Compounding the results of the Horizon Media polls, a survey of potential American viewers conducted by Frank N Magid Associates shows that most American viewers are not planning on giving Kath and Kim a chance come this fall.
According to The West Australian (www.thewest.com.au), only 31% of viewers of the Summer Olympics remember seeing the ads NBC spent so much money plugging. Of these viewers, only 13% anticipate giving the show a view when it debuts. These are extremely pessimistic numbers, especially considering the heavy investment NBC has made in the show including expensive promo campaigns and blindly buying 13 episodes.
I feel like the negative projections do not give justice to the premise of the show, the genius of the directors and producers on board, and the star-studded cast. I’m confident this is a show that will be popular if it can survive the first season. American audiences will slowly acquire a taste for the show as it is unlike anything they have seen yet. The question is, in cutthroat Hollywood, will NBC decide to axe Kath and Kim after a few episodes if the ratings do tank? Given a chance to grow, we may not have another The Office on the horizon…. but maybe an Ugly Betty.
Check out another teaser for the show. This one’s a little longer than the others. It begins halfway through the clip following a teaser for Lipstick Jungle.
In other news, paparazzi are beginning to make Selma Blair’s day a little more difficult. Prepping for the role of Kim has Blair in all sorts of tight-fitting outfits on set of the show. I guess playing a wannabe trophy wife is bound to attract some cameras.
On top of that, Hellboy II is seeing some early box-office success, adding to the Selma Blair buzz. Hopefully the success of her movie will help kickstart the show come pilot season.
I’ll try to put up some production photos this week.
As the October premeir of Kath and Kim approaches, the producers behind the American adaptation remain confident that their efforts will be ultimately successful. The show has received heavy criticism from television critics and fans of the original Australian hit. The critics are highly skeptical that Executive Producer, NBC’s Ben Silverman, will do enough to translate the show to American audiences.
Other negative signs arose from the initial phases of production. Some of the crew was replaced and some of the show had to be re-shot - signs that the show was off to a poor start and many believed destined to be short-lived.
In spite of this, producers of the show remain highly confident that the show will be a success in the long-run. Ben Silverman has already done a fantastic job of adapting The Office from Great Britain and Ugly Betty from South America. Why people do not have any faith that he will be able to do the same to Kath and Kim is a mystery, especially given the prime time slot and an outstandingly funny and time proven cast.
Executive Producer of the original Australian version, Rick McKenna, has also voiced his confidence in the show. McKenna believes that the heavy backlash comes largely from hardcore fans of the original show who feel so deeply committed to the show and the characters that they simply do not want to see it changed.
Come October, I expect the American audience to be highly receptive to Kath and Kim. We loved Molly Shannon on SNL. And the premise for the show is something a little different than we have seen before, but something that many people will relate to.
Check out a recent interview with Molly Shannon by Avi the TV Geek. She gives us a little insight into the filming of Kath and Kim and other things she has going on in her life.
Once again, NBC have shifted the timeslot of the show to 8:30pm Thursdays. The show, originally slated for Tuesday evenings after The Biggest Loser, has swapped places with 30 Rock. The Thursday night comedy line-up now looks like this: 8pm - My Name Is Earl, 8:30pm Kath & Kim, 9pm The Office, and 9:30pm 30 Rock.
The move follows some bad press regarding the show including rumors of key crew members being replaced and Horizon Media predicting the show to be a dud. Not to mention the back backlash of criticism from fans of the original who oppose the idea of trying to remake their beloved Australian gem.
I’m going to go against the grain on this one. In spite of critics and some less than amusing promo clips, I still think that come this fall the American Kath & Kim are going to be impressively funny, much to everyone’s surprise. I don’t expect it to be much like the original, but I do like what Selma Blair and Molly Shannon bring to the table and even if it’s not the Kath and Kim you’re used to, it might just find it’s own niche audience big enough to justify NBC’s heavy investment in it.
