‘We’ve brought it into 2019’
How classic 1990s romcom Four Weddings... is getting a modern makeover
COMEDY DRAMA Four Weddings and a Funeral
Available: Thursday 12 December
Season: 1 Episodes: 10
Running time: 43-55 mins
Abumbling Hugh Grant melted our hearts back in 1994, when he endearingly pursued glamorous American Andie Macdowell in one of the most iconic romcoms of all time.
This week, Four Weddings and a Funeral is back, but as a 10-part TV series for STARZPLAY, with a new cast of hopeless romantics who must navigate their way through the titular life events.
The drama, created by US comedian and actor Mindy Kaling, follows New York-based political communications director Maya, played by Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel, who reunites with her old college pals for a special occasion in London.
After Maya meets the charming Kash (Indian Summers’ Nikesh Patel) at the airport, she later discovers he’s dating her best friend, Ainsley (Blood & Oil’s Rebecca Rittenhouse).
Meanwhile, harried teacher Duffy (Stranger Things’ John Reynolds) has had a crush on Maya for a decade and plans to tell her while she’s in London.
PERFECT ROMCOM
‘At first, I thought, “Why would I ever do it?”’ says Mindy, 40, of being approached about adapting the original film for TV. ‘I love the movie. I think it’s one of the first perfect romantic comedies.
‘I tried to do it in a way where there wouldn’t be comparisons to the original,’ adds Mindy, who wrote, produced and starred in hit comedy The Mindy Project.
The film made a star out of Hugh Grant – and the series includes a guest appearance by Andie Macdowell – but Mindy wasn’t looking to make an updated equivalent. Instead, she wanted a diverse cast to reflect the multicultural make-up of London.
‘We thought, “What are the new icons? What would we love to see?” And we wanted the lead characters to be an African-american woman and a British-pakistani man,’ she says. ‘That felt worthwhile.’
Star Nathalie, 30, agrees: ‘If people are expecting a copy of the original, they’re not going to get it.
It can be intimidating doing something new when the film has such a legacy.
‘We had that on Game of Thrones, with the books and the TV show, but you can appreciate and love them both. That applies here. We just brought it into 2019.’