Another British sitcom gets an American remake. Quoth Variety:
Fox has greenlit its first full-fledged comedy pilot of the fall 2007 development season: the Suzanne Martin-penned laffer “The Minister of Divine,” based on the U.K. hit “The Vicar of Dibley.”
Laffer, from 20th Century Fox TV, revolves around a woman with a rebellious past who returns to her small Georgia hometown — Divine — to serve as the church minister. . . .
“(Martin) did something smart — she set the show in the South to take advantage of a culture that embraces the church and its customs,” Levison said. “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.”
Martin, who most recently created the ABC sitcom “Hot Properties,” will exec produce “The Minister of Divine” along with U.K. scribe Richard Curtis, who originated “The Vicar of Dibley.” . . .
I have never seen the original series, but I do know it premiered in 1994, the same year that the Church of England began to ordain women — so it was rather topical. It could be interesting to see what this American series does with the concept, but I’m not sure it can survive the translation from one culture or point in time to another; by the time they finish tweaking the show to make it “relevant” for American audiences, will there be enough of the original series left to justify paying for the rights to remake it?
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