American audiences haven't always welcomed attempts to remake Australian comedies, but a new show featuring the Oscar-nominated star of Everything everywhere at the same time is currently impressing critics and viewers alike. Although Australian-made children's entertainment icons such as The maneuvers and Blue enjoyed considerable success in the US market, attempts to remake some of the country's most popular television comedies have often fallen short of expectations.
In 2008, NBC had already tried to remake one of Australia's best-known comedies Kath and Kim, a satirical look at an eccentric suburban mother-daughter duo. Starring SNL veteran Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as the titular characters in the remake, the American version of Kath and Kim was panned by critics, with some even joking that the show was bad enough to justify ceasing business relationships with the country. Additionally, despite being originally picked up for a full 22-episode season, only 17 episodes were produced before its eventual cancellation.
The creators of Stephanie Hsu's new Australian adaptation explain their approach
Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna appear to have struck a delicate balance
Everything everywhere, all at once Stephanie Hsu is the latest actress to try out for the lead in the remake of a classic Australian comedy series, although apparently much more successful than the 2008 Kath and Kim US remake. Recently debuting in Peacock on December 19th, Willing is based on the 2011 Australian television program of the same name. Following the exploits of a 30-something woman who discovers that her ex-boyfriends are dying in the same order in which she slept with them, Hsu's adaptation currently boasts an impressive 96% rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Talking to Screen speech in celebration of Laid's recent streaming release, the American show's creators Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna discussed their approach to adapting the original show for American audiences. Recognizing that while they “I appreciated the weird humor of the Australian version”, the creators explained that their version would also provide Hsu's character with a sense of entitlement and corresponding lack of conscience. Suggesting these changes made Hsu's role more relevant, and the duo also allowed their version to go in a different direction while still honoring the original. Check out the comments below:
Here: Yes. I mean, we really appreciated the weird humor of the Australian version, which they did incredibly well. But I think taking that, bringing that into our show, but also giving Ruby this sense of entitlement and lack of awareness of who she is and her place in the world, felt very relevant to us, and felt very modern and current –
McKenna: And American. [Chuckles]
Here: And American! Yeah, listen, we really don't know. So I think it was a really fun challenge, in terms of updating it and making it modern.
McKenna: We loved the premise, from the beginning, just hearing what the show was about. We were like, “Yeah, we’re doing this.” The original is so good that I think we kept everything we loved about it. We started to let our version go a different way, but there's a lot of the original series, especially in the pilot. He's a great driver, and I feel like we've become very close to him.
Our take on Laid's changes to the Australian original
Adapting Australian and other international shows may still be worth it
Despite some notable flaws, Not all American adaptations of Australian comedies are doomed to failureand the positive response to Laid's the recent release suggests that Khan and McKenna's new show is much better than some of its international adaptations. As such, the duo's attempt to make the original show more relevant to American audiences appears to have struck the right balance between allowing their version to find its footing and remaining true to the spirit of Willingof source material.