| Bgcolour: |
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| Num Episodes: | 3 |
| Network: | BBC One |
| Episode List: | List of Absolutely Fabulous episodes |
Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary (also known as Ab Fab at 20) is a set of three special episodes of the British television sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. It was broadcast on BBC One between 25 December 2011 and 23 July 2012 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the series, which debuted in 1992.
See main article: List of Absolutely Fabulous episodes.
Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary was broadcast in the United States simultaneously on BBC America and Logo, and in Australia on ABC1.
| Title | Broadcast date | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logo | BBC America | ABC1 | |||
| 1 | Identity | 8 January 2012[1] | 8 February 2012[2] | ||
| 2 | Job | 6 February 2012 | 12 February 2012 | 15 February 2012 | |
| 3 | Olympics | 25 July 2012[3] [4] | |||
Michael Hogan of The Daily Telegraph gave the specials a negative review; following the "Olympics" episode, he commented, "The special Olympic edition of Absolutely Fabulous [...] would have won no medals for comedy." He added, "This was the last of three 20th anniversary specials, the first pair of which were shown over Christmas. Every single one of those 20 years showed on-screen during this torturous half-hour."[5]
In a more favourable review, Meredith Blake of The A.V. Club stated, "While longtime AbFab fans will enjoy this latest incarnation of the series, which has been reprised multiple times since its official end in 1995, 'Identity' most definitely isn't for AbFab neophytes, who will most likely be confused by the broad performances, the outré costumes, and the disembodied canned laughter."[6]
In 2012, Jennifer Saunders received the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance[7] for her portrayal as Edina Monsoon following the first two specials.
The 20th Anniversary specials have been released on DVD, first in the United Kingdom on 30 July 2012,[8] and then in Australia on 16 August 2012,[9] and in the United States on 11 September 2012.[10]
Additionally, the specials are available as part of complete collection sets including "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It!", released 5 November 2013 in the United States,[11] and "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything − The Definitive Edition", released in both the United Kingdom, on 17 March 2014,[12] and in Australia on 30 April 2014.[13]