UpstairsDownstairs-related stories
Posted Oct 13th 2009 7:26AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free

Before
Dallas and
Dynasty and
Falcon Crest and
Knots Landings captured the imaginations of American viewers, there was a British soap import that was even more compelling.
From 1971-75, PBS aired the British upper crust soap Upstairs Downstairs. And now
Upstairs Downstairs is going to be remade. It'll be filmed and shown in England first before coming to America in 2011.
What made
Upstairs Downstairs classic television – it won Emmys, BAFTAs and Golden Globes – was the way it depicted of the British class system. Upstairs you had the rich, privileged Bellamy family. Downstairs there were the servants who worked for them. The lives of all these characters intertwined in a well-written, brilliantly acted drama series.
Continue reading They're remaking Upstairs Downstairs
Posted Aug 13th 2008 9:01AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, OpEd, Ugly Betty, Reality-Free

This seems like an odd one.
ABC is bringing the 2002
Jennifer Lopez movie
Maid in Manhattan to the small screen.
I'm a sucker for romantic comedies, and I actually liked the movie (probably one of the few who did). But even I think it's a weird project to be
adapting into a TV series.
The movie features Lopez as Marisa Ventura, a struggling single mom from the Bronx who works as a maid at a posh Manhattan hotel.
Ralph Fiennes plays a rising politician who mistakes her for a wealthy socialite. They fall in love, yada, yada, yada. Those two stars had very little chemistry (and yet I still liked the movie).
Continue reading Maid heads to ABC: Are there no new ideas in Hollywood?