Pack your bags, friends, because we’re traveling to the seaside town of Torquay on the English Riviera for a Fawlty Towers reboot! The British television sitcom is returning with John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, and he’s bringing friends and family along for the ride. In addition to reprising his iconic role as the cynical proprietor of the hotel Fawlty Towers, Cleese is writing and starring in the series alongside his daughter Camilla Cleese.
The Fawlty Towers reboot hails from Rob Reiner’s Castle Rock Entertainment and focuses on Basil Fawlty as he navigates the modern world. Further plot details remain a mystery. However, we know the show explores Basil’s relationship with his estranged daughter as the pair attempt to buck fate and run a boutique hotel as a team. Reiner, Michele Reiner, Derrick Rossi, and Matthew George executive produce.
Cleese spoke about George’s “understanding of the ‘creative process'” and said their first meeting was “one of the best creative sessions I can remember.”
“John Cleese is a comedy legend. Just the idea of working with him makes me laugh,” Reiner commented. Meanwhile, George described meeting John and Camilla Cleese as “one of the great thrills of my life.”
Fawlty Towers aired on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Despite running for two six-episode seasons, the show ranks at the top of Britain’s 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. The original series starred Cleese as the misanthropic Basil Fawlty. His incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are always close in his posh hotel. Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, and Ballard Berkley starred alongside Cleese in the classic sitcom, which the actor has been teasing since before the Covid era.
At 83 years old, Cleese is no spring chicken. However, Cleese has a pep in his step, a mind for comedy, and a daughter to carry the torch into another generation. As the project comes together, we’ll provide more details about Cleese’s Fawlty Towers reboot. In the meantime, tell us about disastrous hotel stays you’ve experienced in the comments below. There’s no story too embarrassing. Go for it!