'Murderville' on Netflix is Another American Adaptation of a British Original

Will Arnett is bringing another British comedy series to American shores in the form of the new Netflix comedy series Murderville.

Six celebrities are joining Arnett across six episodes of Murderville to help him solve a mystery, but the celebrities haven't seen the script. The semi-improvised comedy show is launching on Netflix on Thursday, February 3.

While the unique format for Murderville may be new to American audiences, the series is the latest in a long line of TV shows adapted from British origins. Here's the story of the original series Murder in Successville from the BBC, and the crossover with Netflix's new show Murderville.

The British version of Murderville

In 2015 a British sitcom called Murder in Successville launched on BBC Three. The comedy show featured unscripted celebrity guests stepping in to the show, and they were led around a scenario which required them to solve a murder.

Tom Davis starred as the lead DI Sleet, and was joined by a number of different actors in each episode who would parody a number of big name celebrities, forming the residents of the fictional location Successville.

Some of these appearances included Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones) playing Adele, Jamie Demetriou (The Afterparty) who played Zayn Malik, while Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso) played a magician named Dynamo. Other characters included Barak Obama, Jay Z, Kanye West, Vladimir Putin, Shia LaBeouf, Simon Cowell and Lady Gaga.

The plots usually start with a famous celebrity involved in peculiar crimes. Plotlines included Lindsay Lohan being spray-tanned to death, Daniel Radcliffe dealing new drugs, Ed Sheeran is murdered for being a hacker, and Lady Gaga's topiaries are vandalized.

The celebrity guests invited to help solve the case were largely British and unknown in America, with the likes of Emma Bunton and Kimberly Wyatt (Pussycat Dolls) being exceptions.

Murder in Successville won a BAFTA Award for Best Comedy Entertainment Programme in 2018. It was created by Andy Brereton and Avril Spary with lead actor Davis serving as a writer for the majority of the episodes.

Adapting the show in America

Arnett and his production company Electric Ave. bought the rights to the BBC comedy Murder in Successville, and worked on adapting it to an American audience.

Arnett took the show to Netflix, with Krister Johnson credited as the showrunner. Star of the BBC show Murder in Successville Davis is credited as an executive producer on Murderville alongside Arnette and the original's co-creator Brereton.

Arnett is cast in the lead role of Senior Detective Terry Seattle, similar to Davis' role of DI Sleet. This role is imperative to the show as they improvise with the celebrity and lead them through scenarios and give them the clues so they can figure out who the murderer is.

Speaking out on the adaptation, Davis defended Arnett and the team at Netflix when someone on Twitter accused them of stealing the idea.

Continuing to reassure the UK audience that this new American version has been legally adapted from the British version, the Netflix account for the UK & Ireland gave Davies a shout out too.

Netflix have announced the six celebrities who'll take part in the first season of Murderville with the likes of Conan O'Brien and Sharon Stone joining Arnett to solver crimes.

Murderville launches on Netflix on Thursday, February 3, 2022.