BBC and PBS team to remake TV classics

BBC Worldwide and PBS are joining forces to remake classic British drama series Upstairs Downstairs and Sherlock, a contemporary version of classic detective property Sherlock Holmes.

Upstairs Downstairs followed servants and their employers in a London household and aired on commercial channel ITV in the 1970s. The remake will air next year.

Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK public broadcaster the BBC, and PBS will also work together on Sherlock. The producers already have Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement) and Martin Freeman (The Office) on board as Holmes and his sidekick Watson respectively.

The show will air on PBS, be distributed by Worldwide and is being made by veteran producer Beryl Vertue’s indie Hartswood Films.

The two series and a third, a three-part drama based on the Aurelio Zen detective novels and starring Rufus Sewell, will form part of PBS’ Masterpiece strand, harking back to the Masterpiece Theatre, an anthology series that started on PBS stations in the 1970 and presented the best of UK fiction.