HBO lockdown Bad Girls for a remake

This news is slightly old, but for those who aren't aware of it, Alan Ball is producing an HBO remake of UK women's prison drama Bad Girls, with help from Eileen Gallagher, who co-created the original series which ran for 8 seasons from 1999-2006.

However, Ball isn't running the show; he has handed the reigns to Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl, Six Feet Under) who will be showrunner. Apparently she is a big fan of the original series and doesn't want to stray from the original stories, at least while they are good - the series lost the plot a little during the last couple of seasons.

I have no doubt Alan Ball, Nancy Oliver and Eileen Gallagher will create something really special, but I'm worried about casting. Obviously the feel will be quite different as the element of 'bogan' will be lost with the remake - an aspect that can really only exist in the UK and Australia. Most of you probably won't know what the fuck I am talking about - but hopefully a couple do. The characters I am worried about the most are Shell Dockley and Yvonne Atkins, hypothetically, the rest could be casted fairly easily.

I was originally worried the series would be too campy, and not as serious as it should be. But the dynamic was held greatly by the original series, for the majority of the show. Now that I know Alan Ball can handle camp (True Blood) and Nancy Oliver is a big fan of the show, I have been put at ease. Now I really don't mind what they do with the series as long as the casting is good - a serious character-study, a campy over-the-top soap-opera, or a mixture of both like the original, as long as it's good!

What do you think the transition will affect? Have any favourites to play a character in the remake? Let it rip down below!

Hopefully it will be hitting the screens next year. However, HBO are developing A LOT of shows at the moment, and eight will be picked up, so we just have hope and pray to the made-up man upstairs Bad Girls will be one of them. If you haven't seen the original series check it out with an open mind - it is fucking badass, to say the very least - but seriously, it is really good. Also, there is a REALLY good interview with Eileen Gallagher on her thoughts of the remake below!

http://www.afterellen.com/people/2008/6/eileengallagher