpieone9390]

As long as they don't try to do a Hollywood version of Are You Being Served, I'm good.Thise actors were incredibly funny, facial expressions, timing....John Iman& Molly Sudgen can't be imitated. 10:30

[@jwb52z9]

Look up the US remake attempt called "Beans of Boston" if you haven't seen it.

[@albertsmyth9616]

Good critique, thank you. As far as I can see from the clips one vital element is missing: Saffy’s irritating holier-than-thou self-righteousness. The thing about the original was that although Eddie & Patsy were selfish monsters one came to like them more than Saffy because Saffy was such a Blairite-style prig. Every vacuous eco-cause she espoused made one roll one’s eyes and one came to love Patsy and Eddie with their self-indulgent personalities in spite of Saffy. It was a very clever dynamic. To do away with Saffy’s preachy and irritating personality is to render her a dull nobody.

[@cinewhirl]

Yeah exactly, each character in the original was really at the extreme of their personality

[@justinrosssd]

As a Southern California resident, I can tell you that Calabasas is considered the country to LA folk. The Kardashians live there

[@dpl6004]

This should send chills to your nether region, who remembers Rosanne Barr bought the rights to AbFab, and fortunately didn't do anything with it.

[@kpobuibo]

IMO, the sitcom Cybill was about the closest you'd get to an Americanized version of AbFab. It had a similar dynamic with Cybill Shepherd as the titular character who never seemed to get things right, Christine Baransky playing the Patsy role, and Alicia Witt as Zoey playing a good foil. I liked it a lot, but nothing beats the original! CBS' American Standards and Practices division would never have given a green light to 3/4 of what Patsy and Edwina did..

[@kenken6550]

Rosanne Barr owned the American rights. The original "remake" was called High Society and stared Mary Mcdonall and Jean Smart and was on in the 90s.

[@MikeA15206]

Miscast. Hollywood always picks actors who are popular not right for the roles. Impossible to fit mis cast.

[@jamesdooling4139]

You'll never be able to capture Pats and Eddie in a bottle again...😢

[@tysonb3568]

Katherine Hahn is Brilliant. She singlehandidly saved WANDAVISiON…. Glad she got her redemption in Hollywood.

[@LauraLetz-pu6rd]

In 1995 CBS tried to make their own version with Jean Smart and Mary McDowell, it only lasted 13 episodes. They had the talent, but not “the lightning in the jar” that the British version had. So difficult to do British ideas in America, when Americanized it loses that magic. Not all get bleached out, shows like shameless, kept their edge and did well.

[@silencemeviolateme6076]

Yes. High society.

[@NoMoneyG]

As a lifelong fan of AbFab & an American, I had no clue about this. It would have been awful. I like both the main actresses in the pilot, just not this. No replacing the real Eddie & Pats! If I remember correctly, I think Rosanne bought the rights to make an American version of the show in the 90's as she was still a powerhouse in the industry, but it was too vulgar for American TV to air. It never got made.

[@nickdavidelijah]

Oh lord that’s awful. I’m firmly of the belief that some shows and films should never be touched again or “remade”. This is one example. AB fab is just too unique. You can’t replicate that or even come CLOSE to thr chemistry and natural connection of the original cast. Wish these studios would stop their obsession of trying remake, reboot etc

[@jaygarcia8508]

That clip was pretty freakin hilarious 😂🙌🏼😂🙌🏼

[@Drawkcabi]

When the tv series _Cybil_ was on, I thought that was an attempt at an American version of _Absolutely Fabulous._ At least for the first season.

[@cinewhirl]

It was definitely heavily inspired by ab fab that's for sure

[@stevenbalekic5683]

The US did a recreation of the Australian sitcom Kath and Kim too and it was horrible as well. Sometimes the US writers and directors don't really understand the nuances of another countries comedy style and some of the day to day differences that affect the meanings of what has happened, said or done.

[@philambrez]

As an American, I can say that I've never heard of it, either the Australian version or the Amerian remake, the Paul Hogan Show however, did get a bit of a cult following in the USA albeit years ago. The British AB-FAB was a cult classic here, so the American version was truly unnecessary.

[@stevenbalekic5683]

@@philambrez It actually went further than the US Ab Fab did and lasted 17 episodes/one season. But as I said it can be hard to translate the comedy style because the original show uses Australian slang, idioms, urban legends and stereotypes...the US version is based in the US with US people so the weirdness and peculiarities of the Australian series needs to be understandable for the US peculiarities. Sometimes these things don't make much sense to another country.

