Coupling fails to hook US viewers

The US version has prompted scathing reviews

The US remake of British sitcom Coupling has been removed from its prime-time TV spot after poor reviews.

The risqué comedy about the lives of six 30-somethings had been touted as the new Friends, which is in its final series.

But during its three weeks on air, ratings were average and the critics hated it.

Now the NBC network has moved the show away from its plum 2130 BST slot and replaced it with a Whoopi Goldberg sitcom.

Entertainment experts in the US believe Coupling would have remained in its prime-time spot if network executives thought ratings would improve.

The first episode, aired late last month, drew about 16 million viewers, NBC said.

Last week, Coupling was only the 35th most watched show in America, with 10.4 million viewers.

More than four million people changed channel or turned off when the show came on, according to figures from Nielsen-Media Research.

The show, set in Chicago, has been panned by the critics. Newsweek wrote that Coupling "gives sex, comedy and television a bad name".

Daily Variety said "the cast has no likeable characters, motivation for every act is sexual, and the theme of moronic men versus wily women has been played out".