For years, the UK and the US have swapped TV formats around as a simple way of gaining new ideas and building on established successes.
Just recently we’ve seen HBO and Armando Iannucci putting a presidential spin on The Thick of It with Veep, while John Leguizamo is all set for a cushty role as Del Boy in an upcoming remake of Only Fools and Horses.
While many UK to US remakes have managed to successfully avoid being lost in translation, others have sadly proved that sometimes you simply can’t recapture the same magic twice. Join us as we take a look at the 5 best and the 5 worst, US TV remakes.
The Best
5. Shameless
When it was first announced that Paul Abbot’s gritty council estate drama was making the jump to the US, no one could quite believe how any remake could successfully replicate the same mix of kitchen-sink drama and depraved humour. Thankfully, with Paul Abbot on board as a producer, as well as the freedom to be as offensive as possible on Showtime, the US remake of Shameless turned out better than most fans had initially imagined.
Keeping the working class roots of the UK show in check, Shameless US sees the Gallagher family moved from Manchester to Chicago’s Canaryville neighborhood, still scraping their way through a life of squalor and poverty. Replacing David Threlfall as the alcoholic patriarch Frank Gallagher is the excellent William H. Macy – delivering an enjoyably different take on the character. Shameless US has recently been renewed for its third season and continues to earn positive critical reception and numerous awards.
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4 Comments
Oh you forgot the U.S. remake of Coupling! What a terrible awful thing that was! The U.S. desperate to keep a “Friends” type show on the air went with an adaptation of Stephen Moffat’s Coupling and, I’m happy to say it only ran for 9 episodes before being put out of its misery.
The main problem with adaptations and remakes from across the pond is that they assume the American audience is too dim to understand the original. In every case (even the best remakes) I think the original cast and creative teams should be left intact and let the show stand on its own merit. I’m sure we’d all prefer it that way, even if it’s The Office or All in the Family.
I’m surprised that “skins” wasn’t on this list, but after seeing “spaced” and “Red Dwarf” I see how bad these american remakes can get.
Why is Life on mars on this list? The Life on Mars remake was excellent, until the final 30 seconds or so of the final episode. The rest of the series was one of the best shows on TV at that time. And had the final episode ended when he hung up the phone, it would have been a great finale, too.
derp de derp, haha