Inside Us and Them, the US Gavin and Stacey reboot that’s so much worse than you can imagine
Gavin and Stacey don’t even end up together?!
Oh, Gav! Did you know there’s literally a US remake of Gavin and Stacey over the pond? Genuine. And it’s not tidy.
Even though we’re midway through January already, the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special will always hold a special place in our hearts. The show has been a cult classic sitcom on our TV screens since all the way back in 2007, and I’m pretty sure we’d give James Corden and Ruth Jones a knighthood if we had the chance.
There’s just something about the show that is so nostalgic, and so quintessentially British, but as always, our friends over in the USA got their hands on the show – and their adaptation isn’t quite what you’d expect.
Us & Them tells another version of Gavin and Stacey’s cross-country romance. The only catch? Instead of being based in Essex and Barry, Gavin lives in New York City and Stacey is from Pennsylvania. Weird, I knows it. Here’s a look at the show and all it’s differences to the original.
Us & Them follows the same storyline as Gavin & Stacey
Other than the locations, the original lore of the UK version of Gavin and Stacey seems to be consistent in Us and Them.
The series, which was adapted for US screens by David J. Rosen, follows the same classic storyline of the couple’s online romance, meeting in person for the first time, and dealing with their overbearing families back at home.
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The beloved main character Gavin is played by actor Jason Ritter, and small town girl Stacey is literally played by Rory from Gilmore Girls, Alexis Bledel. What an unexpected crossover, right? Everything in the remake seems to be similar enough to the UK version, other than the fact they refer to them as Stacey and Gavin, and not the other way round.
However, Smithy is nowhere to be seen in this version. Gavin’s best friend is played by Dustin Ybarra, and he’s called Archie now. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t support West Ham either, or have any rowdy English mates called Deano, Budgie or Dirtbox.
The remake gives serious uncanny valley vibes as even though the tale of the two families is pretty similar, seeing some of the iconic characters played by Americans just doesn’t seem right. Uncle Bryn is even called Uncle Bryan now, and I don’t know how to cope with it.
But Gavin and Stacey don’t end up together?!
Ashlie Atkinson plays Stacey’s best friend Nessa in the remake of the show. Everybody knows that the blossoming romance between Nessa and Smithy (or Archie, in this case) was just as thrilling as the main characters’ in the UK version, so it would make sense that they’ve carried it over into the American revamp.
Just like in the BBC version, Nessa and Archie have an awkward first encounter when they accompany Gavin and Stacey to the Big Apple when they meet for the first time. In true Nessa style, she complains about the price of a New York hot dog, and Archie seems infatuated with her from the get go – we’re on the right track to get this right.
In the scene where Gavin and Stacey are on their first date in a dive bar, Nessa and Archie can be seen backing some shots in a booth at the back, and getting on like a house on fire. There’s so many cheesy pop anthems played during their conversation though – it couldn’t be more American if it tried.
However, the plot description of the very final episode of the remake suggests that Archie and Stacey of all people are the ones to spark a relationship, not Archie and Nessa. Does this mean Gavin and Stacey don’t end up being married with kids? Is it now the Archie and Stacey show? Make it make sense.
The characters also have different jobs
Gavin and Stacey both work as some kind of sales associates in the original UK version of the show, but their American counterparts seem to be a lot more adventurous career-wise. Although the spin-off series still features their six month long distance stint from one side of the country to another, Gavin is a pharmaceutical copywriter, apparently.
Stacey’s new job is just as exciting, working as a printing press employee rather than doing admin in an office.
Nessa has a weird vibe
The US version of Nessa doesn’t quite have the same charm as our original. She may have the same name, but without the Welsh accent and dragon tattoo on her arm, she doesn’t shape up to be any kind of competition to Ruth Jones.
She’s just as blunt and loves an innuendo, has a questionable post-night out experience with Gavin’s best mate, and knows exactly how to deal with Stacey’s dramatic episodes, but she doesn’t tackle a corn on the cob or say “tidy” at any point. She’s just not the same.
What about the fishing trip?
We’re asking the all important questions here. There’s no sign of a US version of Jason in the remake, which most likely means there’s not a mysterious fishing related backstory to Uncle Bryan’s character either. If you’re going to make your own version of a cult classic show like Gavin and Stacey, surely you include one of the most important plot points ever, right? Wrong.
Are Pam and Mick still involved?
Oh my christ! What happened to Pamela?
The Us & Them spinoff definitely doesn’t give the same dynamic between Pam and Mick, but they still feature in the show and stick their nose in Gavin & Stacey’s business.
Is it popular in the USA?
Us & Them only consists of seven episodes, and was first aired in 2018.
The series has an overall rating of 5.1 stars on iMDB. Compared to the UK version’s score of 8.2, it’s safe to say that watching Vanessa Shanessa Jenkins talk without a Welsh accent just isn’t the same as the original. America obviously haven’t gotten the memo about remakes after their attempts at claiming The Inbetweeners and The Office as their own.
The producers have put a lot of effort into making a cult classic UK sitcom so incredibly American. All of us are still reeling from the boat scene in the final ever episode that nothing could ever top the original series – especially not a remake where Smithy isn’t even called Smithy.
Maybe it’s a good thing that the US version ended after only seven episodes.
Featured image via BBC and Prime Video