Three FME Comedies Head to the U.S.

LONDON, August 12: FremantleMedia
Enterprises (FME) has secured U.S. broadcast deals for the British comedy
series The IT Crowd, Modern
Toss and Look Around You.

IFC has acquired all three
seasons of The IT Crowd, which
was originally commissioned by Channel 4 in the U.K. The series, which follows
two geeky IT guys who work for a large corporation, will launch on IFC on
September 29.

IFC has also taken on the
first two seasons of Modern Toss,
which combines live-action sketches with animation. Based on the comics of the
same name, the series will make its U.S. debut in the first quarter of 2009.

Look Around You, which was devised and written by Robert Popper
and Peter Serafinowicz (The Peter Serafinowicz Show), has
been snapped up by Adult Swim. The first season spoofed ’70s educational films
and schools and featured Serafinowicz as a scientist, while the second season
parodies the classic show Tomorrow’s World, which showcased odd developments in the world of science and
technology, and features Serafinowicz as one of the presenters.

David Ellender, FME’s CEO, said: “FME owns the rights to some of the best U.K.
comedy programming in recent years and continues to work with leading producers
to ensure we represent the crème de la crème. Comedy is a key genre for FME and
we are making substantial investments to ensure we attract the best talent and
our stellar programming lineup is testament to this.”

Lisa Honig, the company’s
VP of program distribution for North America, added: “We are finding there is
an increasing appetite for British comedy shows in the U.S. as cable channels
acknowledge the growing appeal with young American audiences.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski