It may not have grossed quite as much as “Bridesmaids,” but “Bad Teacher” was one of the films to ride on the wave of success of recent R-rated comedies despite being little more than mediocre (see also “Horrible Bosses”) and still earn over $200m at the global box office. Those numbers aren’t to be sniffed at, and as well as boosting the careers of many of those involved with the film there have been efforts to exploit the film itself further.
Unfortunately the film doesn’t exactly scream sequel, so rather than paying Cameron Diaz the big bucks to return, the property has been developed for television instead. CBS have picked up a single-camera comedy series adaptation of the film penned by “My Name Is Earl,” “Community” and “Happy Endings” writer Hilary Winston. The series will be produced by the film’s original writer-producers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, who also have orders for the Stephen Merchant vehicle “Hello Ladies” and the Malin Akerman-starring “Trophy Wife” from HBO and ABC respectively.
We think it’s fairly safe to assume that most of the original cast won’t be back for the series, but it may not be the worst idea in the world for them to look into co-star Lucy Punch taking the lead depending on the approach taken by Winston’s script. The big challenge will be how the show manages to show how bad their teacher is on network television, and this being CBS we imagine she’ll be more Charlie Sheen bad than anything on the likes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Still, it’s not the worst idea for a sitcom in the world and we wouldn’t bet against it being a 2013 hit. [Deadline]
