NBC has decided to use Frank Oz’s 1991 feature What About Bob?, starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfus, as the basis for a new comedy series. Rather than follow men, it will instead be led by a female cast and titled What About Barb?, with a pilot order to test the potential of the series.
The series will be produced in conjunction with ABC Studios with writers Joe Port and Jon Wiseman, who have previously worked on The Odd Couple reboot, 1600 Penn and The IT Crowd. The series will be a single camera comedy – no studio audience – and, much like the film, will tell the story of a psychotherapist attempting to get rid of an overbearing patient who keeps intruding on nearly every aspect of her life.
The original film saw Dreyfuss in the role of therapist Lee Marvin and Murrary as Bob, a loveable but annoying patient to nearly every therapist he’s encountered. As Bob intrudes on Marvin’s annual family holiday, Marvin increasingly grows more frustrated with Bob even as his family accepts him into the fold and don’t see any of Bob’s quirks as negative. If the pilot gets a series order, it will presumably air for the 2017 – 2018 season.
Would you want to see a female-led reboot of the classic movie? Let us know below…
Originally published January 26, 2017. Updated April 10, 2018.
