NBC to pilot a remake of C4 sitcom

The American remake of Friday Night Dinner has taken a step closer to reality, after the NBC network gave the green light to a pilot episode.

Greg Daniels, the King Of The Hill creator who made such a success of translating The Office for US audiences, is both producing the new version and writing the script.

David Koechner – who plays Michael Scott’s boorish friend Todd Packer in the US Office – is also attached to the show. It is not known whether he is being lined up to play the father or the eccentric neighbour.

Meanwhile, the Channel 4 original, created by Robert Popper and starring Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal, will return for a second series later this year.

Friday Night Dinner is one of eight comedy pilots NBC announced as it seeks shows for its 2012-13 season – including a return to sitcom from Roseanne Barr, called Downwardly Mobile. In it, she plays the owner of a trailer park, who acts as a mother figure to all the characters who live there.

The other pilots are:

• An untitled show about three thirtysomething men coming to terms with fatherhood.
• Animal Kingdom, a about a vet who loves animals, but not their owners
• Go On, about a grieving sportscaster in group therapy
• Next Caller Please, about an alpha-male DJ and his feminist co-host.
• Daddy's Girl, in which young woman finds her dad is now dating her high school bully
• Another untitled show about a shy woman who plots revenge after being dumped by her fiancé

Published: 24 Jan 2012