Friday Night Dinner creator reveals US remake could make a big change
Bambino and Bambina?
Friday Night Dinner returns to Channel 4 tonight for its sixth series – and with the original version proving a long-running success, it's no surprise that US television has tried its hand at adapting the sitcom.
In 2011, NBC shot a pilot for a US version of the Channel 4 comedy - with Mom's Allison Janney and Monk's Tony Shalhoub swapping in for Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter as parents Jackie and Martin.
Since then, there have been four other scripts written, each attempting to translate writer Robert Popper's series to the States, but so far it hasn't happened.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Popper revealed that the latest attempt is still in development – and hinted that it might make one key change from the source material.
"Every year, they sort of attempt it, and then it doesn’t happen, and someone else attempts it," Popper said.
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Explaining that each of the different US-based scripts were "quite different", he continued: "One of them was set on Sunday. One of them’s quite similar to mine. Some are better than others.
"A guy who wrote a recent version, which we’re waiting to hear on. He wrote a really good take on it, because he… basically, a lot of it is based on me and my brother. Well, he said that he and his sister used to fight like me and my brother, which I thought was very funny. So yeah, who knows?"
Could one of Adam (Simon Bird) or Jonny (Tom Rosenthal) be changed from a bambino to a bambina if this latest remake sees the light of day? Don't rule it out...
Friday Night Dinner returns to Channel 4 tonight (Friday, 27th March) at 10pm – check out what else is on with our TV Guide
