Steve Coogan's latest creation, Saxondale, the barbed humour of Nighty Night and the surreal world of The Mighty Boosh are among a new wave of British comedy series to be remade for US audiences following the success of an American version of The Office.

The US network NBC has signed a two-year deal with Baby Cow, the British production company founded by Coogan and Henry Normal, to remake its existing formats and develop new ones.

Saxondale, Coogan's BBC2 comedy about a temperamental ex-roadie turned pest controller, is one of the first that will be remade for the US. British formats have traditionally fared badly across the Atlantic but the success of The Office, which started slowly but became a big hit, has prompted US networks to look again.

Like The Office, Saxondale and The Mighty Boosh - the cult hit starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt - will probably be rewritten and recast for NBC. Nighty Night is to be remade for Showtime, a cable channel. Shelley McCrory, NBC's senior vice-president of comedy series, said the long-term partnership with Baby Cow was designed to tap into the "creative sensibility" of Coogan and co.

"We're always looking for distinctive characters and sensibilities ... things that feel different but not alien. I love what they do, they're unique and very prolific," she said.

She added that she was a "huge fan" of Coogan's previous outings as Alan Partridge, Paul Calf and others and hoped he might also star in future projects. Aaron Kaplan, senior vice-president and worldwide head of scripted television and programming at William Morris, the agency that brokered the deal, said US comedy was in "a really interesting place".

Since the demise of Friends and Frasier, comedy has been out of favour with the major networks, which have been looking to replicate the success of high-concept dramas such as Lost, 24 and Desperate Housewives. But Mr Kaplan said the success of The Office and My Name is Earl marked the first shoots of a resurgence. The first original format to be developed as part of the deal will be Ben, a script by British writer Alex Spiro, which will be reworked by Mark and Robb Cullen.

British entertainment formats, including versions of Pop Idol, Strictly Come Dancing and Hell's Kitchen, have recently become huge hits in the US and Simon Cowell, of Pop Idol, is a big star there.

But comedies have fared less well, with US versions of Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army and Porridge all failing to get beyond the pilot stage. Ms McCrory added that the success of The Office, in which the creators, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, were involved in the adaptation, showed the importance of keeping the spirit of the original. "It's been lovingly adapted and nurtured. What's the point of adapting something you love if you're going to completely change it?"

Hits

Steptoe and Son The classic British sitcom about Harold and his "dirty old man" father, Albert, ran as Sanford and Son on NBC from 1972 to 1977.

Till Death Us Do Part Warren Mitchell's bigoted East End OAP, Alf Garnett, became Archie Bunker in All In the Family. It was as controversial and successful as in the UK, running from 1971 to 1979, spawning several spinoffs and becoming the top-rated show in the US.

The Office Redeveloped for an American audience by Greg Daniels, with input from creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Steve Carell took the central role as the cringeworthy boss. After a slow start, it prospered - Carell won a Golden Globe this year.

Misses

Fawlty Towers All three attempts at a US version of its chaotic genius - Chateau Snavely, Amanda's and Payne - bombed.

Coupling NBC had high hopes that a remake of the BBC2 dating comedy could replace Friends. Unusually, it lifted large chunks of dialogue directly from the original, but it wasn't a hit with viewers and was cancelled after only four episodes.

Are You Being Served? It won a cult audience on BBC America, but an attempted remake for the US, Beanes of Boston, never got beyond the pilot stage.