I don’t really have a problem with the announced cast of Gracepoint, the American remake of the massively successful UK drama, Broadchurch. They look decidedly more American for the most part, but that’s too be expected. My problem with it, really, is that — besides a title change, and a few minor character name changes — it appears based on the actors selected that the remake will hew very, very closely to the original series. That’s good for new viewers who aren’t privy to the identity of the killer, but for those of us who watched the brilliant British series, what reason do we have to watch the entire 10-episode run unfold again over on Fox?

There’s no mystery here, really, other than how will David Tennant’s American accent sound, which makes this remake not a lot of fun for those who watched Broadchurch. It probably doesn’t offer a compelling reason to others to choose the Fox version of the UK version other than the fact it will be interrupted by commercial breaks. Maybe American viewers simply prefer to have their child-killer dramas interrupted by detergent ads.

Here’s the UK cast contrasted with the announced cast of the American remake, so far.

Ellie Miller: Olivia Colman in the UK, Anna Gunn in the US

Joe Miller: Matthew Gravelle in the UK, Josh Hamilton in the US

Alec Hardy/Emmet Carver: David Tennant in the UK; David Tennant (with an American accent) in the US

Beth Latimer/Lassiter: Jodie Whittaker in the UK, Virginia Kull in the US

Mark Latimer/Lassiter: Andrew Buchan in the UK, Michael Pena in the US

Rev. Paul Coates: Arthur Darvill in the UK; Kevin Rankin in the US

Jack Marshall: David Bradley in the UK, Nick Nolte in the US

Olly Stevens/Owen Burke: Jonathan Bradley in the UK, Kevin Zegers in the US

Susan Wright: Pauline Quirke in the UK, Jacki Weaver in the US

Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.

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