http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/05/27/hbo-has-...-for-bad-girls/

HBO has a thing for bad girls

Posted May 27th 2008 8:04AM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free

[screenshot: S8 cast]


Bad Girls and One Bad GuyHBO and Alan Ball have teamed up once again to develop an American version of Bad Girls. The show is familiar territory for HBO which aired the critically acclaimed prison drama Oz for six seasons.

The British drama about the staff and inmates of a women's prison recently ended production after eight seasons on ITV.

Ball will serve as an executive producer and supervise the writing, much like he did on his previous HBO series Six Feet Under.

Bad Girls, which currently airs on MTV Networks' gay-themed channel Logo, is wildly popular due to its portrayal of the complex relationships among female inmates.

Women's prisons seem to be the hot property for the upcoming season as Fox is also developing a Prison Break spinoff that would take place at a female prison.

Rights to make an American version of the show were previously were held by FX who failed to develop the project.

In addition to creating the much missed Six Feet Under, Ball also created HBO's upcoming vampire drama True Blood. He recently made his feature directorial debut with Towelhead.


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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080527/tv_nm/badgirls_dc

"Bad Girls" breaking out on HBO
By Nellie Andreeva Mon May 26, 5:27 PM PDT

Move over "Oz," some "Bad Girls" are coming to HBO.

The pay cable channel is reuniting with "Six Feet Under" creator Alan Ball to develop an American version of the long-running British drama about the staff and inmates of a women's prison. Ball will serve as an executive producer and supervise the writing.

"Bad Girls," which bowed out in 2006 after eight seasons on ITV, was praised for its portrayal of the complex relationships among female inmates. It currently airs on MTV Networks' gay-themed channel Logo. U.S. remake rights previously were held by the FX cable channel.

Women's prisons are a hot TV setting this year. Fox is developing a "Prison Break" spinoff that would take place at a female prison.

In addition to creating both the undertaker saga "Six Feet Under" as well as HBO's upcoming vampire drama "True Blood," Ball won an Oscar for writing "American Beauty." He recently made his feature directorial debut on "Towelhead," which he adapted from Alicia Erian's novel.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter


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http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/2...=rss&feed=media

Bad Girls: HBO locks in deal for US version of ITV prison drama

* Leigh Holmwood
* guardian.co.uk,
* Tuesday May 27 2008


Bad Girls: the US version will have a 'very glossy' feel.

[Photograph: ITV] ...{content: Costa cons}

US cable channel HBO, the home of The Sopranos and Sex and the City, is developing an American version of ITV prison drama Bad Girls with creative input from Six Feet Under writer Alan Ball.

HBO has bought the rights to the show about the inmates of a female prison from fellow US cable channel FX, home of Nip/Tuck and The Shield.

The US broadcaster is now developing a one-hour pilot based on the characters and storylines of the original ITV1 show, made by UK company Shed Productions, which ran for eight series before being dropped in 2006.

HBO's version will be written by Nancy Oliver, who was nominated for an Oscar for her screenplay for Lars and the Real Girl, and Raelle Tucker, whose credits include Supernatural.

Oliver and Tucker will also executive produce the pilot alongside Six Feet Under creator Ball and the Shed Productions chief executive, Eileen Gallagher, who originally thought up the show with Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus.

The involvement of Ball, who won an Oscar for writing movie American Beauty before going on to write the critically acclaimed Six Feet Under for HBO, should give Bad Girls a fighting chance of actually making it to screen.

As well as overseeing the hugely successful Six Feet Under for HBO, he has also created vampire series True Blood, which launches on the channel in September.

It is hoped the pilot for the US Bad Girls will be completed by Thanksgiving in November, which is when HBO executives will make a decision on its future.

The story of Bad Girls' gestation in the US has been a long and rocky one after Shed vetoed the original pilot script for FX, after the show was given a "really gritty and unpleasant" feel like that of Oz, the HBO show set in a men's prison.

