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| by Bridget Petrella with additional writing by John Mundazio |
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Bridget
Petrella is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of UPBEAT Entertainment
News Online. At this point in her life, she's seriously contemplating a
complete and unbridled abandonment of typical network television...
opting instead for Silver Surfer comic books, novels with wordy titles,
Retro TV Land, HBO and Showtime's Original Programming schedule and
of course... Nick at Night. |
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As
the October premiere of Kath & Kim approaches, the producers behind
the American adaptation remain confident that their efforts will be
ultimately successful. The show has received heavy criticism from
television critics and fans of the original Australian hit. The critics
are highly skeptical that Executive Producer, NBC’s Ben Silverman, will
do enough to translate the show to American audiences. Other negative
signs arose from the initial phases of production. Some of the crew was
replaced and some of the show had to be re-shot— signs that the show was
off to a poor start and many believed destined to be short-lived. In
spite of this, producers of the show remain highly confident that the
show will be a success in the long-run. Ben Silverman has already done a
fantastic job of adapting The Office from Great Britain and Ugly Betty
from South America. Why people do not have any faith that he will be
able to do the same to Kath & Kim is a mystery, especially given the
prime time slot and an outstandingly funny and time proven cast.
Executive Producer of the original Australian version, Rick McKenna, has
also voiced his confidence in the show. McKenna believes that the heavy
backlash comes largely from hardcore fans of the original show who feel
so deeply committed to the show and the characters that they simply do
not want to see it changed. Come October, we expect the American
audience to be highly receptive to Kath & Kim. We loved Molly Shannon on
SNL. And the premise for this wacky little show is something a little
different than we have ever seen before, but something that many people
will relate to— for let us NEVER forget, dysfunction is hilarious. The
show also has a prime timeslot that follows NBC’s hit comedy The Office,
which could easily serve it all up as a model of scheduling success.
The
network had ordered six episodes from the start and put it on its
fall schedule even before a pilot was made, as part of their latest
“strategy”... well the pilot episode was inevitably shot and NBC began
backing up the odds by adding an order for seven additional episodes,
bringing the total order for the new series, starring Molly Shannon and
Selma Blair, to thirteen episodes. Of course, that’s still not exactly a
full twenty-two episode season order, but I guess NBC still needs to
make sure what the audience will think of the show, based on an
Australian premise [Aussie humor apparently escapes some folks]. The
increased order of episodes from NBC execs may also increase the
pressure for Kath & Kim to live up to the network’s expectations. Will
Kath & Kim translate into huge success, or disappear into the sitcom
graveyard? We refuse to make that call on the grounds that we now
despise CBS for leaving us with The Ghost Whisperer and canceling
Moonlight. We are convinced that the "eye" network has been taken over
by a flock of Alaskan politicians with rifles. We have been informed by
our pals over at NBC that this version of Kath & Kim will be radically
altered for American audiences, with more emotion and less sarcasm than
the smash-hit Aussie original. For those of you keeping score at home,
Kath & Kim makes its debut on October 9th. UB
