US Comedy Remakes Don't Work

[@HOTD108_]

I can't wait for the US remake of Michael Spicer.

[@Testacabeza]

Robert Pimento.

[@ethzero]

Zac Salter.

[@hughgurney8686]

The Den Next Door

[@defragsbin]

they already ripped off the room next door on some prime-time show

[@lucywillis4174]

"Mike spice, is a single dad trying to reconnect with his daughter while trying to get back into the single scene. His buddy is his old college roommate who is always getting him into scrapes'. Call netflix. Call them, now!!!!

[@tim01263]

Peep Show is a great example. Dark at times, excruciatingly awkard, the characters arent great people and no one is a supermodel. Thr american versions were all the basic "two dudes living together, ones cool, ones totally lame!"

[@janemacintyre9801]

OMG I didn't know that!

[@tommyrandall3489]

And there was no peeping involved in the show!

[@civilservant9528]

@@tommyrandall3489 what about peeing?

[@codycurtin2295]

What shame because plenty of Americans resonate with the original characters. These American TV networks want one thing but audiences want another. There's a reason why the original British versions do so well over here because they're still relatable!

[@civilservant9528]

@@codycurtin2295 what about peeing?

[@hughgurney8686]

BBC TV series "Episodes" was a great sitcom about precisely this problem. BAFTA-winning comedy set in a private school with an inspiring teacher gets bought by American network and turned into a sitcom starring Matt Le Blanc as an ice hockey coach. Well worth a watch.

[@whophd]

Also, the hardest show ever to download on BitTorrent.

[@bartharris]

I loved the first season or two then never got around to the last one or two. Did it stay quality?

[@hughgurney8686]

@@bartharris I'd say so. The 5th and final series began to feel a bit jaded but they tied it all with a good, final episode. It's on BBC iPlayer at the moment and I'm reworking my way through it. Very well written overall.

[@dankrafted]

was about to say the same thing. and you can see so many shows that do the same thing where they take the concept and then totally adapt it to the local market.

[@neilemms5831]

Wasn't Episodes created by the Friends creators and is essentially an American show?

[@Melaheidi]

Mike Spice, The Guy in the Next Room, coming soon to ABNBCBS

[@TheStevenWhiting]

I feel its because in the UK we grew up with American culture so understand it. America isolates itself so much it doesn't understand ours hence the shows don't work and need to be remade.

[@vkotis]

Have to agree. As an american, I was never exposed to anything from the UK growing up. When I moved over here, it all made sense.

[@ctwofirst6635]

I'm an American who lives in the UK. Have done for over two decades. It astounds me how so many Americans refuse to try to understand someone with a British accent. Often that seems to be one of the main obstacles to acceptance of UK programmes.

[@alexpointon784]

It does seem that we have more exposure to US culture in the UK. I thought I had a reasonable understanding of US culture. After becoming friends with Americans when I lived abroad, I'd say that actually the exposure we get through films, TV etc didn't prepare me for how different our cultures are. I've found that a lot of the way British people behave and look at the world is more similar to other Europeans than to Americans, despite the shared language.

[@americanfreedomworldpeace]

I'm an American and I watch a lot of films from the UK (PBS shows a lot of UK films on TV). I really enjoy it and it's not difficult to understand the culture at all. I eventually get the meaning of British words and slangs, and learn more about the culture the more I watch. I think the problem is the TV/movie executives are bad at making decisions and thinking they know what the audience wants (just look at the super hero movies right now which is doing bad), or thinks they are too dumb to understand.

[@samprice1302]

Ok but why did we grow up with American culture? Because the original shows were aired instead of being remade. Chicken and Egg scenario.

[@defragsbin]

I want to see what a major US network would do with Chris Morris's "Jam". That would be a contortion act for the ages.

[@Hohum37]

Fox News already based itself on Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci's "The Day Today".

[@petersvillage7447]

Well for a start they'd rename it Jelly...