Gallagher told MediaGuardian.co.uk: "It has taken us a long time. We didn't like the original script as it took it in the wrong direction and we agreed with FX that we would take the project back.

"What we learned was that you really need a writer who is on the same page as you and understands the project."

Gallagher added that the US version would be "very glossy" and have the feel that the British show had in its early series, before it was given a "camp and trashy label" near the end of its run.

"The first few seasons it was a drama where we were highlighting issues of women in prisons," she said.

Ordering the Bad Girls pilot script is one of the first pieces of development under HBO's new entertainment president Sue Naegle.

The original UK version of Bad Girls can also be seen in the US on MTV Networks' gay-themed channel Logo.

Women's prisons as a setting and foreign formats are in vogue with the American TV industry this year, according to entertainment trade magazine the Hollywood Reporter.

Fox is developing a spin-off of Prison Break that would take place at a female prison, while the main broadcast networks also recently added seven new scripted series based on international formats.

HBO is also shooting a pilot based on Channel Five's comedy Suburban Shootout.

The Bad Girls script commission is the latest success for Shed Productions in the US.

Shed's subsidiary, Wall to Wall, has been commissioned by NBC to make a six-part run of hit BBC genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? for broadcast early next year, after the network gave the thumbs up to the list of celebrities due to take part.

The lineup has not been revealed, but former Friends star Lisa Kudrow is expected to take part after she signed up to co-executive produce the show.

con'd....


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/conten...7cae086fc3253a3

Alan Ball bounces to 'Bad Girls'
Adapting the British series with HBO

By Nellie Andreeva

May 26, 2008, 11:00 PM
[photo of Alan Ball]

Alan Ball (Getty Images photo)
Move over "Oz," some "Bad Girls" are coming to HBO.

The pay cable channel and Alan Ball are developing an American version of the long-running British prison drama.

Nancy Oliver and Raelle Tucker are penning the adaptation, with Ball supervising the writing.

The three will executive produce with Eileen Gallagher, co-creator of the original series and CEO of Shed Prods., which produced "Bad Girls" for ITV.

The drama, which bowed out in 2006 after eight seasons, revolves around the staff and inmates of a women's prison.

Co-created by Gallagher, Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus, "Bad Girls" has been praised for its portrayal of the complex relationships among female inmates. Its U.S. rights previously were held by FX.

Women's prisons as a setting and foreign formats are hot this year. Fox is developing a spinoff of "Prison Break" that would take place at a female prison. The broadcast networks recently added seven new scripted series based on international formats. HBO adapted the Israeli series "In Treatment" and is shooting a pilot based on the U.K.'s "Suburban Shootout."

"Bad Girls" is among the first pieces of development for HBO's new entertainment president Sue Naegle.

It extends Ball's longtime association with HBO, where he created the acclaimed drama "Six Feet Under" as well as the upcoming "True Blood."

It also continues Ball's relationship with Naegle, who was his longtime agent at UTA before she left the agency last month to go to HBO.

Ball, an Oscar winner for "American Beauty," recently made his feature directorial debut on "Towelhead," which he adapted from Alicia Erian's novel.

Oliver, nominated for an Oscar this year for "Lars and the Real Girl," is serving as a supervising producer on "True Blood" and is adapting the novel "Handyman" for Warner Bros. and Plan B.

Tucker is a co-producer on "True Blood."

"Bad Girls" was packaged by UTA.

Well, I would say it's comforting to know that it was the Shed creators themselves who withdrew the FX deal. My friend who worked in development at FX saw the treatment and said it was awful and, indeed, where the characters and lesbian relationship were concerned, not "on the same page" at all as the original vision.

Mr. Ball is himself a gay man and one only has to look at the reputation of "Six Feet Under" to believe he'll treat the project with some respect. So saying...I still can't imagine them casting anyone who can bring that kind of chemistry to the roles. And what is the american analog for a scots accent? A southern baptist girl? That doesn't have nearly the same quality. Well... casting will be important, but at least one can be assured that the writing will be quality.

