10 Classic British TV Shows That Failed As American Remakes
The Office, Sanford & Son, Threes A Crowd, All in the Family), but even more failures, as this list will show.
10. Coupling (2000-2004) / Coupling (2003)
Writer/producer Steve Moffat is the Midas of British television lately, everything he touches turns to gold (Doctor Who, Jekyll, Sherlock). But early in his career it was sitcom that really put him on the map. Based on his own relationship with producer Sue Vertue, the show centered on the dating and sexual misadventures of six thirty-somethings. Couplings ran on BBC Two for four series (the British version equivalent of American TV seasons) and won a British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy. Naturally, critics and audiences drew comparisons between Couplings and the massive American hit Friends. So when Friends ended its highly successful run in 2004, NBC scrambled to replace it with the oh-so-similar British hit. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the American version just was not up to par and was cancelled after only four episodes.