Remake is 'jaw-droppingly awful'

The sitcom, about a trashy suburban daughter who moves back in with her mother, is one of the biggest shows down under, and its stars and creators Gina Riley and Jane Turner were executive producers on the new NBC version.

But if the network had hoped to repeat the success of its reworking of The Office, the early reviews do not auger well.

Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle said the remake was so embarrassing that NBC ought to apology to Australia for destroying what made the Australian version ‘fantastically funny’.

He wrote: ‘NBC sent the first two episodes of Kath and Kim, and both were jaw-dropping in their awfulness. In fact, by the end of the second episode, a stray thought occurred: Maybe an apology to Australia is unnecessary because the American version misses the mark so badly that it's barely recognisable as a distant cousin to the original,.’

‘[Molly] Shannon, as the mom, Kath, who tries to make the most out of nothing, and [Selma] Blair, who's completely miscast as daughter Kim, are light-years removed from Jane Turner and Gina Riley.’

The Cape Cod Times called the show ‘must-miss TV’ and said Blair ‘looks as bored as most viewers will be’.

Silicon Valley’s Mercury News said: ‘It's all very hammy and over-the-top and feels so utterly forced.’

The Chicago Sun-Times ruled: ‘Satiric comedy only works if it's funny. And in this case, it's not.’

And the Toledo Blade concluded: ‘Kath & Kim's chances for success aren't very good. But truth be told, it wouldn't be worth your time if it were the only show on.’

Here are the trailers for the NBC show:

Published: 8 Oct 2008