[@philcourteney4328]

At least Brass Eye would have the line: ‘Why can we no longer think of mishandled secret government files without using the word “paedoph” in front of them?’ 😁

[@Truffle_Pup]

There are some sketches in Jam that will truly live with me forever. They're all equally harrowing, haunting and downright f*cking hilarious. The one where the nervous couple invite their friend round and ask him to take over from the husband, share the load per se, as he's been getting bummed every day for years and needs to give his body a few weeks rest 🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭 Jesus Christ, Chris and Armando were on some next level brainstorms back then, how do they write shit like that hahaha. Not a chance in hell Americans would get it, let alone be able to remake it.

[@hibernopithecus7500]

@@Truffle_PupYeah, no, I think the “skit” where a very British Mum calls the plumber to resuscitate her cot-death baby coz,”It’s all just pipes & stuff isn’t it?” would trigger literal civil war in the US. Although they might relate to the doctor who blinds himself to get out of answering,”Did you prescribe my son heroine?”

[@MarusaB]

Apart from The Office, I believe Shameless was another one that totally succeeded, too.

[@deanlowdon8381]

Veep was technically a remake of The Thick of It and that was very good.

[@justsad-1392]

I actually preferred the US Shameless to the UK one.

[@beebopalooba888]

Ah. Intelligent conversation. The lost art.

[@corison]

Michael, these recent longer-form videos themed around hot takes and interesting topics have been absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait for more! ❤️

[@SeymourClearly2]

Just at the moment he said “No, the car doesn’t have wheels” KZbin decided to cut to an advert for McLaren cars. So I watched it, just in case it was part of the main video!! 😂😂😂

[@FPLHaveABeer]

I strongly suggest watching the US pilots of The Vicar of Dibley, Red Dwarf, The IT Crowd and, most funny of all, Only Fools and Horses with Christopher Lloyd as Grandad. They are all terrible in their own unique ways, but equally hilarious due to being so terrible.

[@birchvand]

John Leguiziamo as Del Boy! Hilariously bad!

[@aussiejubes]

Even though it's Australian the same deal applies, so add Kath n Kim to the list. Poor Molly Shannon, she's so amazing & would have loved the show, but she couldn't sell that awful US script.

[@adrianred236]

Chris O'Dowd's character was probably a Mexican.

[@TheHobatron]

They tried The Vicar of Dibley?? The setting of that is a quaint English country village, the sort of place that is so far removed from America. How on Earth would that work 😂

[@throwback19841]

@@birchvand Oh WOW I didn't realize it had Legz in it. Bless him, if there's a pay check in it...

[@MaximusOwen1]

The Inbetweeners (UK) first came out when I was in the sixth form, the same age as the characters, so it resonated with me absolutely perfectly and is one of my all time favourite shows as a result. I think it had such a specific target audience a lot of older people here in the UK probably don’t get why it’s so loved.

[@user-zp4ge3yp2o]

I was out of school when it came on and I didn't like it because it reminded me what it was like to be in school.

[@jeanmichellelaurent]

The Inbetweeners UK relates to me as an American who grew up in Britain, it feels like it was shot in my highschool The Inbetweeners USA feels like a bad version of a Judd Apatow comedy but without the edge

[@serenth8310]

The only people I knew who loved it were 50 yr+ men wanting to relive their youth so I'm not sure I agree with you to be honest.

[@greenhowie]

Everyone can appreciate "BUS WANKERS!"

[@AlamedanBreezyRep]

​@@user-zp4ge3yp2o I needed to be out of school a few years to enjoy it. That 2008 vibe gives me a weird feeling.

[@comraede]

The fleabag bit... **chef's kiss**

[@christinavuyk2026]

One of the worst “comedies” I’ve ever seen. It’s even worse than ‘The Office’ and that’s saying something 😂😂😂

[@agunatak]

​@@christinavuyk2026 if you thought that bit was meant as an insult to Fleabag you very much misunderstood it

[@DeathnoteBB]

“Don’t look at the camera, the Americans wouldn’t get it” killed me 😂

[@aisey100]

I always loved the Golden Girls, but when we remade it in the UK as the Brighton Belles it was an absolute disaster. 😆

[@Zeem4]

Don't forget the Married with Children remake, Married for Life, starring Russ Abbott!

[@justsad-1392]

Yes, it wasn't golden was it! Showing our ages here!

[@Azphreal]

You should have mentioned Red Dwarf where they changed the character of Lister from a short, disgusting slob to a 6ft tall good looking bloke.

