United States of Boosh
NBC deal for British comedies
Saxondale and The Mighty Boosh could be remade for American audiences, thanks to a new international deal.
The NBC network has signed a two-year contract with Steve Coogan’s production company Baby Cow, which allows it to adapt its back catalogue for the US market.
The broadcaster hopes to follow its success in importing The Office, which has grown to be a successful staple of its schedules following a slow start.
NBC comedy chief Shelley McCrory told Hollywood trade paper Variety: ‘What I like about Baby Cow is that they're so prolific and that they're [focused on] creating strong characters.’
And she added that the key to success was using sympathetic US to work alongside the British creators. ‘It's important to find an American writer who gets the essence of the characters and the show,’ she said.
Under the deal, NBC also has first refusal on any new programmes made by Baby Cow, which Coogan co-founded with Henry Normal.
The first original format to be developed as part of the deal will be Ben, a script about the richest man in the world created by unknown British writer Alex Spiro.
As reported last month, a US pilot of Baby Cow’s Nighty Night is already in the pipeline for cable network Showtime.
Published: 10 Jul 2006
