Us & Them: Truth be told, US version of Gavin & Stacey is tidy

The cast of the latest UK inspired American sitcom, 'Us & Them'

The trailer for Us & Them, the surprise American remake of BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey, has emerged.

Purists might expect the sort of bad remake given to US versions of Skins, Absolutely Fabulous or The Inbetweeners rather than the more successful The Office.

It has clearly been put through the warm glow that most US sitcoms inhabit and it remains to be seen how well nuances will be translated. But first impressions are that it looks OK, with some genuinely funny moments. These mainly seem to come from the same jokes (about such subjects as Tic Tacs and rape alarms) as in the first episode of original. Even the names are the same, except for Bryn who has become Michael. This, in turn, may be because the people who created the original – Ruth Jones and James Corden – are the executive producers.

But many will still ask, why bother? The answer may be that while the 20 episodes of the British version could stretch over three series, that might not be enough for one season across the Atlantic.