What american shows do well in other countries?

[raydeen]

I know we've got some international posters here, so I'm curious to know what U.S. TV shows become hits overseas. We mostly get BBC programming with a smattering of other countries shows (Age of Warriors being a fair hit on one of the PBS stations near me). Foriegn hits for me would be Age of Warriors, Father Ted, Coupling, Doctor Who, etc. What worked over yonder where you live?

[Signe]

Friends and ER were popular in England ages ago.  From what I understand, Lost, 24,  Desperate Housewives, and Arrested Development are big right now.   I have no idea what the rankings are but they also get things like CSI, The Simpsons, American Idol, The OC, The Shield, Two and a Half Men... lotsa stuff.  I'm sure Eastender's still beats them all, though. 

[Furiously]

Sometimes I'd turn on the TV when I was in Italy and the A-team would be on.

[cevik]

Sometimes I'd turn on the TV when I was in Italy and the A-team would be on.

The A-Team is international, the A-Team will not be confined by your pesky concepts of "borders".  The A-Team pwns ALL!

[Ironwood]

This is, alas, all too true.

[Raging Turtle]

In Korea, American reality tv shows were pretty popular on the channels that sometimes showed English language shows (with korean subtitles).  CSI of some kind was also on almost nightly, sometimes two or three episodoes in a row.   Others I remember:  Friends like once a week, Lost a few months after it came out in the States, The OC, Gilmore Girls, Law and Order every now and then, some fashion shows, and a bunch of others I don't remember at the moment.  More than I expected, certainly. 

Edit:  Oh crap, how could I forget.  American Pro Wreslting is HUGE is Korea among young kids.  There were like 2 channels dedicated to that and 'ultimate figthing' (which is mostly rigged as well, for those of you who don't know).  My boy students who couldn't form complete sentences all knew who 'Stonuh Cold Stevuh Austin!' was and kept asking if I knew him personally.  Between pro wreslting and the reality tv shows most of the Korean people had a somewhat twisted view of American culture and/or thought we were pretty damn insane. 

[HaemishM]

Between pro wreslting and the reality tv shows most of the Korean people had a somewhat twisted view of American culture and/or thought we were pretty damn insane. 

That's ok, from playing Korean MMOG's like Lineage 2, I think all Koreans are batshit insane as well.

[Mr_PeaCH]

You can't have a discussion about american shows doing well in other countries without bringing Baywatch into it.  Just sayin'.

[schild]

Korean TV is terribly depressing. And I don't mean in a grey world sort of way. All their dramas and comedies involve some sort of terrible tragedy. As if they're living in the shadow of Shakespeare but didn't quite "get it."

[Signe]

It's the same with Star Trek... especially TNG.  I can't count how many languages I've watched that show in. 

[Samwise]

Has Family Guy made it to other countries?  Do the jokes translate at all?

[Signe]

I don't know if they have Family Guy in the UK yet, but no worries... everyone "gets" American humour!

[Bunk]

In Western Canada the answer is pretty much everything except for three things:
 - Presidential State of the Unions (which we don't give a rat's ass about, and always preempt something good)
 - Baseball
 - and the entire slew of Black comedies on UPN or the WB. Its not our fault there are no black people in Western Canada. Hell, if you guys produced some East Indian sitcoms the ratings would go through the roof up here.

I always find that funny. East Indians are about the least visible minority on American tv, while I would say I know more East Indians personally than any other minority out there.

Sorry for the odd tangent.

[Murgos]

Knight Rider and Baywatch.

BTW, I think this fact mostly explains our foreign policy.

[Righ]

You mean foreign relations. The foreign policy is tempered by the crap we watch here.

[Murgos]

You mean foreign relations. The foreign policy is tempered by the crap we watch here.

No, I said what I meant.  How can you be surprised that we don't give a lot of respect to people who idolize the Hasslehoff?

[Righ]

I suspect that German intellectuals find Hasselhoff idolatry to be as bizzare as we do our nation's fascination with such faux celebrities as Paris Hilton or Kato Katlin.

[Azazel]

I don't watch much free-to-air TV anymore, but it's full of American programs. Add in cable and I'd say we get almost all of it at some point or another. Most of the popular shows over there are big here, to some extent.

[Merusk]

At some point in time Xena: Warrior Princess overtook Baywatch as the #1 international show.  I don't recall when or even know how long that lasted, but there it is.

[Samwise]

Xena was an awesome show on every possible level.   

[Rodent]

Oh snap, that's alot of shows to list.