Lisa Kudrow as exec producer, and wanting a starring role? What role could she be gunning for? Shell? I can't imagine her in any other, but she's too old for all of the roles, frankly. She's a great actress though--I bet she'd surprise us as any of the leads.

Did I mention I am SOOOOOOOOO excited about this?! If there are any television writers in the US who can do justice to Bad Girls, it's this crew. And I like what they're emphasizing in the press coverage--the relationships between inmates, focus on real life prison issues etc. Hopefully that's what they're going to emphasize in the show too.

Not to worry, the Kudrow reference is to the BBC genealogy thing.

Yes, hopefully this will be a go for Ball and HBO. I believe HBO's current programing is hurting from losing Sopranos, Deadwood, Wire (I believe this is its last year), Six Feet Under, and Rome recently. To me that bodes well for this actually happening.

No...doesn't it say Lisa is doing another U.S. version of a different series for Shed?

Tho...someone suggested she'd be good as one of the Julies earlier too when they thought she was attached to BG.

Heh. We responded to that at exactly the same time.

And good points about the prestige must-see shows that HBO is down by, they need a new notable program in their roster.

I would also hope they'd give the same treatment and emphasis to the central love story...however, that does require lightning striking in a bottle twice...and anyone would be able to find out how the original storyline went just by looking it up online.

This is the most exciting Bad Girls news in ages! I'm so thrilled! HBO typically does a wonderful job with their shows, and I'm glad to see Shed said no to the FX version, if only because it shows they're not going to sell out to just any version. This is their first baby, and they're showing that they're not going to settle for the first "client" that's willing to give them some money.

Alan Ball? Nancy Oliver? I don't think I could have come up with two better writers in America today for this kind of show. It's wonderful.

The Lisa Kudrow line looks to me like it doesn't apply to Bad Girls, although I agree that it's confusing.

Thanks for clarifying the Lisa Kudrow thing everyone. That is a HUGE relief. (Other than the fact that I have to work on my reading comprehension, which is actually rather troubling.)

Thanks for the news.. this is very exciting ..I know that HBO will do it justice. Now if I could just get to play Monica...or Barbara maybe...?

So will there be a Helen and Nikki in this one you think? If so, I wonder who they will cast in the roles. Maybe some hot newcomers.

I'm also quite excited about this news. I know 6FU and Alan Ball but not the other writers. Glad to hear others more familiar are saying good things about them. What I'm hoping for, if this version lasts more than 3 seasons, we'd get more of Helen&Nikki for more than 3 as well. I know I'm getting super way ahead of myself because it's too early to tell :lol: but if The L Word can go 6 seasons, so can Bad Girls!! :prisonbars

Thank god, I was devastated when I first heard about the FX deal!!!!!

This will be so much better, it may even come close to the original UK version with Eileen Gallagher on board!!!!!

I hope she takes a leading role in casting!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Go HBO! :party

Gearing up to order HBO next year and cancel Showtime :swords

A new Bad Girls does sound pretty exciting but there's also something about it that makes me feel a little... I don't know. I guess it's the same reason I never tuned in to watch SmallVille after having watched Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman which was a show that I absolutely loved. I just hope if they do it, they do it well.

Does anyone know if they're going to use the same basic storyline as the original?

But there's an irony in this, isn't there? Because Lois and Clark was actually already a remake of something else (the Superman films, the comics) so you can imagine there might have been fans of Superman who didn't want to watch Lois and Clark because they didn't want to see the characters played by different actors, with different stories. And yet, the show was pretty good in its own right.

I thought the Guardian article implied that they were taking characters and storylines from the original.

I've been following this one with great interest, especially with Eileen Gallagher having input. I totally trust the recommendations from you guys your side of the pond that it will be as good as you say it is from the rest of the team.