[@HALLish-jl5mo]

I don’t think that was inherently a problem. Lister was canonically successful with women, and was retconned into being more successful as the show went on. And there weren’t any women around after episode 1 anyway (apart from seasons 7 and 8, but we didn’t talk about that). Him being tall and good looking isn’t actually a problem. Him being less of a slob might have been, but to be fair, having him become a slob over series 1 as a result of being in deep space with only a hologram of a complete twat, a glorified house cat, and a sanitation droid as company would have been an interesting opportunity. We’ll never know if they’d have done that because they only made the pilot. The actual reason it sucked was that they tried to do the UK pilot, and introduce Kryton, in the same runtime. It just became a rushed mess.

[@Stitchmax]

This is the only show I can relate to this video. I haven't watched TV for over 15 years.

[@Jsa460]

Have you heard Robert Llewellyn (Kryten) talking about how they convinced him to go over to audition for the US episodes? It was funny.

[@greenhowie]

Yeah he literally looks like he just walked off a model runway for Versace or something. Never mind that the acting was bad, you just couldn't concentrate when that handsome bastard was on screen.

[@andyseaward8816]

The Strike - featuring Al Pacino as Arthur Scargill - was an early example of this. Meryl Streep played Mrs Scargill, a woman fascinated with oranges. Alexei Sayle made a documentary about it as I remember.

[@stu8729]

Are you talking about Comic Strip presents?

[@birchvand]

If Streep was peeling an orange, Pacino insisted that he be loading a gun. Those Hollywood stars, eh?!

[@dannyclarke8534]

😂

[@thereapersperch]

@@stu8729 So glad you said this cos I was thinking I was crazy for half-remembering I saw this somewhere.

[@tesswood9920]

‘Cheers, mate!’- I like the sound of that one.

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

they can't buy and broadcast UK shows in the US because they'd run out of episodes six weeks into the season

[@gabrieljenkins2970]

The fact that i dont know if this video series is a parody of video essays or not just shows how funny this channel is.

[@FerHivore]

I see them as an excuse to make sketch comedy that would’ve required too much exposition without the surrounding commentary.

[@Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you]

​@FerHivore I mentioned something similar on another vid that I really like the new route as I agree with what you said: the sketches in it would have required soo much build up to actually make any sense that you wouldn't be able to do them. But wrapped up in the larger video essay format allows them. So it's a new way to allow him to make funny sketches and have them sit in the wider context skipping any exposition that would otherwise have dragged it all down. Case in point: fleabag skit. On its own it makes no sense, within the wider context of the video essay it's perfect and hit the nail on the head of what he's trying to lampoon! Tl;dr: I agree with what you said and had the same thought a few vids back :)

[@anthonybell4554]

Yeah, I take it as being a light satire of the format, while still using it for his own purpose. Self aware of how ridiculous it is that people are listening to his ramblings, but testing out his take on it. Works for me!

[@pooroldnostradamus]

@@Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you @FerHivore Your analyses are really rather lovely!

[@TurboMintyFresh]

Its basically become like screenwipe and I love it

[@hopethisworks1212]

"Vot is your name boy?"......."Don't tell him Kowolski!"

[@2thinkcritically]

Aye aye Skipper!

[@scientivore]

The classic American sitcom "Three's Company" was based on the British show "Man about the House" and was a huge success.

[@Roof_Pizza]

Mrs Roper gave me nightmares.

[@scientivore]

@@Roof_Pizza The British one or the American one?

[@davidlynch9049]

Watch both. They aren't the same! 😂

[@blinard1]

How this channel doesnt have more subs is beyond me!

[@rgmusicom]

Very true. The us Ghosts series, whilst good in its own right, is a pale imitation of the original. They practically have subtitles in crayon explaining the jokes.

[@tomvandongen8075]

While coupling is superficially similar to f.r.i.e.n.d.s, it is very different in one key way; it's much funnier

[@michaeljohn1978]

Just glad there isn't an American Alan Partridge. Possibly called Al Woodpecker

[@catsupchutney]

The US remake of The Office offered a nice twist on the UK version. Most of the time I'd prefer the Brit originals. Imagine a US version of Monty Python (egads!).

