The sheer volume of British television shows that receive the U.S. reboot treatment continues to baffle me, mainly because the majority are often massive flops. Much like the recent Guardians Of The Galaxy Chinese subtitle issue, wherein the nuanced comedy was lost in translation, a similar fate often befalls British shows headed across the pond. Still, we can hold out hope that ABC Studios and Amblin TV won’t make a complete balls-up of No Angels.
The dramedy is being spearheaded by producer Julie Anne Robinson (Suburgatory), who is no stranger to the naughty antics of those Northern nurses. Robinson directed two episodes of the original series, which followed four nurses who work and live together. It began airing in 2004 and ran for two seasons, which wasn’t nearly enough in my opinion.
No Angels managed to perfectly blend the silly, funny and true-to-life aspects of the nurses’ daily lives, whilst also being riddled with sarcasm. With Glee scribe Stacy Traub penning the remake, it’ll be interesting to see how the deadpan line reads play out for US audiences. As Robinson was also involved with the initial series, and has experienced a lot of success in the U.S., I’ve got high hopes that this remake will be a winner.
Elsewhere on the press release, it was announced that Robinson is also developing a project with Grey’s Anatomy‘s Shonda Rhimes. Entitled The Long Game, it’s described “as a mix of sharp-edged wit and ever-deepening suspense, it centers on a gutsy female forensic accountant who exposes fraud for a living and has finally found fulfilment both at work and in love until a case comes along that threatens to turn her world upside down.”
The original treatment was penned by novelist Kate Atkinson, with Hannibal‘s Jennifer Schuur taking on scripting duties for the remainder of the series. A good day for Robinson, and definitely a good day for TV, as there’s now another two titles heading to the small screen that this writer is pretty darn excited about.
Will you be tuning in for No Angels or The Long Game? Sound off below!
