Ricky Gervais was among those who managed to save Peep Show from cancellation in its early days.
The cult sitcom, which starred David Mitchell and Robert Webb as dysfunctional housemates Mark and Jeremy, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week.
In a piece reflecting on the show’s legacy with The Guardian, script editor Iain Morris discussed how Channel 4 were not keen on the show in its infancy, and considered cancelling it.
“The channel hated it because it wasn’t rating and they didn’t really understand it,” Morris explained. “I spent a lot of time defending it, probably to the detriment of my career.”
Gervais, however, was one of the show’s big early supporters, and helped the network decide to keep it on air.
“He kept talking about it. Because The Office was so huge, his love for Peep Show effectively got it recommissioned.”
Last year, it was revealed that a fifth American remake of Peep Show was in the works. FX has ordered a pilot for a US remake from Atlanta writer Stefani Robinson, who is also an executive producer. The show’s original creators, Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, are also on board as executive producers.
The remake is said to take inspiration from the first-person narrative format of the original, albeit with a different story and two female leads.
According to FX (via Deadline), the pilot “follows the relationship between a long-suffering assistant and her boss, an emotionally unstable tech entrepreneur”.
This marks the fifth attempt at a US remake. FX previously tried in 2019 with Community writer Karey Dornetto. Before that, Fox, Spike and Starz all attempted to update the series in 2005, 2008 and 2016 respectively.
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