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The news that the producers of The Real Housewives are creating a spin-off with an all-male cast has shaken us to the core. The traditionally woman-centric franchise, changed to be all about men? Everything we know and believe has been turned on its ear! What's next, Mad Women starring Dawn Draper? Actually, that's not a bad idea. Here are some other shows that should get remade with their characters' genders reversed, either because they're already pretty great and we want more, or because they can't possibly get any worse. You be the judge!
10. Supernatural
Two cute brothers roaming the Midwest fighting demons may not seem like it can be improved upon, but what if they were two tough sisters? Eliza Dushku and Eliza Coupe would bring the fighting and the funny, respectively.
9. Dexter
A serial killer who also investigates crime scenes can be any gender, but having a female killer would only make things that much more interesting when she marries her boyfriend and gets pregnant. Jaime Ray Newman (formerly of Eastwick) might be perfect, since she seems deceptively innocent, but with a wicked streak.
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel
We watched Buffy evolve from a slightly clueless cheerleader-type to a tortured parental figure, so why not do the same with a dumb-as-rocks jock? And of course, it would eventually spin off a series about a brooding lady vampire, helping the innocent on the streets of Los Angeles while engaged in an illicit relationship with a boy 100 years her junior. Steven R. McQueen and Michelle Ryan, these parts have your names written all over them.
7. Mercy
Male nurses are almost as common as female ones nowadays, but there's still somewhat of a stigma attached. A show about three of them at one hospital could split its time between showing them kicking ass at their jobs and showing them kicking the asses of doctors and bar drunks who belittle their chosen careers.
6. The Mentalist
Simon Baker is charming as former fake psychic working for the California Bureau of Investigations (a fake law-enforcement agency). But a fortune-teller who claims to commune with the spirits could probably get even more answers out of suspects just by sneaking a peek in their wallets. Lucy Liu just saw her second series in a row tank, but maybe she can see herself solving crimes?
5. Desperate Housewives
With folks getting laid off left and right, isn't it time stay-at-home dads got the spotlight? Put four or five reasonably desperate househusbands on the same block, and see what sort of hijinks they get up to while their wives are at work.
4. The Big Bang Theory
Four nerd-girl scientists who sit around watching movies, playing video games and lusting after the hottie who lives across the hall? Where do we send our script? Rumer Willis seems to make her living playing nerds -- get her off 90210 and back into the lab, stat.
3. House
Crotchety male doctors are a dime-a-dozen, but Nurse Jackie opened our eyes to the magic of a cranky nurse. Let's give a female M.D. a limp, a painkiller addiction, a God complex and zero interpersonal skills. Felicity Huffman could nail that role, if she wasn't trapped on Wisteria Lane.
2. America's Next Top Model
The co-ed Make me a Supermodel gave us a glimpse of what a male modeling competition would look like, but why not go the whole distance? Put 13 hot guys in a house and see if they fight over who does the dishes -- or anything, for that matter.
1. 24
Jack Bauer is a living weapon, but anything he can do, a woman can do backwards and in high heels. Sure, Jennifer Garner kicked a lot of ass on Alias, but our Lady Bauer would never be caught dead wearing a pink wig. Give us a buff, kick-ass woman who can take out a terrorist cell single-handedly and won't stop sawing off people's heads until her 24 hours are up. Is Michelle Rodriguez still free?
What shows would you like to see change sexes? Bend your gender below.
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Hey, Charmed was the female version of Supernatural, sorta....
Not one of these seems like it would be any more interesting than the original.
And I am opposed to anyone casting Eliza Dushku in anything ever again.
Temmere, I couldn't agree more with your Eliza Dushku statement. I love Joss Whedon, but what the hell made him think she was talented enough to carry a series? Her only skills seem to be wearing skanky clothes and looking confused. And I'm not sure that's acting.
Temmere - None of these would be improvements on the original.
Shanna - ED had the talent deal with FOX and brought Whedon on to EP the show...she essentially got him the job.
They did have the female House ... she was a bit part that showed up for one episode, a doctor in a wheelchair who fought House over parking spots. She was AWESOME.