There might be one of life's little ironies that it will be Brits who'll be posting 'what's happening?' with each episode being transmitted and you guys having the advantage. :rolleyes:

It's probably best to face the show with as few preconceptions as possible and see how it unfolds.

I've done some thinking and wondering about the American HBO version vs. the British one as to how the two will compare. I think of Queer as Folk which was so so popular here in the US and Canada and was based on the British Channel 4 show. All the characters in the American version has different names, but were supposedly based on one of the British show characters. So I wouldn't be surprised to find differently named characters in the HBO Bad Girls, but characters based on some of the original counterparts. Also, American tv has historically been more tame than British tv....but then the orig Bad Girls wasn't at all x rated compared to Queer as Folks.

I googled around for some reviews of the comparisons between American QAF and British QAF to start preparing mentally and forming realistic expectations for the HBO Bad Girls (as Jeanna states above, "lightening strikes in a bottle only once")

This article is one of the few I could find.

or

The article goes on to compare and contrast American adaptations of British shows.

I still can hardly wait to view the show on youtube within 24hours of cable broadcast. Thanks in advance to the four of you out there who will be posting for me and the other rabid fans the day after. And of course, I thank in advance molsongrrl who is sure to be beyond thanks for posting the episodes. :party

I may be putting my head on the chopping block for this, but Americans and I being one myself feel that we cannot do something as well as or duplicate anything that the British have done so before. Years ago we tried our version of "Coupling" the hit British Comedy. The American version lasted for two shows and goodbye thereafter. It has been my observation that even though The British and us Americans speak the English language the meaning and the delivery of the thought is entirely different. British comedy thinks on its feet and can make anything funny the same applies with drama. I wish this HBO venture good luck, but let's face it BAD GIRLS is the Mona Lisa and there is no rival.

Just my opinion,
Jersey1259

I guess I'll have to subscribe to HBO in the fall.

Yes, Jersey, I must agree. I won't be watching. I've already seen Bad Girls and don't need to see it americanized, though I am sure it will be better than most of the dead in the water shows that have been fashioned from superior british versions.

For my part I'm excited to see a new/different/updated version of BG. It won't be the same --- which is good, because otherwise why bother? --- and it also won't change what the original meant to me. Maybe it will be amazing, and I'll fall in love with new characters and plots. Maybe it will be awful and I'll laugh for days. There's no losing. :)

It makes me think of my friend who has watched just about every film version of "Hamlet" ever made. She loves some of the versions and hates others but all entertain her and make her think about the original text in new ways. It's not a competition from one version to the next, it's just new ways of telling the same classic story -- some ways more successful than others but all of them of interest to her because she loves that original story so much.

I think the best thing going for it is that HBO & Alan Ball will be doing it. His Six Feet Under was a great show and I am hoping that Bad Girls will be treated with respect for the original British storyline/ version. HBO will also provide a very wide viewing audience for the show, bringing the story of Nikki & Helen (or whatever names they use) to millions of new viewers. Right now in the U.S. the only ones watching Bad Girls are Logo viewers.

I've said earlier in this thread that I expect this will be a very well done series for HBO, but I just don't feel the need to watch it. Hopefully, it will spark viewers to look to the original source--if original material is allowed to remain online and further seasons of the original series are ever released on region 1 dvds--sometimes the original has a way of disappearing when someone else gets the copyright. I have yet to see original episodes of "Queer as Folk."

Hi Jeanna, I expect we're in a minority so I've been staying shtum. Don'tUWish's arguments are intellectually quite good, I agree. But emotionally--I can't go there. Emotionally, I respond totally differently to the idea of *this* show being redone. Sorry: not for me.


On a slightly different angle... why should I be so excited to have a gay man producing a show where the central storyline is very much, in part, about lesbian desire? I haven't seen anything that's convinced me gay men and lesbians have any crossover in that department. At all. Seriously.

