Fox Cancels the U.S. Torchwood Earlier Than I Thought

See? Even John Barrowman is so happy he’s doing a happy dance! From the Hollywood Reporter:

Fox has decided not to pursue a U.S. version of the UK cult hit. The
network was developing a stateside version of the “Doctor Who” spinoff, a
prospect which divided fans.

“BBC Worldwide Productions and the
FOX Broadcasting Company have mutually agreed not to progress together
with a 13-episode serialized ‘Torchwood’ format,” said BBC Worldwide in a
statement. “We are currently in discussion with several interested
networks.”

As to that last part, BBC Worldwide executive vp of
programming and production Jane Tranter reiterated that a U.S. version
was still making progress.

“It’s very much ongoing and very much
alive,” Tranter said.

Exaggerated wiping-the-nervous-sweat-from-my-brow gesture! Crisis averted. Sure, the BBC’s still looking to do an American co-production — i.e., have someone in America pay for half of their damn show — but I’m not worried about any other station actually fucking with the content/tone/characters of the show. I doubt another big network like ABC would be interested, and networks like TBS who might be interested would probably be more interested in keeping the show’s existing fanbase instead of making radical changes. Besides, Syfy is the most likely candidate anyways, and they air movies almost exclusively about giant fish. I’d love to see them hand some “notes” to the BBC on the show. “Could Captain Jack be a giant fish? Well, could he sleep with a giant fish? Maybe for a few episodes?”