Sex changed versions of most of these. I could see the fun in them, but they've already been done.
Dexter, on the other hand, sounds REALLY good. Good as in horrifying and disturbing yet good bloody fun.
How about bringing back the Shield, with Vic~toria Mackey (Vic's long lost sister) shaking down drug dealers and ripping off money trains! Kattee Sackoff would be my first pick.
They are already doing this on Fox Reality - Real Househusbands - so it's not a very original idea.
Haha, that's a nice idea. The thing is, if you got good enough characters, both Desperate Housewives (Househusbands) and The Bing Bang Theory could improve from it.
Then again, there are shows that seem to have been born from this (Entourage was sort of a male Sex and the City, and Gossip Girl is focused on Blair and Serena instead or Seth and Ryan in the OC), and it only gets worse.
Female Supernatural could be awesome!
Definitely a yes to the male version of American's Next Top Model, too!
#3 sounds sounds familiar... Oh, yeah, that's because I saw it on ER.
I LOVE the idea of a female version of Supernatural, but I hope they would cast someone better than Dushku. Switch her out for K-Bell or Amy Acker and you've got yourself a viewer! (I also recommend that they keep Castiel as is, because there's just no way to improve upon Misha Collins.)
They already tried making a male version of Buffy in the UK. It was called Demons and it was the Worst. TV Show. Ever.
Subtract the painkiller addiction, and I'd say ER's Kerry Weaver already fit that "House" bill. Of course, the show didn't solely revolve around her character, so...
Side note: I especially love the Big Bang Theory idea. Geeky girls are awesome!
I think Profiler with Ally Walker was the female version of The Mentalist. Nurse Jackie pretty much is the female House. And from the dialogue on Supernatural, you'd never guess the leads were males.
"Desperate Housewives" for men seems to be coming to TNT soon in the form of "Men of a Certain Age" w/Ray Romano.
Felicia Day already earned herself major nerd cred with Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and web series The Guild. Find three more of her and stuff them into an apartment. Nerd-vannah!
Even though I wouldn't necessarily watch these, or they aren't necessarily improvements on the originals, I love this article and think it's a great idea. I also think it really highlights the sexism on tv, which is just totally there even if we don't want to admit it. Take the Mentalist for example - we already have a great fake psychic detective team in Psych, why did CBS have to steal the idea in the first place? And, since it did, why couldn't it have set itself apart even better by making the female be the fake psychic instead of the sidekick as usual? Excellent, thought-provoking piece. I love it.
I would LOVE to see a gender-reversed Big Bang Theory. Male nerds are more acceptable now, but female ones are still an anomaly. I want to see someone like me on TV!
They could remake Simon and Simon with two sisters workign as private investigators. A feamle PI show has not been done, at least none that I know of - just please don't make her sassy, ivy league educated and all the other cliches that seem to run rampant today - and no "she can do it all" characters either, just two simple regular people who are PIs just like Simon and Simon or Jim Rockford
I saw Demons too; while it wasn't great, it did have the awesome and amazing Philip Glenister as a Giles-type character. So it wasn't a total loss.
Buffy already WAS playing with gender assumptions, so I don't see the point. Joss took the cliche of the blonde cheerleader going into the alley and getting slaughtered and flipped it. Flipping it back is stupid.
But gender swap Big Bang Theory?? Oh hell yes, sign me up right now!!!
Bucky, you're a genius. I would SO watch Katie Sackhoff in that role. And Caroline, I couldn't agree with you more!
I would watch a lot of these: a female House would be good IF there were something as complex as the House & Wilson friendship - I can think of no network show that has 2 brilliant women in such a deep but complicated friendship, with one as fascinating/messed up/magically always right as House.
Bravo did an all male model competition a few years back. It was so-so.
Sex-changed Supernatural, BBT, Angel, Dexter, and 24 sound awesome too.
And I would LOVE a female Psych - 2 friends who act like hyperactive kids while brilliantly solving crimes? And pissing off the angry!female cop while trying but failing to charm the handsome but friendly male cop? And with a gradual healing of a troubled but comical mother -daughter relationship? Awesome.
