4 Weddings and a Funeral is now a mini-series
A MINI-SERIES based on Mike Newell’s popular 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral is set to air on Blue Ant Entertainment starting Dec. 17 at 10:35 p.m.
The show, created by Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton, initially aired in July on Hulu and follows the story of four American friends who reunite for a London wedding and whose lives are thrown into disarray after a bombshell drops at the altar.
“Relationships are forged and broken, political scandals exposed, London social life lampooned, love affairs ignited and doused, and of course, there are four weddings... and a funeral,” the series’ description read.
The show stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, and John Reynolds.
Ms. Kaling, whose resumé includes playing Kelly Kapoor in the NBC sitcom The Office, and who has written, produced and starred in The Mindy Project, told reporters at a summer junket that she felt doing a mini-series based on the beloved British film was “terrifying.”
“What would make it worth it would be to probably show a love story through the lens that I would like to see a love story, which is an African-American woman and a British-Pakistani man falling in love. I would love to see that. And luckily, these guys agreed that that would be great, and then to fill out the cast with people that we don’t normally get to see in these kinds of roles. And from then, it just got really exciting,” Ms. Kaling said during a panel at the Television Critics Association press tour in July.
The 1994 film written by Richard Curtis (who is also producing the mini-series) is considered one of the best British films of the 20th century according to the British Film Institute. It starred Hugh Grant in the lead, a role many have credited to have shot him into stardom.
And because of the original film’s iconic status, Ms. Kaling noted that making a series about the film without Mr. Curtis’ blessing would be “foolish” so she sought his approval.
“I met [Mr. Curtis] for lunch in New York, and then he came to the first table read, and he watches cuts. So, having him to be part of it was really important to all of us, because obviously, he’s the originator of the source material, and we admire him so much,” she said.
Unlike the film which focused on the romance between Mr. Grant and Andie MacDowell’s characters, Ms. Kaling said that for her, the real story of Four Weddings is about friendship.
“Friendships, friendships that look like the friendships I have with my friends that are filled with people who look like that I don’t get to see. But the essence of the friendships that he had in his incredible cast in his film, we wanted to share that with these guys. And there’s so many other actors who are not here, who are in London and all over the world, who filled out the cast,” she said.
Four Weddings and a Funeral airs Tuesdays starting Dec. 17 at 10:35 p.m. on Blue Ant Entertainment. Blue Ant Entertainment is available on SkyCable channel 53 (SD) and 196 (HD), Cignal Philippines channel 120, and via other cable providers. —