[@rixsist7048]

@@stevenbalekic5683I’m cringing now just thinking about the “my marriage is over - OVUR” translated joke

[@jaynedavies2757]

everyone there looked too young. part of absolutely fabulous is the huge age differences. it takes the humour out of it. there is also a 20 plus year difference between each of the cast, especially Patsy, whom remembers the 60's and looks like it. where the American patsy, barely remembers the 90's, so it would never work

[@RunnerX13]

They were all around the same age at the start, early 30s and 40s

[@jartober]

What? Joanna is only 12 years older than Jennifer (1946 and 58). Jennifer is only ten years older than Julia

[@greggkimball4110]

I believe another American pilot was made, starring Jean Smart.

[@NeverBelieveALie]

“They were clearly trying” Firstly.. and I’m not a snob BUT… not one sniff of Westwood!?! Absolutely droll and I can’t imagine Saunders is impressed.

[@Guyblow08]

It would have worked better if this was set in New York and if they could do a posh New York accent. Calabasas is a suburb so it doesn’t work in that setting and I liked when Edina wore clothes three sizes too small and for a younger person. The thing about it is a posh American accent went out of style in the 90’s so actors don’t know how to do it anymore.

[@eyeview3765]

Im in the US and I actually remember laughing alot at the original...they had great comedic timing and use of subtelty.

[@heidifedor]

It wasn’t going to work because the original already had a huge fan base in the US. US remakes of British shows only worked when they weren’t already known. All in the family was successful because the US audience didn’t know about the original, Til Death Do Us Part. The Office was unknown in the US which was probably one of the reasons why the remake was successful. The same thing happened in the UK when they tried to remake The Golden Girls, That 70’s Show, and Married With Children.

[@cinewhirl]

It won two golden globes, so I think the Office was fairly well known in the US at the time. It was just a concept that could work anywhere, as everywhere has office culture

[@heidifedor]

@@cinewhirl ok, but I’m right about the other shows.😉

[@cinewhirl]

I need to do more research on those other shows, but they are all on the list for me to look at!

[@athenasowl78]

The one thing I know about Calabasas is they enacted the strictest anti smoking laws in the country several years ago (I live in San Diego and I remember briefly hearing about it when it happened)

[@cinewhirl]

I guess that explains that joke then!

[@happymaskedguy1943]

I think Stephen Fry gave a solid explanation of the differences between American sitcoms and British ones, and it really helps to explain why American remakes of British comedies fail so badly.

[@HC-cb4yp]

ABC network execs: "Hey - we're making another attempt at Fawlty Towers but this time we're not changing anything!" Cleese: "Wonderful! Let me know if I can help!" Execs: "No, no - we've got it and we're sticking with your formula. Well, we did eliminate ONE character but that's it." Cleese: "Oh... who did you eliminate?" Execs: "That annoying manager guy." TRUE STORY.

[@welovettrpgs]

Cybil from 95 to 98 was also a (loose) remake of Ab Fab.

[@mistypuffs]

That was really interesting. It had its moments when they were out in the wild. I expected it to be worse, but it define pales against the original

[@TayWoode]

Anyone remember an advert for some hair care product that had Kristen Johntson saying it leaves your hair looking absolutely fabulous? Then someone flipped their hair and she said “stop that sweetie”

[@butchbrewer4923]

One important thing the remake didn't have from the original show: jokes

[@jwb52z9]

As an American who loves the original AbFab, it's just not humor in an American context/framework. What's funny in the original comes off as tacky and tawdry in an American context. "Funny trashy" isn't American.

[@paulinemegson8519]

Dear lord that’s not Patsy, that’s Bubble on steroids!!!

[@jwb52z9]

Yes, if Bubble had a few more IQ points.

[@McCloudious]

Love it mate! Great video. Would be VERY interested to hear about the French remake! And also a Red Dwarf episode...

[@cinewhirl]

Thank you! And cool, I'll add it to the list (red dwarf is already on it!)

[@EP65]

As an 'impartial' Dutch I would like to state that British humor can not be beaten or replicated. Especially not by American ripp-offs, no matter how hard they try.

[@TomMSTie1138]

They left out two of my favorite characters: Bubbles and Eddie's Mother.