It's possible I'm just missing brilliant lesbian adaptations by gay men that ring true to others. I can think of lots of examples that didn't ring remotely true to me. Starting with QAF (Mel & Lins: Most Boring Lesbian Characters in TV History) & Tipping the Velvet (the group scenes of N getting humiliated, etc: those are jaded old queens in drag. Possibly: literally.)

Short version: I see no reason to assume gay men are specially Equipped to represent lesbians. Quite the opposite. I see lots of reasons to assume they might be well-intentioned, but not know jack about representing us. And I don't see any indication Alan Ball is some savant in this department. Lauren Ambrose's brief flirtation with art-chick in SFU didn't play well to me--more like the typical nod to including lesbian-material, that's all. Ball is good with middle-class straight people, absolutely. & gay men. So?

So, you could be very right. But if the folks at Shed productions gave their imprimatur to HBO it should count for something. Also Alan Ball isn't writing the script--being written by two women as far as I have read-with a pilot due by Thanksgiving.

I s'pose the debate will continue .... at least until the new show comes out (hopefully) in the fall or next year. Two women are the lead writers, and I know Nancy Oliver is very, very, very good at writing emotionally complex stories. Alan Ball is the supervising writer, and I think he's great as well. It's possible they'll manage to muck it up, but I think it's likely they'll turn out an amazing TV show.

As to gay men and whether they can write good lesbian storylines? I'd hate to say the opposite, that lesbians haven't been shown able to write insightfully about gay men. I can't think of an example where they have done it at all, much less well -- and let's say for the sake of argument that no lesbian has ever written a great portrayal of a gay romance. I don't think that matters. I think the next lesbian who walks through the door could do it, you know? I don't think there's anything innate in gay men or lesbians that prevents them from understanding and writing about the other. I think it's dangerous to go there, really and suggest that people of one sexuality don't know the other well enough to represent them well... though I agree that it's also not right to assume that a given gay male will be "specially equipped" to write for lesbians. I'd just say the potential is there -- even if some have not done it well in the past -- and leave it for them to prove it to me in the next thing they write.

You know what's funny about this discussion in my mind? I don't believe that the UK version of Bad Girls is perfect in any way. Nor do I feel that the Helen & Nikki storyline is perfect. I mean, just the whole way they wrote S3, and resolved things too quickly at the end, has always been not-quite-satisfying to me. Meanwhile, you've got writers attached to this project who are more sophisticated and subtle writers, from what I can tell, then the Shed writers. I don't mean any offense by this; I just think it's true.

So I actually think the US Bad Girls has the potential to surpass the UK version. Probably not in the way of acting or chemistry between Helen and Nikki, but in all of the other ways. It also could be worse. But regardless, a women-focused show, with lesbian characters at its center, is something I am going to look forward to with bated breath. I mean, please, I can't even tolerate The L Word, and these days I'm borderline obsessing about Grey's Anatomy, which is decent, but not really worth the passion I'm throwing at it.

So unless this show is truly wretched, I'm definitely going to be watching it, and watching it on its own terms, as another chance to see a tv show which focuses on issues I care about.

I will put in my two cents and say that I am cautiously optimistic about the remake. It's been my experience that the majority of remakes fall short in my eyes when compared to the original. While I agree that Series 3 was the least satisfying in terms of the Helen and Nikki story, I think it was deliberately written that way to keep the audience guessing at the outcome and create tension. Could it have been done better? Probably. Now that anyone familiar with Bad Girls knows the outcome of Nikki and Helen's tale, it will be interesting to see what HBO does with it. I am in 'wait and see' mode.

By the way, the L Word is written primarily by lesbians, so I don't know that the assumption gay women are more insightful than gay men when writing about this subject is necessarily borne out. :D I think all writers and producers are influenced by the media -- in tv, it is the corporate owners and advertisers first, audience last. JMO.

