Have I Got News For U.S.
Comedy news quiz crosses the Atlantic
Have I Got News for You is to become the latest British TV format to cross the Atlantic.Cable station Bravo has brought the format to the BBC1 hit, and will make a pilot with London-based Hat Trick Productions this summer.
This is the third attempt to get the show on the air in the States. A deal with the ABC network fell through in 1999, and a second project foundered after September 11 put paid to the idea of mixing comedy and news.
Hat Trick managing director Denise O'Donoghue told industry magazine Broadcast: "Hits in the US don't happen that often but wherever the show has played it has been incredibly successful."
She added that the Bravo deal could pave the way to getting the show onto the NBC network, as they are sister companies.
Many recent transatlantic comedy remakes, including Coupling and The Kumars At Number 42, have failed, and the forthcoming American version of The Office is said to have tested badly with sample audiences.
However, the Have I Got News For You format has already been sold to seven other countries including Australia and Denmark.Published: 4 Jun 2004