[@Hohum37]

Kids in the Hall? It's Canadian though.

[@EllenSwf]

Seems I might be the only one here who loved the American office 😅

[@kokorospirit5006]

I really enjoyed the US remake.

[@amandag5072]

@@EllenSwfI much prefered the US version of The Office.

[@EllenSwf]

@@amandag5072 i wasn't keen on the series after Michael left

[@jollygreengiant]

[@MammaApa]

Glad I'm not the only one that did that little fruitless trip to IMDB

[@medalion1390]

I always felt that the biggest difference between the UK and the US Office was the overall attitude to “work ethic”. In the UK version, it’s made clear that the majority of the characters hate their job and couldn’t care less about the company. The whole reason why it centres around a paper merchants of all things is to really drive home the mundanity that is office work. But in the US everybody has to be “driven” and determined to succeed in everything they do. So all the characters still need to be fundamentally good at their job and eager to climb the corporate ladder, even if it’s still just for a mundane paper merchants.

[@Schmidtelpunkt]

In Germany the picked an insurance company instead. Perhaps to make it less obvious that they stole the concept (as far as I know it wasn't licensed at that point), but also it feels just so much more German, as an insurance is bureaucracy without any output. Nothing is really sold. It is just about shifting paper and everything being hyper-abstract.

[@endah08]

That's not true though, plenty of the characters in the US Office hate their job and it's a consistent theme that it's a depressing environment.

[@medalion1390]

@@endah08 But I think characters like Michael and Jim still have an innate desire to be successful at their jobs that you just don’t get from their British counterparts. Like the episode “Travelling Salesman” where they all go off on sales calls and we see characters like Jim and Dwight really hustling and being good at what they do. In the UK version, someone like Tim just wouldn’t care, and being teamed up with Gareth would only end in disaster. Overall, although the US version is set in a “boring” paper office, it’s still presented as a fun place to work due to all the kooky characters and wacky shenanigans that happen every day.

[@AlfaGiuliaQV]

@@medalion1390 Exactly. You still have that american classic feel of the place as pretty normal and somewhat upbeat, even down to the lighting. The UK version is perfectly environmentally tuned to have a sense of dread, boredom and hopelessnes. For example, the weather outside in Slough is always overcast and gloomy.

[@planespeaking]

Doing comedy is hard, analysing it harder still, doung comedy during that analysis, next level. Enjoying this series of vids, someone should commission it.

[@benicolay]

The US office isn't the office. They wouldn't have had to buy the rights if they'd released it without the pilot

[@TI_Ted]

brilliant. now i shalln’t rest until I’ve seen “oh no not them”. thanks for that.

[@RozzmanLists]

German TV does the same. Turned "the office" into "Stromberg" and "Doc Martin" into "Doktor Martin". "Stromberg" was a success in spite of the fact that they turned it into a very different (blunt) comedy. "Doktor Martin" was a complete desaster.

[@20thCB]

Ooh now I want to watch Stromberg!

[@straitJacketFashion]

I heard “Keeping up appearances” was very popular in Germany. Now I’m wondering if they remade Mrs Bucket.

[@ErwinPommel]

@@straitJacketFashionKeeping Up Appearances was also popular in Denmark, and it wasn't a remake; they just watched our Hyacinth.

[@HeadsFullOfEyeballs]

I only saw a handful of episodes of Stromberg, but it didn't even occur to me that it was supposed to be an adaptation of The Office. Very different type of comedy, definitely.

[@straitJacketFashion]

⁠@ErwinPommel as a child we holidayed in Denmark. Did watch a lot of the “fun family doctor who should be in jail”, mainly because the only change was subtitles.

