10 US Remakes Of British TV Shows Which Were Actually Pretty Good
7. Free Agents
Free Agents was a Channel 4 show circa 2009 starring Sharon Horgan and Stephen Mangan as two terminally unlucky romantics who find solace in one another at their place of business. No one really watched it, and it was quickly axed, though not before being picked up by NBC for a second attempt across the pond.
There it became a sitcom starring Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn, where it somehow fared even worse, being cancelled after airing just four episodes.
A tragedy in two acts, Free Agents deserved a far larger audience. It was melancholic and audacious, racy but sensitive and exploitative. Both versions had tremendous casts with great chemistry between the leads. The one constant (other than poor viewing figures) was Anthony Stewart Head as the boss. His wings were clipped a little in the US’s network version - he’s ludicrously profane in the original - but his charisma and comic timing elevated a fine premise even higher.
Free Agents deserves to be rediscovered, in either of its forms. To get this unlucky twice, with such quality behind it, is a crying shame.