In addition to its spinoff and sequel series,That ‘70s Showgot a lesser-known remake, and it failed so badly that it was canceled after just six episodes. Amongthe best sitcoms of all timeisThat ‘70s Show, created by Bonnie and Terry Turner and Mark Brazill.That ‘70s Showpremiered on Fox in 1998, and it was a huge hit.
That ‘70s Showtook the audience back to 1976 to follow a group of teenage friends, led by Eric Forman (Topher Grace). The group often gathered in Eric’s basement to smoke weed, and the show followed their daily lives and the many humorous situations they got involved in. The success ofThat ‘70s Showallowed it to stay for eight seasons, ending in 2006.
That ‘70s Showsucceeded thanks to its setting, visual gags, tone, and the performancesof its main cast, making way for a failed “spinoff” set in the 1980s and a sequel series that followed a new generation of teens in the 1990s. However, before them, there was a British remake that crashed and burned almost instantly.
Days Like These Was A UK Remake Of That ’70s Show That Failed After Six Episodes
Days Like These Premiered In 1999
That ‘70s Showwas a success from the beginning, and it didn’t take long for it to be remade. Just a couple of months beforeThat ‘70s Show’s second season was released,a British remake titledDays Like Thesepremiered on ITV.
Days Like Thesealso took viewers back to the 1970s, but in the town of Luton, England, and, like its original show, it followed the daily, humorous lives of a group of friends.Days Like Thesealso borrowed many of the characters’ names, such as those of Eric and Kitty Forman, and changed others, like Dylan (Hyde) and Torbjørn (Fez).
The show didn’t connect with its target audience, and in its copying ofThat ‘70s Show, it missed what made each of the characters unique.
Unfortunately, instead of adaptingThat ‘70s Showto a British audience and their style of comedy, which is very different from American comedy,Days Like Thesewas a carbon copy of its original show. Because of this, the show didn’t connect with its target audience, and in its copying ofThat ‘70s Show, it missed what made each of the characters unique.
Unsurprisingly,Days Like Thesewas canceled, but it joined the list ofTV shows that were canceled before their first season finished airing. After just six episodes,Days Like Thesewas over, but it still aired four more episodes, with three not seeing the light right away. The remaining episodes eventually aired, andDays Like Theseaired in its entirety but in a very late weeknight slot.
Why Days Like These Was Canceled So Quickly
Days Like These Aired Six Episodes Before Its Cancellation
When remaking a TV show for a different audience, the key is to adapt it rather than copy it as it is. A great example isThe Office, with the US version adapting the show’s setting, characters, and sense of humor to its American audience, allowing it to succeed. The same happened withShameless, which adapted the Gallaghers’ struggles to what the American audience could relate to.
However,Days Like Thesecompletely ignored this key part of remaking a show. As mentioned above,Days Like Thesewas almost identical toThat ‘70s Show, though with some of the latter’s most important details left behind, such as the distinct personalities of the characters.
All this and more gaveDays Like Thesean inauthentic feel, and after its cancellation, the show was pretty much forgotten.
Days Like Theseeven copied the dialogue word-for-word, with some adjustments to add British slang and cultural references fitting with its audience. All this and more gaveDays Like Thesean inauthentic feel, and after its cancellation, the show was pretty much forgotten. To this day,Days Like Theseisn’t available to stream, but there are a couple of low-quality screenshots and some low-quality clips on YouTube.
Days Like These Was The First Sign That ’70s Show Would Be Hard To Replicate
That ‘70s Show Is Quite Unique
Days Like Thesewas the first attempt to expand the world ofThat ‘70s Show, but its failure didn’t stop future attempts. In 2002, Fox tried to take the essence ofThat ‘70s Showinto the 1980s in the show appropriately titledThat ‘80s Show.
Although it’s widely regarded as a spinoff,That ‘80s Showisn’t technically one, as no characters fromThat ‘70s Showare in it, but what they did share were their writers and production staff. While not a copy of the original show likeDays Like Thesedid,That ‘80s Showcouldn’t replicate the charm ofThat ‘70s Show, and the decade wasn’t too appealing to the audience.
That ‘80s Showlacked the sense of humor of the original show, the characters were older than Eric and company, and they simply weren’t appealing or interesting enough to carry an entire show.That ‘80s Showdidn’t last long and was canceled after just one season.
Almost 20 years afterThat ‘70s Showended, the series got a proper sequel series, though now set in the 1990s. Simply titledThat ‘90s Show, the series is set in 1995, and it follows Eric and Donna’s daughter, Leia (Callie Haverda), who spends the summer with her grandparents, Red and Kitty, in Point Place.
That ‘90s Showwas canceledin 2024 after two seasons, with the main reason for it reportedly being low viewership and lack of engagement from the audience. Although the nostalgia factor ofThat ‘90s Showwas praised, the show couldn’t capture the charm and greatness ofThat ‘70s Show, further proving that its uniqueness simply can’t be replicated.