Thanks for correcting me about who's writing the script, Larkcall. As for Shed, despite producing one of the very best lesbian stories I've ever seen in the media--they haven't done anything to deserve my brand-loyalty beyond BG itself. It's quite possible they (or in this case EG) still feel very strongly about the original story that launched their company & made them who they are, which would of course be nice.

I wasn't defending the inexcusable awfulness of the L-word (god knows I wouldn't!), or suggesting straight people or lesbians were more likely to write a good story about lesbians: but I was, true, suggesting gay men are *less* likely to be able to do that with emotional veracity--from what I've seen. And I'll stick by that. (I agree w/you about the obverse--although honestly, I don't care how lesbians represent gay men, if you're talking about romantic/fictional writing; it's just not on my list of moral obligations I stay up late worrying over. But it's possible that women who are well-acquainted w m/m slash--largely written by straight women--or gay romance novels--would disagree with both of us for different reasons, I simply don't know. :) )

With a great deal of respect--I enjoy reading your posts & almost always agree with them--I feel it's just as problematic to shut down a line of objections.

I don't owe any special allegiance to gay men, nor do they to me. They have different bodies and vastly different experiences. They can try to address those with the best of intentions til the cows come home without necessarily getting any closer to representing anything remotely like my or other lesbian experiences w/any degree of emotional accuracy. 1970s feminism (I wasn't there for it, btw :) ) suggested women speaking to their 'own' experiences was the sine-qua-non of political validity & empowerment. I find it strange that things have things gone so radically in the other direction. I don't feel obliged, politically or artistically, to make any particular accommodations to defend gay mens' representing activities around women/lesbians; nor any special sense of gratitude.


...When I think about the films I've enjoyed or loved best over the years that are primarily about lesbian relationships or have created strong enduring lesbian characters over an in-depth narrative, they have almost all been filmed by women, despite the huge difficulties of bringing something to screen. As for books... I am hard-pressed to think of any significant piece of lesbian writing not written by, well-- a lesbian. Certainly not in the category of fiction.

I'll bow out on this one now. Sorry if my posts were off topic. Thx. ...later. --e

I respect your posts as well, ekny, and I think we just disagree about this question of whether gay men are less able or unable to write about lesbian relationships with emotional accuracy. (I wasn't trying to shut down the discussion by the way, and I apologize if it came across that way).

I've been reading about how the sexist comments made about Hillary Clinton would not be accepted -- at all --- if they were made about Barack Obama. Sexism is more allowable in our society than racism. In the same way, I fear that saying gay men (or women) can't write accurately/well about the other is seen in some way as allowable when we wouldn't dare say that about women (they can't write accurately about men) or about blacks (they can't understand the white experience) .... or about any other group I might mention.

A writers job is to empathize and reach the universal through a given storyline and I think a good writer does that, period. There are certainly loads of examples of any group (gays, women, blacks, Hispanics, Finnish people) not writing well about another but I don't think that means "they" (all the writers in that group) are incapable of doing so. It's also true that each group writes mainly about itself and not about any other group so there's usually a limited sampling.

We just disagree and I think that's good and fine .... just wanted to be more clear where I'm coming from.

I have to say, I have a little trepidation about this, for a couple of reasons.

I think that many of the stories in BG could stand a retelling just fine. A new Shell, different Julies, a different read on Fenner - all of these could be really interesting. But the idea of retelling the Helen & Nikki story makes me nervous. It requires such a commitment from the actors, and such a delicate chemistry between them that it seems to me as if there are zillions of ways for things to go wrong, and only a few for them to go right. And for me this is the emotional core of the series (at least, for the first three seasons, which are the ones I care most about), so if it's not done well it's a problem.

