As television continues to take old movies under its wing and clumsily mold them into sitcoms, it’s only natural that one of those movies would be Hitch, a film about the consequences of overconfidently applying the same methods to every situation. And as is par for the course with these movie-to-TV remakes—and thematically appropriate for a comedy about the importance of just being yourself—the Hitch TV show won’t be anything like the movie. Instead of concerning a “date doctor,” played by a smooth-talking Will Smith, and his attempts to school an awkward Kevin James type in the art of wooing women, Fox’s Hitch series is described as “a single-camera workplace comedy that explores sexual politics and the dating scene.” Much as a Will Smith gets a Kevin James to keep his dance moves confined to a modest shuffle, so Fox’s Hitch will reduce the film’s concept to a generic sitcom package. This where it lives. This is home.
Hitch joins a recent, rapidly growing list of TV shows based on movies so long, it’ll soon be easier to name those that haven’t been adapted yet. Dr. Giggles isn’t a TV show yet. So that’s one.