Welsh comedian’s hit BBC sitcom to get US remake
Nation.Cymru staff
Mammoth, the hit Welsh comedy about a PE teacher from the ’70s who gets a second chance at life, is to be remade in the US.
Fox network has given the go ahead to a full series of the show which follows Tony Mammoth, played by Welsh comedian Mike Bubbins, whose life is put on ice in 1983 when he is buried in a freak avalanche only to be thawed out 40 years later in a world which has completely changed.
The US series is to be written by Modern Family co-creators Christopher Lloyd and Danny Zuker, with Bubbins in an executive producer role along with the new writers Mark Linsey and Angie Stephenson of BBC Studios Los Angeles.
Lloyd said: “Tony Mammoth genuinely believes he mastered manhood the first time around, making his new reality the ultimate wakeup call and greatest challenge in an otherwise flawless life. He’s charming, wildly self-assured, hopelessly out of step and, despite his many blind spots, impossible not to root for.”
Zuker added: “Tony gets the second chance so many people wish for, only to find that his bravado doesn’t quite match his new reality. We love his shameless confidence, his fascination with a world he barely recognises, and the big heart underneath it all. He’s a lot. We can’t wait to bring him to Fox.”
The original series started as a BBC Wales pilot in 2021. Just seven further episodes have been made, airing over two series on BBC Two in 2024 and 2025. A third series of five episodes was filmed in and around Cardiff this summer.
The US version, expected in the 2027-28 season, is the first live action comedy Fox has commissioned in more than two years.
It comes after the third series of the UK version of Mammoth is in the can following filming in and around Cardiff this summer.
The new five-part series sees Tony Mammoth continuing to try to acclimatise to the modern world, but due to his thin skin and inability to keep his thoughts to himself, he often puts his big retro shoes in it, on all fronts.
Returning for series three are Sian Gibson (Car Share, The Power of Parker) as his daughter Mel, Joel Davison, as Mel’s son Theo, and Joseph Marcell (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) as Mammoth’s long-suffering best friend Roger.
Mike Bubbins says: “I can’t wait for people to see the next adventures in the life of Tony Mammoth. He’s back funnier, bolder, and dafter than ever. When I first came up with the idea, I didn’t dream that in a few years it would be back for a third series.
“It’s once again been a lot of hard work for me, Paul Doolan and Luke Mason, although when the three of us spend our days in a room together laughing, I’m reminded that it’s not exactly the same sort of hard work that my grandad did toiling away as coal miner for 50 years. Although, in fairness, we have both never won a BAFTA. So make sure you watch the new series, and don’t forget…Mammoth is the word!”
Luke Mason, producer and co-writer, says: “It’s a pleasure working on another series of Mammoth and this series promises to be the boldest and silliest one yet.”
Nick Andrews, Head of Commissioning, BBC Wales, says: “We knew Mammoth was a winner when we commissioned the pilot episode several years ago. It’s been terrific to watch the character develop over time – even though the line where Mike Bubbins stops and Tony Mammoth starts has become ever harder to distinguish! Comedy in Wales is in rude health and this series exemplifies the distinctive worlds being brought to life by the sector here – it’s hilarious.”
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