10 US Adaptations Of UK TV Shows That Sucked
2. The Jeremy Kyle Show
Jeremy Kyle quickly became one of Britain's most well-known TV personalities with his no-nonsense attitude and liberal definition of respect when it came to his guests. Other hosts had long tried, but only Kyle did for British TV what Jerry Springer did for America long ago.
The show was known for putting its guests in confrontational situations, with plenty of bouncers en guard to intervene when emotions spilled over. Rather than take an impartial stance to try and solve the issue, Kyle would often chastise the guests he saw as in the wrong. There were the occasional heart-warming episodes, but it was the brutal nature of the show that really drew in the crowd.
There were few reasons why Kyle's format wouldn't translate over to an American audience, but despite airing across multiple networks, there was very little interest from viewers.
Fierce competition by well-established names such as Springer, Steve Wilkos and Maury didn't leave much room for Kyle to fit in, but the actual content wasn't working either. The shows felt wooden as Kyle struggled to relate as well to his American guests.