[20.20 - French Time] Not only remaking a cult Kiwi show already unsuccessfully remade twice is certainly not the best idea but things seem not to bode well for ABC's dramedy Scoundrels, an eight-episode series due to be aired this summer. We knew ABC made a casting change three days into the shooting, replacing Neal McDonough (Medical Investigation, Desperate Housewives) by David James Elliott (JAG). But She Who Must Be Read, our dear Nikki Finke of Deadline.com, tells us why: love scenes. McDonough is a family man and a Catholic, and he has always made it clear that he won't do sex scenes. And ABC knew that, adds Nikki.
Scoundrels is the US version of Outrageous Fortune, a comedy/drama from New Zealand with a more than prestigious reputation. Shown in its country on TV3 since 2005, it is the longest-running local drama and a cult favourite there. Created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang, Outrageous Fortune is about Cheryl West (Robyn Malcolm), wife of a criminal sentenced to four years, who decides to move out her family of the crime business.
In the UK ITV remade the show as Honest (2008), with Amanda Redman - star of BBC's New Tricks. And Scoundrels is the second attempt by ABC to adapt Outrageous Fortune in the US after a pilot called Good Behavior (2008), with Catherine O'Hara.
Scoundrels stars Virginia Madsen as the family matriarch and McDonough was to play her husband (now played by Elliott).
http://www.deadline.com/2010/03/no-sex-please-im-neal-mcdonough/