My other concern is that it seems as if the show was so steeped in British culture that it would be very difficult to move it over the pond and keep the same tone. Frex, it seems to me that there is a very big difference between the US and Britain in attitudes about punishment vs. rehabilitation. That is to say, in the US we don't believe in it much at all. So Helen's efforts to help inmates take classes to improve their chances once they're released become a little strange. And the balance of power between Zandra and the screws when she does a runner during her trip to the hospital will be (I bet) very different, since the punishment for escape is so much greater here.

I dunno. I sub to HBO, so if it's produced I'll have access to it. But I don't know if I'll tune in until I have some reassurance that it's not going to diminish my experience of the original series.

I'm just wondering how the American HBO show will deal with the fact that in American prisoners do not wear their own clothes but rather uniforms....what's a Julies to do??? :busted

Found an article in a TV magazine last night that said Michelle Rodrigues had been cast in US remake of Bad Girls.

Has anyone else heard this?

I'm surprised no one's posted this link up:

http://www.afterellen.com/blwe/05-30-08

I have read a couple of mentions of Michelle Rodriguez being cast, as well. I'm not sure what to make of that one. I can't see her playing Nikki, as I think she's a bit too tough looking for the role. Maybe she's playing the new Shell.

I'm also a bit confused as I've read that they're keeping the same characters, or some of them, as well as the storylines. And I've also read they're not.

Here's another interesting article pertaining to BG that was in a Canadian Newspaper yesterday.

EMPIRE WRITER DEVELOPS LATINO DRAMA WITH HBO.

HBO is developing a Latino-themed drama with Emprie screenwither Franc Reyes. The hourlong project dubbed Palladium, centers on an upscale nightclub in New York and the tense relationship between the owner and his son. Other projects in development at HBO include an adaptionn of the British comedy series Sensitive Skin, starring Cattrall, and an adaption of the British Prison Drama Bad Girls.

I'm sure she wouldn't be cast as Nikki. (I'd hope not anyway.) But I could see her as Denny, actually.

No, No. Kim Cattrall will be doing Sensitive Skin. They haven't decided who will be in the US Version of BG.

I should hope she wouldn't be Nikki, I don't think Michelle has the range for it. Usually she just pouts through her scenes. At least she did when she was on "Lost". :D

I never thought of her for Denny, but that would be interesting. I was recently rewatching the first three series, again (I've only bought up to series 5, as they were getting expensive to buy), but I thought maybe if they take characters from more than one season she might make a good Maxi, since Maxi spent a lot of time glaring and pouting. :D

I can't think of a single American actress to play either Nikki or Helen and I'm guessing no matter who they choose some of us probably won't be overy happy about it.

They don't necessarily have to cast an American actress. Just someone who can pass as American, accent wise. Rachael Griffiths is from Australia and she played Brenda, an American on SFU. I want them to go with mostly unknowns or lesser knowns. I don't want to see some celebrity in this unless they are completely unrecognizable and sink into the role. Any way I love Bad Girls and Nikki and Helen's storyline so much that I wish that there were never another version of the show. At the same time there's precedent. I loved Tim and Dawn from The Office (UK) and the first couple of seasons of Jim and Pam from The Office (US). Jim and Pam's storyline was great to watch unfold and I can happily love both couples. I hope Bad Girls (US) will have a great couple to cheer on, worry about, be obsessive about :)

Very true about possibly hiring an actress outside the U.S. It's been happening a lot on our television. This past season we had "Bionic Woman", bad show and the lead, who's name's escaping me, did a really bad American accent. :D Plus she never seemed overly comfortable with the role.

We fared vastly better with Lena Headey playing Sarah Connor in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" though. But I knew she had it in her to play a wide range of emotions.

I'm starting to think that the Hollywood casting agents are finding that actresses outside the U.S. actually are better than a lot of the homegrown ones. At least they usually look like human beings, rather than the pencil thin women we are often forced to see.

That's another thing I'm hoping for, for the show, the realism. A wide range of women from all ages, backrounds, heights, weights. If they're all thin and pretty it won't look realistic. I doubt, very much, that women prisoners get themselves all made up pretty.