[@clarencewalker3925]

As much as I love Kristen Johnston, I'm elated that this thing burned on impact. Hollywood has a bad habit of NOT leaving well enough alone.

[@tjfrizzi5965]

Yeah someone mentioned it in the comments. But in 1995 there was an American Sitcom HIGH SOCIETY which was a US version of Absolutely Fabulous! Mary McDonnell is the Eddie role (Dott), owner of a Publishing Company and Jean Smart in the Patsy role (Ellie), but she was the writer of Trashy Romance Novels. In a gender reversal Dott has a Republican SON named Brandon. It's a bit cringy because Ellie keeps hitting on the under 18 son 😬. It was an UNOFFICIAL version of Ab Fab but you can tell what the show was trying to emulate. It ran for about 12 episodes. It was okay for what it was but they weren't allowed to go as far as the British Series went with the comedy and outrageous fun. And it would always be a PALE IMITATION...

[@58angieb]

You forgot to mention, as appearing in your video, the wonderful comedic actor of stage,screen & radio the late,great June Whitfield, who played Eddie's mother in 'Ab Fab!

[@jamesabernethy7896]

You make a lot of great points about the humour. It's so easy just to take aim at the critical elements without acknowledging the things that work or that may work in context for the American audience. These comparisons are really interesting. Although I didn't religiously watch Ab Fab, I watched enough of it to get the dynamics, I wonder if they softened Saffy's personality so that she didn't come across as instantly bitchy in the pilot. Although Saunders and Lumley can be very expressive with their faces and voices. They dialled it up to 11 and lost the subtle moments.

[@cinewhirl]

Yeah, they softened a lot of the edges of the original. Patsy in particular is much less selfish and vindictive in this version. Its similar to how they changed the office, American sitcoms just find it difficult to contain unlikeable people

[@Nero_Jero]

I'm from SoCal and Calabasas is known as being a super ritzy and very expensive place to live. I'm not sure why they would portray it as middle class beige suburbia.

[@susanab7]

The US did the same thing when they tried to remake our Kath and Kim, it didn't work,it was a complete flop

[@abaderp1967]

Agreed. Kath and Kim is brilliant

[@TopHatNat]

The Americans have tried to do remakes and failed before like "Wilfred", an Aussie series about a man and his talking, weed smoking dog and also "Kath & Kim". They don't translate well.

[@SheilaR.08]

I adore Ab Fab and had no idea that there was an attempt at a remake on Fox. I'm glad it fizzled out, as we don't need a remake. (Though Jennifer Saunders deserves all the money in the world!) I have to say that they did choose a terrific cast for it, but it was simply unnecessary and doomed to fail.

[@ericson28]

As an outsider (neither an American nor a Brit) I dare to think there is an underlying cause to why these two shows, though seem culturally similar, don't really hit the satirical nerve the same. I think that in the base of it, Ab fab is mocking the dissolve of a class society (and the consequent implications, i.e "Posh" culture) whereas the American society is CLASSLESS by design, and though materialistic and superficial no-F**ING-less, it does't have that special tragic tone of social and economical disillusionment. Would appreciate hearing thoughts from "insiders" 😉 about my hypothesis...

[@rixsist7048]

They were too lazy to adapt it, so it failed in the same way as the American version of Kath and Kim (Australia) failed, as well as the American version of Skins (UK). You can’t just take a show, claim the same jokes, deliver them in the same way and expect them to land like the original except it’s set on the other side of the planet. It would be like the UK making a direct copy version of Dallas. In what sense in the world would that have ever worked? A good example of a show crossing over is Shameless. The basic premise is the same, and probably a lot of the storylines too, but if you watch the UK and then the American version of Shameless, anyone can see that apart from the name of the show and the names of the characters, they’re their own shows.

[@ericson28]

​@@rixsist7048 100%. ...and therefor the only things that migrate somewhat reasonably are the slapstick parts.

[@juliamaher4933]

Calabasas is the birthplace of the Kardashians - that's all you need to know about it!

[@Mongo61]

1. I live in the US and IDGAF about Calabassas, either. 2. This cast is fire. I am a big fan of Kathryn Hahn. They deserved much better.

[@nixboox]

I actually remember the FIRST version of US AbFab. There was a pilot and it was basically all the same jokes but at half the speed. I'm sure Roseanne Barr thought she was going to make that show out of her OWN show, she was obsessed with it during her last years on air and there were lots of cameos.

