Date Posted:21:52:06 06/10/08 Tue Author: kenamom Subject: Not sure if I should be happy for you or concerned....
A popular Canadian television program, called 'Little Mosque in the Prairie' about a very devote group of muslum families living in small town Canadian prairies - is coming to the USA. Of course it is being changed to an American town but the premise is the same.
The concern....its being redone by the FOX network.
Fox network to make Americanized version of 'Little Mosque'
Lee-Anne Goodman, THE CANADIAN PRESS
BANFF, Alta. - The producers of the gentle CBC sitcom "Little Mosque on the Prairie" have announced a deal with Twentieth Century Fox Studios which aims to get an Americanized version of the show on the Fox network, known for pushing the envelope with programs like "The Family Guy" and "Mad TV."
"It's taken a long time to get here, some due to the writers' strike and some due to just making sure that we had the right collaborator," Mary Darling, head of Westwind Pictures, said after announcing the "Little Mosque" deal Monday at the Banff World Television Festival.
"The reason we pursued a deal with this studio is because we really feel we've found people who are in synch with us on the vision of the show. They're very earnest in terms of getting the tone of the show right, and yet they want to make it as funny as possible in order for it to play to a wide audience."
The deal also involves another Westwind Pictures show currently in development; Fox will help Westwind develop the show and then determine if it wants to buy it.
The CBC show, about a community of devout Muslims living in a small prairie town, won't be changed drastically for an American audience, Darling added.
"It'll be 'Little Mosque in Minnesota,' if I have my way," the Minnesota-born Darling said with a laugh.
A year ago, U.S. cable network the CW debuted the critically acclaimed "Aliens in America," which explores Americans' cultural ignorance of the Muslim community.
Darling speculated that by securing the "Little Mosque" deal, Fox was "trying to broaden their horizons and become a bit more of a serious player."
The deal was one of a flurry announced Monday at the festival, as BBC Worldwide and Toronto's Temple Street Productions revealed that they'd entered into a development partnership.
