‘Spaced’ Is Coming to America

Despite — or perhaps because of — the controversy surrounding the proposed McG-U.S. adaptation of the British cult TV comedy Spaced (which has since reportedly failed to get picked up), the United Kingdom’s Channel 4 has finally announced a street date for the North American release of the sitcom. Spaced: The Complete Series, a three-disc collector’s DVD set, is heading to this side of the pond in late July, arriving in retail outlets on July 22, with advance orders possible starting June 17.

Spaced lasted for two seasons (1999 and 2001) of seven episodes each on the United Kingdom’s Channel 4. Most often described as surreal, the series was directed by Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead co-writer and director Edgar Wright and stars co-creators Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) and Jessica Hynes (formerly Jessica Stevenson; Shaun of the Dead, Son of Rambow) as Tim Bisley and Daisy Steiner, respectively.

Tim and Daisy become roommates after they meet unexpectedly while apartment hunting and subsequently decide to pretend to be romantically involved in order to satisfy the rental requirements for an affordable unit. The show then depicts various aspects of their lives as they continue to play at being a couple in their twenties by making the mundane exciting through Hollywood-inspired exaggeration.

English comedian and actor Eddie Izzard, star of The Riches, sums up the show pretty accurately with his observation that it’s “annoyingly good.” Here’s what proud new owners of Spaced: The Complete Series will get by way of bonus features for the suggested retail price of $49.98:

• New exclusive commentary with director Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson) and guests Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Bill Hader, Matt Stone, Patton Oswalt, and Diablo Cody
• Exclusive Spaced On Stage reunion Q&A recorded at the National Film Theatre, London in October 2007
• “Skip to the End” – Exclusive feature length documentary
• “Spaced Jam” by Osymyso
• Outtakes
• Trailers
• Deleted scenes
• Raw footage
• Photo gallery
• Homage-O-Meter – An onscreen feature that tracks each pop-culture reference
• Newly updated cast and crew biographies