Basil Fawlty is back. A reboot of John Cleese’s British comedy sensation Fawlty Towers is in the works and Rob Reiner’s Castle Rock Entertainment is developing.
More than 40 years after the second and final season drew to a close, Monty Python star Cleese is set to write and star alongside daughter Camilla Cleese, in news that will bring joy to a generation of British comedy fans.
The new series will explore how Cleese’s over-the-top, cynical and misanthropic Basil Fawlty navigates the modern world. Plot details are largely being kept under wraps but the development will bring the story forward to explore Basil’s relationship with a daughter he has just discovered he had, as the pair tempt fate and team up to run a boutique hotel.
The Cleeses have joined with Reiner’s Castle Rock on the development, with Reiner, Michele Reiner, Derrick Rossi and Matthew George exec producing.
John Cleese praised George’s “understanding of the ‘creative process’” and described their first meeting as “one of the best creative sessions I can remember.”
Rob Reiner added: “John Cleese is a comedy legend. Just the idea of working with him makes me laugh,” while George described meeting John and Camilla Cleese as “one of the great thrills of my life.”
Castle Rock is currently working on another sequel to a much-loved British classic, This is Spinal Tap, along with a sequel to 2017’s Wind River: The Next Chapter.
Although it only ran for two six-part seasons, finishing in 1979, Fawlty Towers has ranked number one on numerous best all-time British comedy lists.
Written by Cleese and Connie Booth, the show followed hapless hotel manager Fawlty and a hilarious cast of characters that included legendary Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs), Cleese’s bossy wife Sybil (Prunella Scales) and their chambermaid Polly, played by Booth.
The idea came from Cleese’s stay at a hotel in an English seaside town and the show came to define the ‘middle England’ genre.
Fawlty Towers currently airs on BBC Two and is available to stream on BritBox.
Cleese, whose credits include Monty Python, A Fish Called Wanda and Shrek, has become something of a culture warrior in recent years. He most recently slammed the BBC for failing to show repeats of Monty Python, a claim that was pushed back on. He is making a documentary about cancel culture for Channel 4 and plans to host a show for right-leaning UK network GB News that will champion free speech.
Cleese is represented by CAA and Anonymous Content. Camilla Cleese is repped by Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin.
Max Goldbart
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