[@OnyieSings]

As an American who grew up on the BBC comedy's we got on PBS here (Fawlty Towers, Keeping Up Appearances, Are You Being Served, etc) and was an avid viewer of the Tracy Ullman show (whatever that means lol) and is now an adult American who has a BritBox subscription... I have many thoughts on this, LOL. I just remember every time I'd see we were doing an "us" version of one of my favorites I'd roll my eyes and say "whyyyyy". In the early days of the US "Office" you were considered pretentious if you preferred the UK version and you were American. Not that you might just have an actual preference. And I personally get literally embarrassed watching the attempts of "The IT Crowd" and "Peep Show". Like... what?? I feel like networks don't trust us to be able to enjoy the same kind of humor (or humour 😉) these UK shows do... but we have dark comedies here. We have weird comedies here and surreal comedies. We have sharp and brilliant comedy writers here too, but they don't use them on these remakes. I'm not the only "me" here, and my friends also watched these shows and we had inside jokes and whatnot. It never feels like network folks watched the show before they remake it, truly. And if they have seen it THEY don't get it but they see it's a hit so they remake it in their own image essentially. Whole movie studios get this wrong remaking our own American films! I only recently saw the attempt at a US "Kath & Kim".... again, embarrassing. The networks don't understand the shows or trust the audience really. I do like the clips I've seen of the US "Getting On". 🤷🏾‍♀ I feel like "It's Always Sunny" would do well as a UK remake.... but I'm not at all suggesting that, Lol. "BoJack Horseman" and early "Arrested Development" also give very UK comedy vibes... (thank you for coming to my TedTalk 🤦🏾‍♀)

[@patchso]

Yep, absolutely. As a Brit I really enjoy some American comedy, but it’s funny because it’s very culturally American. It wouldn’t work as a British show because we’re not culturally American. Same the other way around.

[@judioates8938]

Right now I’m watching and enjoying Ghosts UK while watching Ghosts U.S. Absolutely love the characters in both shows which was quite an achievement for both Countries.

[@crefmag]

I found the Ghosts US to be too simplistic - they explained too much in the first episode and it's missing a cast of actors who are well known for working together. Watch Yonderland

[@naynaynay324]

UK: Being sneaky and subtle, dropping into vague and too inside jokey. US: Being brass and direct, to the point where the spoonfeeding is just obnoxious. Mr Spicer: Being.

[@fredwoods9326]

Could you give us an idea when the new Fleabag will be on. It looks great.

[@w75525]

Ghosts springs to mind too. What was the actual point in going through the time and expense of cloning it with American actors!?

[@csurname]

To explore American history.

[@curioussentience4935]

US Fleabag would be identical except her challenges would be a misfiring old car, noisy war vet neighbour, and a cranky dog.

[@blondefisk]

Episodes was a brilliant show examining this

[@greendagger47]

Not just this video, but most of your videos makes the watcher think. Long live brother ❤

[@ameteuraspirant]

As someone who has never watched any of these shows, I completely agree.

[@RankinMsP]

🎯💯

[@ridelikelightningcrashlike9782]

Its always sunny is just a carosuel of misery for all of the characters

[@cdprince768]

I really enjoyed the US version of the Royle Family where all of the family members watched TV from their own bedrooms and occasionally texted each other if it was absolutely necessary.

[@soulfoodie1]

The comedy drama 'Episodes' managed to get 5 series out of the premise of a dark UK comedy being remade in the USA. It is also interesting to note that perhaps we have to go back to the early 1970s when Til Death Us Do Part and Steptoe and Son were successfully remade as All in the family and Sanford and Son to get US remakes at least accepting the darker elements of the UK versions

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

On this side of the pond (in the caribbean) and only 4p yrs old, I didn't know any of those American shoes were remakes!

[@MassimoAngotzi]

“Oh, we don’t do irony.”

[@smoking_skeletor5193]

UK- Ghosts(2019)------- One of my favourite Comedy in recent times. which didn't overstayed it's welcome. US- Ghosts(2021)------- Waterdown and dumb down mediocre copy with more ep per season .

[@heatherjay8802]

I actually enjoyed the U.S. version, while disliking the U.K. one, which surprised me as I generally enjoy British shows. Good that there’s different versions to suit different tastes!

[@juliewake4585]

I found the US version really quite good fun. No, it wasn’t as good as the UK version but still fun, and with a bit of sadness.

[@aussiejubes]

I was shocked because I find the UK Version boring & stopped trying to watch it after I struggled through season 1. The US version I find very funny & much prefer it. I watch every episode. Nobody is more shocked than me lol. The UK version is so formulaic in each episode it's really frustrating. "Oh no, something silly & completely avoidable happened AGAIN, wow, same deal different day".