[@MINKIN2]

Hard to emulate Joanna Lumleys Eddie. JL was that 60s model and fashion icon. She created her character from elements of herself and from the people she had met over the years. She wasn't just reading lines from a script, she was Eddie.

[@katiePetsy]

Joanna Lumley played Patsy not Eddie

[@58angieb]

Joanna Lumley's, 'Patsy' ! Jennifer Saunders played Eddie.

[@Garcelle1987]

Kathryn Han & the lady from 3rd rock from the sun are brilliant comedic actresses And so on paper, I do understand why the producer's thought this US AbFab would work. Too bad it didn't though

[@newtonduck1]

The funny thing about the Calabasas inclusion is that it is home to the Kardashians. It's not the gulch they describe.

[@sergioandrade8735]

There was a reasonably successful remake of Ab Fab in 1995 to 98, Sybil, however the characters did not have the delightfully nasty behavior of the original.

[@cinewhirl]

I think Cybill was more aiming for an American version of that sort of show/premise rather than being a remake in the more traditional sense

[@robertdoherty2001]

Felt Cybill Shepherd’s show with Christine Baranski was rather Ab-Fab.

[@DelosFive]

The acting style is very American sitcom acting style! Try Will & Grace or even Frazier. It's totally in sync with that, where every line is over-delivered like it's a rib-tickler.

[@jeanpierreviergever1417]

AbFab in an American version would never work as US writers would never have the liberty to make the jokes that were in the origonal series. Especially Patsy can make very rude, incorrect, insensitive jokes on taboo subjects that are hilarious, but not acceptable in the US context. Probably because of the implicit censorship, the US doesn’t always get the good writers (trained) for this type of remakes.

[@tussk.]

Ab Fab worked because Eddie and Patsy were believable characters. We had always suspected that the fashion industry was run by people just like them, so when they crashed onto the screen in a drunken haze, we recognised them straight away. A pair of useless idiots, getting paid obscene amounts of money for doing absolutely nothing at all. Every crisis was entirely of thier own incompetent making, and every solution was to bury it in more BS. They didn't have to ham it up and create comedy, because were always the butt of the joke. That's where the remake got it wrong. They made the characters crass, loud, and vulgar, trying to force a laugh from thier over the top antics, and completely missing why we loved the originals in the first place.

[@eltooyo2]

This is what happens when accounts and business majors from Tufts run the creative well. You get magnificently bad ideas like this. Any idiot could have told them that an American remake of Absolutely Fabulous wouldn't work for any number of reasons, the main one being that Jennifer Saunders inspired, off-the-rails creation was lightning in a bottle; it wasn't something you could mass produce on an assembly line like white bread. It spoke to the culture of the moment with a very distinct, unique voice and anything that tried to duplicate that was doomed to the knock-off bin. (God forbid they should seek out similarly creative talent and see what they were working on. Too Asset-Averse. I'm sure there's a Cost/Benefit Analysis out there somewhere prohibiting that...) BtW, I don't blame the actress involved here (who have all been brilliant elsewhere). They were hired to do a thankless job and were doing it. This hangs entirely on Executive Row. As Usual.

[@Busta-xq3er]

I think roseanne attempted to get a us remake off the ground many years ago

[@asthemoonturns]

Wow I never knew about this. They did make a good attempt I think. Only this Saffy is way too kind. I think the the original series is much funnier, also because of the ridiculous side characters like Bo and Bubble. The movie has some funny moments. But overal it´s just OK. Just like this pilot actually.

[@tamaraclaw]

Are you going to look at "Red Dwarf" and "Life on Mars"? And the other way around, the British try at "That 70s Show"..."Days Like These"?

[@cinewhirl]

They are on the list!

[@ownyourcrazy8734]

America did equally badly with their take on Australia's Kath & Kim. Only it made it to TV screens, including in Australia. FYI. - It survived 2 episodes on Australian TV before the network dropped it in favour of reruns of the original.

[@kerriemccoy1647]

The Americans tried to do the Australian TV series Kath & Kim, the American version was aweful

[@94frankiec]

While this pilot looked shocking and is just another example of how British comedies don’t work being copied and pasted into American versions, I have to say Kristen Johnston as Patsy isn’t too bad a casting. Mentioning how Patsy was a model in her prime, this fits for Joanna Lumley and Kristen Johnston perfectly. Johnston in the 90s was absolutely stunning and a real natural beauty. She plays the bored, boozed up best friend role well

[@jartober]

No no and no. I was livid with this. I could see Christine Baranski being Patsy though. But that's even a stretch. Kirstie Alley probably could have been Eddy...or Kathy Najimy... but again, no. There are certain shows you never touch. You never remake. Abfab is one of those.

