Or piddling all over the legacy of Pulling, depending on how it's done.
Writing duo Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky will rewrite (i.e. tame down) the comedy for an American audience, which original writers/creators Sharon Horgan and David Kelly will executive produce. In other words, they'll be a bit like the real-life version of Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig's characters in Episodes, but without the writing privileges.
Deadline reports: "ABC first took a stab at developing an U.S. version of Pulling during the 2008-09 season with Rob Hanning as writer, Stacy Traub as showrunner and Francie Calfo as executive producer. (Aaron) Kaplan, then an agent at WMA, sold the format to ABC, which picked up the project to pilot but not to series. Horgan and Kelly served as exec producers on the first ABC incarnation, but their involvement was very peripheral as it was their first gig in the U.S. They’re much more involved this time. Irish actress-writer Horgan, repped by WME, UK's United Agents, has been a constant presence at ABC Studios for the past couple of years. She had back-to-back deals at the studio, one of which resulted in a pilot order for comedy Bad Mom, which she created and co-starred in opposite Jenna Elfman."
OK, so, with any bit of luck, the Americans might also be treated to such showstopping lines as "Oh no, not the neverending pint..." and scenes like the below.
In fact, now that Tanya Franks is making it big stateside (well, she's starring alongside Lindsay Lohan in Liz & Dick), perhaps she could take up Karen's 'primary school teacher of the year' mantel again.