Most popular american shows in Sweden right now would probably be Lost, Prison Break, Simpsons, Family Guy, Scrubs, Invasion, 24 and Commander in Chief. I'm sure I am forgetting some drama like Gray's Anatomy and E.R but noone I know watches them.

My personal favorite is the late night airings of Miami Vice, because let's face it, the 80's were just so much cooler in so many ways.

[penfold]

I don't know if they have Family Guy in the UK yet, but no worries... everyone "gets" American humour!

Been and gone, although they are showing re-runs after American Dad atthe  weekend.

Between terrestrial and digital (as sky tv = fox) we get more or less all the big US drama's, sci-fi shows, and more popular cartoons. What we don't get, on the main channels, are soaps, game shows, cooking, talk shows (except oprah/ricki lake on daytime tv), that type of thing.

[Signe]

I'm not sure Ricki Lake even has a show in the US anymore.  The only place I've ever seen her show was in the UK.  We always subscribed to Sky so we did get a lot of the US shows, although sometimes not in a timely fashion or even in order (which was sort of annoying).  BBC America doesn't do a great job of giving us much that is new or that I care to watch.  I miss A Question of Sport, Nevermind the Buzzcocks and Have I Got News for You.  At least BBC America gives me a healthy dose of Robson Green.  He's just sex personified.

[Ironwood]

 

[Toast]

I've heard that "Walker: Texas Ranger" is popular syndicated overseas. I think a friend in Jamaica told me that, but I may have picked up the factoid somewhere else.

[dEOS]

I know we've got some international posters here, so I'm curious to know what U.S. TV shows become hits overseas. We mostly get BBC programming with a smattering of other countries shows (Age of Warriors being a fair hit on one of the PBS stations near me). Foriegn hits for me would be Age of Warriors, Father Ted, Coupling, Doctor Who, etc. What worked over yonder where you live?

In France, we have our own TV reality shows: Temptation Island, Survivor and all that stuff adapted to our tastes. Temptation island for instance has babes that are selected according to french common "tastes":
http://lachaine.tf1.fr/iledelatentation/celibataires/

TV series:
on TF1:
- CSI (Las Vegas, Manhattan and Miami)
- Las Vegas
- Mac Gyver
- Monk
- All new-yord based police series :)
- Walker Texas Ranger (!!)
...
http://lachaine.tf1.fr/lachaine/programmes/series/0,,,00.html?trk=1&e=2
See if you can match names with American programs :)

France2:
- Friends
- Days of our lives
- Jag
...
http://programmes.france2.fr/seriesetfictions/

M6:
M6 has all the SF series for some reason
- John Doe
- Charmed
- X-Files
- Dead Zone
- 4400
http://www.m6.fr/cms/display.jsp?id=c_5021

Cable TV channels have lots of the latest programs: Desperate Housewives, The Shield, L World, Six feet under and other HBO-class programs.

French public TV channels have more self-founded TV programs than commercial channels. French TV programs are not really that exportable since they contain lots of "french" notions that are not really exportable. You could suppose that having series based on the Police in Paris would be exotic but oddly they never get to the US (or the UK).

One program of note is Un, Dos, Tres - a spanish program about a dancing school featuring the sister of penelope cruz. I guess there are lots of TV series that never get any exposure outside of the country where they were created.

One more barrier to that is that EVERY program/series/movies that is broadcasted on public channels is dubbed in French which probably represents too big of an additional cost (over the series broadcasting rights) to allow for not-so-successful programs to be broadcasted here.

[HaemishM]

- Presidential State of the Unions (which we don't give a rat's ass about, and always preempt something good)

That's something the US has in comon with Canada then.

[Signe]

Go on, I don't care.  Robson Green IS sexy.  Well, not in Casualty... I hated that show so I never really saw him in it, thank God.  But he's sexy now, in spite of that accent.  Actually, I'd probably prefer if he kept his mouth shut and just posed.

Oh, and shut up with your shocked staring!

Dammit.

[Strazos]

In France, we have our own TV reality shows: Temptation Island, Survivor and all that stuff adapted to our tastes. Temptation island for instance has babes that are selected according to french common "tastes":
http://lachaine.tf1.fr/iledelatentation/celibataires/

Um, I looked at those girls.

Tell us, how are "French" tastes different from "other" tastes?

Hell, I'd expect there to almost be nudity on a French show. They sell pr0n on the streets of Paris, I've seen it! 

[Rodent]

I've heard that "Walker: Texas Ranger" is popular syndicated overseas. I think a friend in Jamaica told me that, but I may have picked up the factoid somewhere else.

Walker does appear every now and again over here aswell, I enjoy it immensly. Chuck Norris can make anything look silly, like beards for example.