As I type this, the first series of TUS (Tracey Ullman’s Show) has concluded in the UK. It has just gone on sale on DVD in the UK, but there is no word on when HBO will be airing it. So when will I be offering my comments on it? I’m waiting until I receive my DVD. Yes, I know the series can be seen via various means, but I prefer to wait until I have a legitimate copy in hand before I officially review and comment.

The first episode of Tracey Ullman’s Show (a.k.a. TUS) has aired in the UK, and while we wait for it to officially air on HBO here in North America, we content ourselves with reading the reviews. The BBC News site has a good summary of the reviews: mostly favorable ones from the Times, the Independent and the Telegraph, but less favorable from the Guardian and the Chortle comedy website. The Guardian’s review said it was “unashamedly same-old”; to that, I say “Great!” I’ve seen the sketch featuring Tracey as Dame Judi Dench, and — it’s great, and she’s great. It’s on a par with her best work from State of the Union. Will the subsequent five episodes have work that is just as good? We shall see.

Now the question is, when will we in North America get to see?

Time to make another blog post, and not just to wish Tracey a happy birthday, either. She’s got a new series starting up on January 10 or 11 called Tracey Ullman’s Show. But this one will be different in that it’s airing first on the BBC (HBO will be airing it later) and will feature British subjects and themes. But from the information and the previews I’ve seen, it’s going to look very familiar. Now which show will this new series be most like? Undoubtedly there will be elements that are reminiscent of the original Tracey Ullman Show (the Fox series from the ’80s), while other elements will remind us of Tracey Takes On… (the HBO series from the ’90s). And since we know she’ll be portraying real people such as Dame Judi Dench and Angela Merkel, we also know it will be somewhat like State of the Union (the Showtime series from the ’00s).

Well, there was good news this week: Tracey is returning to television in a new series with an old title (but I’m sure it’s not a revival). According to several media reports, including this one from the Guardian, she will be creating and starring in a 6-part series on BBC One in the UK, and it will be called The Tracey Ullman Show. But I’m sure it’s not going to be a revival of the beloved 1980’s show on Fox. According to the story in the Guardian, it will see her portray a number of “diverse and distinct characters living in, or visiting, the busy global hub that is the UK.” Hm, sounds like Tracey Takes On … Britain to me. That’s something I’d be very interested in seeing! As to when it will appear on this side of the Atlantic, who knows? It’s not even clear when it will air over there.

It looks like I may have to invent new acronyms or modify some old ones for this series. I’ve referred to The Tracey Ullman Show (the old one) as TTUS for many, many years. For this new series, I will probably refer to it as TTUS-UK, since that’s where it will originate. Will I start calling the old TTUS TTUS-US? That, I don’t know. I’ve got some time to figure that out.

Anyway, it’s great to know that she’ll be back on TV screens soon, doing what she does best.