[@mattschiavone3383]

You may want to look into High Society staring Jean Smart and Mary McDonnell a short lived series in 1995 .

[@polarboy5862]

For what its worth I think pretty much all the problems come down to the writing. I don't know the Saffy actress but i'm positive then other two could have done a fine job with the British scripts. Of course there is no reason why you would just recreate the original scripts.

[@alifloydtv]

I don't know, I love Kristen but she's SUCH a different style to Joanna Lumley. Eddie and Patsy both had pretty posh accents and wardrobes in the UK, which made the insanely trashy things they did that much funnier. The whole lewk is all wrong. The writing for Saffy does seem awful in the US one - right from the first scene in the UK, she's giving as good as she gets, sassing her mum. Poshly.

[@colinwhitfield8627]

Okay. LOVE Kirsten Johnston, but nothing holds up next to the sublime perfection of Ms. Lumley. Shes a GOD DAMN ICON.

[@yarasub]

IMO this cast is really good Kathryn Han is very good. Too bad didn’t make it, British humor is very funny if you can understand the accent. I watch 8 of 10 cats and it’s brilliant 😊

[@faithpearlgenied-a5517]

If you can understand WHICH accent?? There are hundreds of British accents all over the UK. Most of them are very understandable, surely?

[@jayel1471]

It's actually a really good cast- the issue is with the overall approach to the show. It's an issue you see with a lot of American remakes- they've taken a generic sitcom format and overlayed Ab Fab. Without taking in to consideration the absurde and often dark elements of UK comedies. It's a silly, biting, almost mean edge to UK TV, that just doesn't exist in America.

[@unclenogbad1509]

Carrie Fisher, though. She would have been terrific as Patsy (I nearly wrote 'fabulous). Probably had enough smarts to walk away in good time.

[@HC-cb4yp]

But do you want an actress that IS Patsy or an actress that is so NOT like Patsy? I'm thinking Mary Tyler Moore, Candice Bergen, Faye Dunaway, but then the show would have to have been in the 1980s.

[@karenweston2714]

That's a good point. I think Carrie Fisher would be a great writer for the show. Maybe play Eddie?@@HC-cb4yp

[@poppaspank]

I like both actresses and might have watched that if it had made it to air. It seems American TV makers were interested in the Absolutely Fabulous dynamic and relationship. The series Cybill matched Cybill Shepherd as an aging actress trying to hold onto her career with Christina Baranski as her cynical alcoholic divorcee best friend and Alicia Witt as the cynical goth-girl daughter. I think there was also a show with Geena Davis that cast Mimi Rogers in the slutty best friend role.

[@aaronbeat1136]

I know this was only a pilot/template but you hit on an obvious issue here, which is that it's basically a show with 3 people in it. In the original show the main 3 are all kind of awful, a preachy prude and two waste of spaces, who think they're amazing. The best characters in the show are actually the peripheral ones, such as June Whitfield as the mother who was the only normal person in it and Jane Horrocks as Bubble who stole every scene she was in.

[@fje6902]

The was an earlier attempt at a remake from 1995 with Mary McDonnell and Jean Smart. I was ghastly too. The problem was the original show was at its peak, so who was going to watch a horrible copy. It sees Kathryn Hahn and Kirsten Johnson were trying too hard to be exactly like Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley.

[@silencemeviolateme6076]

High society

[@anastasiae.5338]

I remember hearing or reading years ago that Roseanne Barr was planning to do a remake of the show, and even wrote Patsy and Edina into at least one episode of her show. I didn't think anything ever came of it. I don't think it's going to work over here, because as it went on, the original got more and more unwatchable. They just fell back on making pop culture references that weren't particularly funny. I think they might have had to fulfill a contract, because it just wasn't funny at the end.

[@dontalkt2meboutheros]

They're having to fill that huge set with their acting. The acting in the original was much more reserved, their set was smaller which invoked a more claustrophobic aspect to the characters interactions, amplifying the humour.

[@cinewhirl]

Yeah good point, not sure why they made it so large