BBC3 comedy Pulling to get US remake
Creators Sharon Horgan and Dennis Kelly are involved in turning their near-the-knuckle sitcom into a pilot for American audiences
Sharon Horgan’s critically acclaimed BBC3 comedy Pulling is to get an American makeover in a pilot episode for US network ABC.
Following the same format as the original, it will centre around three dysfunctional, single thirtysomething women sharing a house together. Co-creators Dennis Kelly and Horgan, who also starred in the British version, will executive produce, along with Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, who penned Cameron Diaz movie Bad Teacher and are writing the script for the pilot.
Despite drawing good viewing figures for BBC3, and widespread critical plaudits including a Bafta nomination, Pulling was cancelled in 2007 after two series. The channel later relented, commissioning a one-off special, broadcast in 2009, after Horgan and Kelly "cried and threw ourselves at their feet".
Horgan, who made clear her dismay when the show was cancelled, today shared her delight at the new commission via Twitter: “Just found out the US version of Pulling has been picked up by ABC. I'm really happy, it was a great rewrite.”
While that bodes well for the pilot, it remains to be seen whether the filth and near-the-knuckle comedy of the original – which featured an attempted suicide just three episodes in and drug-fuelled antics later on – will be too much for American sensibilities.
