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Exclusive: It was the place where American viewers were always glad they came — and now the Cheers bar is hoping to open its doors to Brits.

Deadline can reveal that Big Talk Studios, the producer behind Stephen Merchant’s BBC/Amazon series The Outlaws, is pitching a UK version of NBC’s iconic comedy. Thirty years after Cheers’ last orders, Big Talk has enlisted Simon Nye, the British writer known for Men Behaving Badly and The Durrells, to adapt the series for a UK audience. Nye will be showrunner if Cheers is greenlit.

Cheers ran for 11 seasons and 275 episodes on NBC, depicting life in a titular Boston bar run by Sam Malone (Ted Danson). Regulars included Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) and Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley), and the show is consistently ranked among the best comedies ever made.

Big Talk is in the early stages of pitching Cheers to British broadcasters...

British TV remakes of American shows are less common due to the gap in humor styles, but successful iterations can draw attention internationally. Original ideas highlighting new performers and writers tend to be better received than carbon copies of successful series. British TV shows like "The Office" and "Shameless" evolved into their own entities in the U.S., maintaining the essence of the original while adding a unique touch.

British TV shows that are remakes of American ones are fewer and farther between as the difference between British and American humor can be a significant gap to bridge. When an American TV series becomes so big internationally that it's impossible to deny its appeal, this draws attention. A TV show's popularity signals that a remake might take off. Remakes can be tricky, as creating a carbon copy of a successful series doesn't always work. Viewers tend to respond better to...