Few popular British TV shows replicate their success Stateside, but Dear John was an even rarer phenomenon: an American adaptation that was more successful than its English counterpart. Well, relatively speaking, at least: The Judd Hirsch series, which ran from 1988 to 1992 on NBC, is mostly forgotten now, but its sibling only lasted a year on the BBC. (Neither is available on DVD.) The U.S. series centered on Hirsch's John Lacey, whose wife dumped him—via a Dear John letter—for his best friend, and his support group for divorced/widowed/otherwise lonely people. The group was filled with character archetypes—the ladies' man (played well by Jere Burns), a wisecracking senior, the sexpot divorcée, etc.—but it at least gave the show a novel setup, and a surprisingly deep comic well.


http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-borrowers-16plus-american-adaptations-of-briti,2440/

I remember them talking about it being a remake of a UK show before it aired.

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Not all sitcoms are classics and this week we're going to prove it by looking at the somewhat forgotten Dear John.

Running for two series in 1986-87, it was written by John Sullivan (of Only Fools and Horses fame) and starred former Hammer Horror icon Ralph Bates. Over the top characters and pointless plots are all in store.

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It's part 2 of our look at eighties sitcom Dear John, starring Ralph Bates as the hapless divorcee surrounded by wacky characters.

In this episode we take a look at what the actors did before and after their time with Dear John and attend a party at Mrs. Boyd-Peter's house (don't mention her embarrassing problem).

I really like Dear John; I never saw the UK version.

Thought this was commonly known? I remember hearing when the show aired that it was based on a Britcom.

I knew that too