New run of earlier Judi Dench comedy goes to contract

Originally published in Current, May 1, 2000

Picking up on the burgeoning interest in British stage and movie star Judi Dench, public TV stations are buying a new run of her 1980-83 sitcom, A Fine Romance. The U.S. distributor, Continental Program Marketing, announced last week that the rights purchase is going to contract. Dench, whose movie career has taken off in her 60s, is now appearing on many U.S. stations in her current BBC/Taffner comedy As Time Goes By, which is in its eighth season on the Beeb.

Both series are romantic comedies--the 1980s series co-starring Dench's real-life husband Michael Williams. They're "middle-aged misfits falling in love," according to CPM--she "a brainy translator," he "a shy landscape gardener."

Buying stations include KOCE in the Los Angeles area, WHYY in Philadelphia, KERA in Dallas, KRMA in Denver, KCTS in Seattle and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Stations will pay $2,600 to $14,950 for the season, the amount depending on station size. The series has not been aired on U.S. public TV since 1988.

 

	.	To Current's home page
	.	Earlier story: Fans converge on Internet to analyze and admire Judi Dench's later series As Time Goes By.

Web page posted May 8, 2000
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