May 11, 2011
Fox pulls version of Israeli sitcom
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Fox pulled the sitcom “Traffic Light,” a version of the Israeli show “Ramzor,” due to poor ratings.
The show’s 13th and last episode will be aired May 17. Fox bought the rights to the show, about three longtime friends and their romantic relationships, last year.
Producers in Russia, France and Italy also bought the rights to the show.
Adir Miller, the Israeli producer of Ramzor, said he was unhappy about the changes made to the American version of the show. With the failure of the American “Traffic Light,” Miller said he will not allow deviation from the original format in the future, Globes reported Wednesday.
The American version was written by Bob Fischer, who wrote the Fox TV series “Married with Children” and the film “Wedding Crashers.”
The Hebrew version of the show airs in several other countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Georgia.
“Ramzor,” which airs on Israel Channel 2 and is owned by its franchisee Keshet, will begin airing its third season at the end of the month. Its second season was among the top 10 most watched shows of 2009, with 23.7 percent of Israelis watching. It won an international Emmy Award for best comedy last November.
“Fox’s decision is not surprising, in view of the fact that the format of the serial ‘Ramzor’ was purchased but, in practice, the version of the show known to Israeli audiences was not broadcast, but was written as a completely new serial,” Keshet said in a statement to Globes. “Fox has again approached Keshet to ask Adir Miller to write a new serial personally in the spirit of the original ‘Ramzor.’ “
