US cable channel IFC has picked up the rights to Channel 4 comedy, The IT Crowd.

The channel have bought the rights for the first two series which have already aired here, and also the third series which is due to hit our screens this autumn.

Originally NBC had intended to remake the show for American audiences and in 2006 green lighted the production of a pilot. However plans to produce an entire series were put on hold.

Lisa Honig, Fremantle’s vice president of programme distribution in North America, said: “We are finding there is an increasing appetite for British comedy shows in the US as cable channels acknowledge the growing appeal with young American audiences.”