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ABC to Get Stuck in "The Thick of It"

Seems like the oft-rumored US adaptation of The Thick of It will get made after all... at least a pilot, will anyway.

ABC has given a put pilot commitment to a half-hour single-camera US version of BBC4's political comedy The Thick of It. The pilot, which had been shopped around to all the major broadcast networks last month, is from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz and writer Richard Day.

While the UK version focused on a member of Parliament who is forced to rely on the (usually very bad) advice of his handlers while battling the Prime Minister's maniacal communications chief, the action in the US version will be set in the office of a Congressman. (No word on whether the politician in question will be a Republican or a Democrat or if the US remake will use the same Office-esque mockumentary format as the original.)

Richard Day (Arrested Development, The Larry Sanders Show) will write the pilot script and executive produce with Mitch Hurwitz, the BBC's Paul Telegdy, and The Thick of It's original creator Armando Iannucci for Sony Pictures Television.

Two seasons of The Thick of It, comprised of just six episodes total (yes, you read that right) aired earlier this year Stateside on BBC America.
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Danielle C.F. Maris said…
"The Thick of It" was brilliant. Brilliant acting. Brilliant writing. Brilliant directing. I am very, very wary of a US version. Why mess with perfection? Of course, I said the same thing about "The Office" and am now a huge fan of the American version. And the fact that Mitch Hurwitz is behind it gives me a little more faith in the adaptation. But I'll keep my expectations low for now.
11/15/2006
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