My Big Fat Greek Wedding is to be transformed for the small screen, building on its success as the surprise movie hit of 2002.

The movie's creator and star Nia Vardalos said the TV version will give viewers a more contemporary feel than the "old world" touch of the film.

Going under the title My Big Fat Greek Life, it will pick up from the where the film left off when it debuts on US network CBS in February.

The film received the People's Choice Award for best comedy film and it is nominated for a Golden Globe.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding started life as Vardalos' one-woman stand-up performance, based on her own life as a Greek marrying a non-Greek.

Nia Vardalos created My Big Fat Greek Wedding

It was turned into a movie after Tom Hanks' wife, Rita Wilson, saw the show and decided to produce it.

Vardalos said the TV series would focus more on her character's love life.

"You can't just carbon-copy something. We have to be creatively interested in what we're doing," she said.

There will also be a name change for the central character from Toula to Nia.

Most of the actors from the film have signed up for the TV show, including Laini Kazan and Michael Constantine as Nia's parents.

But actor John Corbett, who played the love interest and eventual husband of Toula, is committed to another project and will be replaced by actor Steven Eckholdt.

Vardalos is sure there is no danger of running out of material to sustain a TV show.

"I have one conversation with my dad on the phone and I get an idea for a sequel," she joked.