You can argue that the variances in the show (no Sharon, Kim’s too skinny, etc.) that NBC is butchering a masterpiece. I’ll argue that fans of the original should not take such offense, rather they should realize that imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Every year Horizon Media does an analysis of upcoming shows from major networks and predicts which ones will turn into shining stars and which will turn out to be big busts and quickly dropped.
Despite NBC’s heavy investment in Kath & Kim including a 13 episode order, an impressive cast line-up, and a prime time-slot right after The Office, Horizon Media has still pinned Kath & Kim as a show with a weak chance of surviving the first season.
This negative publicity adds to a growing resentment from critics who do not believe the Australian comedy can be adequately adapted to US audiences, or some who believe NBC shouldn’t have even tried to re-make the Australian classic.
I personally believe the show will be a sucess, despite the negative publicity. If The Office is any indication of NBC’s ability to adapt a foreign comedy for US audiences, and if Molly Shannon’s and Selma Blair’s past performances are any indication of what we can expect from them this fall, then I would be more than surprised if the show was not a success.
Until the fall, however, it’s nothing but an open debate.
NBC has begun to show ads for the show during their primetime schedule.The commercials seem to be aimed at informing American viewers who the duo is.The promos give us a first look at Molly Shannon and Selma Blair in character as Kath and Kim, and it is clear as Day that a lot has changed.
“This is Kim” it states in the ad:
Kim has long black hair and is shown in tight green shorts and a pink top, all of which are clearly too small for a girl who diets on nachos.Blair yells “MUM!” as she is standing in the entrance of her mother’s suburban Florida home.“I’m getting a divorce! It’s over!”
The US Kath, shattered at the thought of her daughter moving back in with her, has lost the famous blonde perm in exchange for short shaggy hair with blonde highlights.She appears in the ads wearing a green jumpsuit, keeping up the tacky image of Jane Turner.
The ad ends with the cheesy catch line “Kath and Kim: apparently you CAN go home again”.
It appears as though Shannon and Blair have done away with many of the features made famous by Jane Turner and Gina Riley.Nonetheless, the adapted characters seem to have captured the essence of the dysfunctional pair and their tacky fashion sense and fabulous lifestyles.
Shannon and Blair are likely to leave critics with a bad taste, however I believe American audiences will take a liking to the characters and this show could be a real success come fall time.
Quick update on the show: Selma Blair has hit back at all the critics, Australian and North American, who are opposed to the idea of remaking Kath & Kim for a US audience.
Blair was quoted in the Herald Sun as saying “It’s a case of, ‘How could you? Oh my god, you might ruin it’. But what’s to ruin? You’re still going to have your great show in Australia - we’re just paying homage to it. Nothing takes away from the original.”
Those critical of the idea believe that Australian humor will not translate well into North American audiences and that US television networks are constantly hijacking ideas from abroad as they are starved to come up with original ideas.
Blair also revealed that she has tacked on 9 kg to play a role where Kim is living a Midwestern US lifestyle and is constantly eating.Her character is in her mid 20’s but dresses like a child, is obsessed with celebrities, and lives with her mother Kath (Molly Shannon) after separating from her husband (who works at a Best Buy).
Blair also confirmed that the show is now being set in a Florida suburb, a change from the original set of Phoenix Arizona.
Kath & Kim just received a huge vote of confidence from NBC.The network has officially upped the episode order from six to thirteen.
The US adaptation of the Australian hit comedy has been heavily criticized by viewers who anticipate the show will not adapt well to North American audiences.Someone at NBC must strongly disagree.After seeing the finished product of the first episode which has now finished production, NBC is clearly very happy with what they see.
The show, now scheduled for an industry standard thirteen episodes, also has a prime timeslot that follows NBC’s hit comedy The Office, a successful adaptation of the British comedy by the same name which could serve as a model of success.
The increased order may also increase the pressure for Kath & Kim to live up to the network’s expectations.Will Kath & Kim translate into huge success, or disappear into the sitcom graveyard?
