The long-running, on-again-off-again Brit comedy “Absolutely Fabulous” is definitely on again, this time with plans for the big screen, in addition to several upcoming TV specias.
Jennifer Saunders, the creator and co-star of the original BBC series, is planning a movie version of the comedy.
“Ab Fab,” which gained a cult following in the U.S. when it aired on BBC America, follows Patsy (Joanna Lumley) and Edina (Saunders) as they drunkenly stumble their way through their middle-aged lives on the periphery of London’s youth-obsessed fashion scene.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Ab Fab: The Movie” will open with the hungover Patsy and Edina waking up alone on an empty yacht set adrift somewhere on the high seas.
Saunders is currently working on the London-based Spice Girls musical “Viva Forever.” She also rcently provided the voices for characters in the “Shrek” series and “Coraline.” This year, she appeared as Margaret Thatcher (watch out, Meryl Streep) in an episode of the Brit TV comedy “The Comic Strip Presents…” entitled “The Hunt For Tony Blair”
Originally airing from 1992 to 1995, “Ab Fab” has been resurrected several times on the tube, with short series and specials airing in 1996, 2001-2003, and 2004. Three new TV specials, celebrating the show’s 20th anniversary, are set to begin airing in the U.K. this holidays season.