Actually most of the USA series would be cool gender swapped - esp. Burn Notice and White Collar.
You're going to improve a show by adding Eliza Dushku? Right...
Thanks for the reminder, Anne. You make a good point. And now I'm sad that Joss's talent isn't more marketable than Eliza's "talent."
I never saw Alias, but the Fiona character on Burn Notice kicks some (literal) ass. It gets a little over shadowed because she isn't the only one on the show who does. And she doesn't do it for her country.
A female version of Dexter would be fun. Actually I would love that.
As for Eliza Dushku I see her more in a supporting roll. She can't carry a show but she's not horrible.
Love the idea of a female Dexter.
Totally need to see a female Doctor Who.
Uh, a female Supernatural would take away a good chunk of why I enjoy the show so much ... but I agree with the poster who said Misha Collins cannot be imrpoved upon. One. Thousand. Percent.
But instead of Michelle Rodriguez as female Jack Bauer, what about Lena Hedley? Much more age-appropriate.
They already did a male model show - I think it was called Manhunt, and the reason I don't remember is that it was an awful show that no one remembers.
They already did a male model show - I think it was called Manhunt, and the reason I don't remember is that it was an awful show that no one remembers.
Hehehe, is that your subtle way of coming out of your closet, Mr Oat? Maybe you've been wanting to be a woman for a long time? Is that it?
Don't worry though, man or woman, your articles are a complete dungfest these days, and I doubt that is going to change any time soon.
I would like to see the following shows switch genders:
1)"CSI": Let the men wear the inappropriate clothing for work or use their sexuality to crack a case as Catherine did in one episode.
2) I think that any of the "Stargate" television shows could have benefited from switching genders. "Stargate Universe" would especially be interesting with more female scientists and a Senator's son with few useful skills.
3) "Heroes" might be more interesting with the female characters receiving the more exciting powers while the men complain about not being normal. Make most of the main male characters blond.
Yeah. A female Big Bang would be awesome. And hmm, the female Dexter idea would be interesting as well.
In terms of everyday female PIs, Kalinda from "The Good Wife" seems to fit that description, and wouldn't be that hard to spin off into a standalone show.
I can't imagine a female mentalist doing what Simon Baker does so well, but it's all a matter of opinion. However, I was distressed to learn that you think that the CBI is make-believe. States do have Bureaus of Investigation, even if you have never heard of them.
@katie, I think he meant that the CBI on the show is a fictionalized version of the real Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence (BII) in California.
[quote]A feamle PI show has not been done[/quote]
They were cops rather than PIs, but I'd think _Cagney and Lacey_ would otherwise fit this description. Of course, that was a while ago....
Swapped "Big Bang Theory": While "The BBW Theory" is an interesting notion, I doubt that the producers would be willing to go as far as reality. The "female nerds" would be your Standard Actress Mark III with glasses, a perm, and padded clothes.
DC: loved your third option - reversing genders on Heroes. Guess we would have to call it Heroines & Blonde Guys...
I said all last season on 24, if they finally killed off Jack, FBI agent Rene Walker would be the most worthy successor.
Not a whole series but I always thought a gender swap transporter malfunction would make an amusing Star Trek episode. (original or NextGen)
don't some of these already exist anyways? I feel like Men of a Certain Age is the male desperate housewives
Captain Pike, the STAR TREK gender-swap transporter malfunction (leading to major wardrobe/subconscious malfunctions) would indeed be rich. Hoot factor: Jim Kirk materializing in a First Generation Uhura mini-skirt. Hmm factor: female Spock as an instant femme fatale, brainy, ass-kicking, an ambivalent idealist with identity problems and mixed-parents issues, a la Sydnow Bristow on Alias. How about that premise for a movie?
And, the female Dexter chimes with a notion for a female Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge for losing custody of her daughter in a nasty divorce. Instead of a barber, an acupuncturist, perhaps?
I support a genderswapped SPN
A female Doctor Who would be cool - and you wouldn't even have to make a new show! Just cast an actress the next time the DOctor regenerates.
Of course, if you think of designer Dolce & Gabbana buy designer handbags for cheap are true, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the price that comes with everyone!