[@brendandax]

@@aussiejubes The US version is so good and is my feel-good watch 🙌

[@heatherjay8802]

@@aussiejubes I didn’t manage a whole season, or even a whole episode! To me the U.K. version was nastier - with the woman - Alison? - deliberately pushed out of the window and in another episode she tricks each of the ghosts by playing on their insecurities and desires. There’s enough meanness in the world already! I also thought some of the acting was rather “over the top”, a bit like an English pantomime. Still, each to their own! Only Season 1 of the U.S. show has been shown in Australia, so hoping for more soon.

[@PointNemo9]

High failure rate does not apply specifically to remakes of British shows, but US television pilots in general. US television networks typically order pilot episodes for many different series concepts, but the vast majority are dropped after the pilot episode and never make it to broadcast. There's no evidence that remakes of British series fail at a greater rate than other US series.

[@johnbredehoftatbredemarket2225]

It’s not a coincidence that 2 of the 6 successful U.S. remakes, “All in the Family” and “Sanford and Son,” were both Norman Lear productions. Very American, very pointed, and very successful.

[@timdrums1]

Despite the misleading image with this (as usual) ace piece from Michael, he’s nailed the joy of the US Office completely. I just don’t get UK Office cynics/‘purists’ who often dismiss the US version without ever having watched it. For sure - Brits watching Ep1 of the pilot US Office can be forgiven for blowing it off altogether (that’s what she said) but from then on it took off, developing characters and storylines through brilliant writing of Greg Daniel’s & co., over nine seasons, with a once-in-a-lifetime cast of extraordinary talent. And it built on a UK import that was amazing to start with. Folks say when Steve Carell left it was over, but I disagree. Although I really missed Steve, I think the writing team really upped their game with some of the funniest and most moving episodes that followed. And then ended it at exactly the right point. I think there’s a reason that people re-watch all nine seasons over and over. The darker UK version is absolutely incredible and ends (in the Christmas specials) on a bright note. But with the US version, the ‘lightness’ that Mr Spicer refers to is very much needed these days. It’s comfort food for sure, identifying with all the character’s journies (and seeing our own sometimes), but is rarely schmaltzy. It’s gold, uncynical, and the miracle of that inspired writing/showrunnning is that it finds new addicts today among younger folks, even with dated and dodgy gags that wouldnt pass muster today, because the show has heart and good intention all the way. We need that. Flipping ‘eck I go on.

[@billder2655]

why do americans put an s on the end of folk, it’s already plural?

[@maxb148]

People dismiss it because it isn't the same show. I wouldn't call it a remake but an adaptation. The US Office took the premise of the UK Office and changed it to fit the US audience and US comedy shows. They changed it from being bleak, pessimistic and somewhat realistic to an upbeat, bright and slightly over the top show. And people who liked the UK version might not like the US style of comedy, and the same goes for US Office fans who don't like the UK version because it is a different style of comedy. The US Office is a show that adapted to the US audience which alot of US remakes don't do or don't do well.

[@maxb148]

People dismiss it because it isn't the same show. I wouldn't call it a remake but an adaptation. The US Office took the premise of the UK Office and changed it to fit the US audience and US comedy shows. They changed it from being bleak, pessimistic and somewhat realistic to an upbeat, bright and slightly over the top show. And people who liked the UK version might not like the US style of comedy, and the same goes for US Office fans who don't like the UK version because it is a different style of comedy. The US Office is a show that adapted to the US audience which alot of US remakes don't do or don't do well.

[@petersvillage7447]

Aaaaah, but. But aaaaaah. The British DID have plenty of remakes of US shows. Remember 'Brighton Belles', remaking Golden Girls? Remember 'Married For Life' starring Russ Abbot (remake of Married With Children). What about The Upper Hand starring Joe McGann? Loved By You starring John Gordon Sinclair and Trevyn McDowell in a remake of that American thing starring Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser? Remember them? No? Okay - but are you saying we didn't NEED them? No, fair enough, they were all awful. But still.

[@JohnCKirk]

Yeah, "The Upper Hand" (a UK remake of "Who's the Boss?") was the example I immediately thought of.

