Two years after the series finale of Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, Deadline has announced that Amazon Freevee will air a US remake of the much-loved show. The remake, Dinner with the Parents, will follow the same premise of two adult sons visiting their eccentric parents for (an inevitably chaotic) weekly dinner.
With a confirmed first season of 10 episodes, Dinner with the Parents is the fourth attempt to create a US version of Friday Night Dinner, and the first such attempt to have moved past the development stage. No doubt this is due to the remake’s stellar production team, including Robert Popper, creator of the original UK sitcom, and Jon Beckerman, former writer of Late Show with David Letterman.
While casting for the remake is as-of-yet unannounced, it won’t be easy to match the delightful weirdness of the original cast. Friday Night Dinner struck gold with Tasmin Grieg and the late Paul Ritter playing the parents of prank-loving brothers Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal, alongside Mark Heap as the family’s oddball neighbour. The ensemble cast created an endearingly chaotic family dynamic inspired by Robert Popper’s own upbringing. Airing six seasons between 2011 and 2020 the UK sitcom was a fan favourite, particularly loved for its irresistibly quotable lines like “lovely bit of squirrel!”
With no confirmed release date, it remains to be seen whether Dinner with the Parents will amass the same cult-following as its British predecessor. US remakes of British classics are notoriously hit-and-miss; viewers widely loved The Office (US), while most commentators agreed that The Inbetweeners (US) was a spectacular flop. Undeniably, the success of US remakes depends heavily on their ability to adapt dry British humour for an American audience. Although this will be a challenge for the quintessentially British sitcom, if Popper continues to draw inspiration from his own family there’s a good chance we’ll be in for a whole new era of hilarious family dinners. Fourth time’s the charm?
Words by Verity Alice Cartwright
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.