Bbc America Channel

Two British Families Crack Jokes In Ways Familiar and Strange

The big news at BBC America this week was the announcement of “ Copper ,” its first original drama series. For the channel, it’s a major step in establishing an independent identity; it’s also a sign that that identity will be increasingly American. The show will be set in New York in the 1860s and produced by Yanks, including the veterans Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson (“Oz,” “Homicide: Life on the Street”).

While you might cringe at the suspicion that BBC America wants to turn itself into a cross between AMC and Bravo — in other words, just another American basic-cable channel — it continues, often with little fanfare, to import the British series that make it distinctive. Sneaking onto the schedule on Saturday night are “Outnumbered” and “Friday Night Dinner,” shows that reflect the continual trans-Atlantic cross-pollination of the situation comedy; both are comfortingly familiar and appealingly strange.

The better of the two (and the recipient of numerous awards) is “ Outnumbered ,” a harried-parents show with a set-up basically identical to that of “The Middle” or the Phil-and-Claire segments of “Modern Family.” (It predates both of those ABC shows, having gone on the air in Britain in 2007; a fourth season is scheduled to begin there later this year.) We have the slightly terrifying mother and the slightly clueless dad (Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis) uneasily sharing a suburban house with a morose 11-year-old son and two younger children whose weirdness is meant to be endearing.

The show is made in a partly improvised, single-camera, no-laugh-track style that registers to an American viewer as HBO-Showtime, but the humor is closer to that of a standard family sitcom — except that the jokes are so understated and the performances so reserved (by our standards, anyway) that it can seem as if not much were going on. There’s a lot of skill being brought to bear, though. The pilot opens with a tour de force segment, 16 minutes of getting the kids out the door to school that plays as if in real time and feels natural, without the staginess and underlined humor you would get in even a good show here.

Mr. Dennis, a stand-up comedian, and Ms. Skinner are fine as the parental punching bags, but the real find is Ramona Marquez, who was 6 when the show went on the air. Her character, Karen, the youngest child, combines an angelic appearance with a bloodthirsty imagination, conveyed in a wonderful deadpan.

Breaking News - BBC America Orders First Original Scripted Series ...

BBC AMERICA ORDERS FIRST ORIGINAL SCRIPTED SERIES FOR SUMMER 2012

Channel announces COPPER - A Cineflix Studios production, in association with Levinson/Fontana

New York, July 28, 2011 - In its most significant original programming commitment to date, BBC AMERICA has announced its first original scripted drama series, Copper. The 10 episode series, which centers on a young Irish cop operating in the immigrant communities of 19th century New York, is co-created by Tom Fontana (OZ, Homicide: Life on the Street, St. Elsewhere) and Will Rokos (Monster's Ball, Southland). The executive producers include Fontana, Rokos, Barry Levinson (Good Morning, Vietnam, Rain Man, You Don't Know Jack) and Christina Wayne (Broken Trail and executive in charge of Mad Men at AMC) of Cineflix Studios.

Copper is set in the Five Points Irish neighborhood of New York City in the 1860's. The series focuses on a rugged young Irish cop who has to navigate the unruly and sometimes violent currents of his immigrant neighborhood, while simultaneously interacting with uptown Manhattan high society and the emerging black community in Harlem.

Copper will commence production in the fall of 2011 in Toronto and premiere on BBC AMERICA in Summer 2012.

Perry Simon, General Manager, BBC AMERICA says: "Copper is a great fit for BBC AMERICA, capturing the early American multicultural experience in provocative, ground-breaking fashion. In the spirit of great BBC drama it's brimming with fascinating and complex characters giving us the opportunity to cast the best actors from both sides of the Atlantic. I'm delighted to be working with Tom and Barry again, together with Will, Christina and the talented team at Cineflix Studios. We could not be in better hands for BBC AMERICA's first dramatic series".

"BBC AMERICA is the ideal home for Copper in the U.S.," said Glen Salzman, CEO, Cineflix. "Cineflix Studios has put together an amazing team for this series, some of the best in the business, who will produce compelling television with widespread international appeal. We look forward to starting production in a few months and continuing to ramp up our scripted programming slate."

BBC AMERICA has a history of co-producing and acquiring acclaimed, award-winning drama. The channel recently announced Dramaville - a new weekly slot launching August 17, as a home to series such as The Hour and Luther, which recently scored an Emmy nomination for lead actor Idris Elba.

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