10. The Thick Of It (U.S.)
Network/Season: ABC/2007
Starring: John Michael Higgins, Oliver Platt, and Michael McKean
Description: Mitch Hurwitz, the man whom we've all come to love thanks to Arrested Development, almost squandered all of that goodwill with his attempted Americanization of what could be called a British comedy classic. Transcribed to American politics, The Thick Of It (U.S.) would have dealt with a low level Congressman, his "young ambitious speech writer", his chief of staff, and Malcolm "F**king" Tucker. Political hilarity would presumably ensue.
Why We Probably Didn't See It: ABC decided not to pick up what original series creator Armando Iannucci called "terrible", "conventionally shot" with "no improvisation or swearing". No reason was given, but judging by Iannucci's criticism, the format doesn't sound as funny as it was with the actual elements of on the fly dialogue mixed with good old fashioned swearing. (And for what it's worth, Oliver Platt couldn't match the insanity that Peter Capaldi brought to the role of Malcolm.)
Why We Wished We Could See It:While it's undoubtedly a train wreck, it'd be interesting to see how Mitch Hurwitz interpreted the humor of the British original. Also, the Pilot was directed by Christopher Guest, so to an increasingly smaller portion of the population this show would have been incredibly funny. That and while Oliver Platt will never eclipse the Malcolm we all know and love, he could possibly be a great runner-up...were he allowed to swear, of course.
Life After Death?: No photos, no clips, no nothing. Seeing how The I.T. Crowd remake went, it's probably a good thing. The closest thing we do have is Iannucci's Veep over on HBO, which is basically the same concept but infinitely better than the above described. It keeps the swearing, it keeps the improv, and its cast is much better equipped for the style of comedy involved.