News item dated:02/04/2009
Russian production for Hat Trick‘s Kumars
MIP NEWS: British comedy The Kumars at No. 42 has been previously adapted in the US, Australia, Holland and Italy. Now, a Russian channel is to produce its own take on the show.
Hat Trick Productions, the firm behind the original BBC1 series, has confirmed that a local version of the sitcom/chatshow hybrid is to air on Russian public broadcaster Channel One in spring 2009 with the title Rubik Almighty.
The UK indie‘s distribution arm Hat Trick International licensed the format rights for Russia to Alexander Tsekalo‘s production company SREDA, and unveiled details of the deal here in Cannes.
The Russian producers are using a fictional Armenian family in place of the original version's Indian family. The Aussie show centred on a Greek family, while the US one was based on a Mexican family.
The original BBC series ran for seven seasons and has previously sold to over 20 broadcasters, including BBC America, ABC in Australia, DBS in Israel, Star World in Asia, NPS in the Netherlands and SABC in South Africa.