[@mnchls]

hush now, we can't have anyone going against the agreed-upon narrative of Brit comic superiority

[@d_alistair-years]

While not a sitcom, Rainbow also is a remake of Sesame Street

[@chey6073]

@@mnchlsIm honestly surprised this narrative is still going around but Im an American Zoomer so maybe it’s just an older generation thing.

[@jamesmcmillan2656]

Courtney Cox and Jeff Zucker dated but when Courtney realised her name would be Courtney Cox Zucker they sadly went their separate ways.

[@petersvillage7447]

So instead she married her co-star and was unable to visit the North of England for fear of being mistaken for 'Caught Any Cocks, Our Kid?'

[@lrsco]

Hi Michael, I love your work but especially the one where you mock documentaries like going places around the U.K. You’re such a natural at that and cracks me up! 💋

[@carltonascarf7694]

loving these longer format vids, quality comedy

[@andrewrobinson2565]

I don't remember "Coupling" having a laughter track, which made it instantly not shite. 😊

[@venetianlion]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂The US accent is spotless!!! The soft-jazz on the background is cool too...😊

[@travelwell6049]

I think the US have done a nice job with Ghosts. They’ve kept the same vibe.

[@bannnnner]

The show 'Episodes' is pretty apt for this argument.

[@davidlance5310]

The Office did though just by not copying its uk counterpart & being its own relatable thing

[@TomMannCenturia]

Doing Coupling a massive disservice.

[@arlasoft]

Nothing wrong with Coupling at all. Friends for grown ups with added British humour and awkwardness. Which is why the Americans didn't get it.

[@AlbertonBeastmaster]

Coupling was one of the best sitcoms

[@carolineskipper6976]

We watched the first episode of Coupling, and didn't laugh once till the final scene. So the next week, we remembered laughing at the end, and gave it another chance. We absolutely LOVED it after that. (Rewatching the first episode once we were familiar with the series- it was perfectly funny all the way through. It had just needed us to get on board to appreciate it.)

[@marycarla6245]

I loved Coupling and I got it immediately. Much funnier than Friends IMO

[@Lord_Skeptic]

Apparently

[@peterhill8398]

I remember the US remake of the 90s UK comedy Dear John. In the British original, the central character lives in a shabby boarding house, struggles to survive on his low income and is frequently unsuccessful at finding a new girlfriend. In the US version, the central character lives in a spacious apartment, doesn’t seem to have to worry about money and much of the time has a girlfriend.

[@GilesWendes]

Looking forward to the US version of this video!

[@SergeantBytheway13]

The fact that the writer of extras also wrote the British show with arguably the biggest us remake.... Oh the irony

[@StepsOfStPhilips]

I bumped into an old friend who was one of the six key cast members of Coupling on a train to Teddington from Clapham Junction c.1999. I asked why they were going to Teddington. They told me they were filming a sitcom pilot codenamed “English Friends”.

[@kebabtank]

@07:18 'Coupling' was a great show and forgotten all about it until now. Thank you.

[@stocktonjoans]

The only exception to this rule is the Steptoe & Son remake, Sanford & son, that probably means something

[@wpl955g9]

Don't forget All in the Family - Norman Lear's American adaptation of Till Death us do Part w Warren Mitchell. It was faithful to the premise of the original, but changed what needed changing to suit a US audience, and is still one of the best shows ever.

[@hilaryc8648]

@@wpl955g9Also ‘Man About the House’ became ‘Three’s Company’ and ran for years . ‘On The Buses’ became a smash hit as ‘Lots of Luck’ or something. More recently ‘The Thick of It’ became ‘Veep’. Actually there’s quite a few. A lot of the ‘flops’ people talk about never got beyond the pilot stage.

[@marvellousm]

I love when British people do American accents that make them sound even more British

[@nicholaseast3728]

This is going to be a great rewatch in a few years after you get commissioned to write Wheels and the inevitable US remake gets made

[@1258-Eckhart]

I've known this for decades. Here in Germany, Monty Python majored from 1975 - 1995 mainsteam, whilst in America it was "boutique comedy". But Monty Python is not "boutique", not then, not now. It is a mockery of officialese, that anyone can claim to know the truth.

[@davidlynch9049]

Americans needed to figure it out. I think it's beloved now, but it was certainly a different way of doing comedy. I'm Canadian, and we got it.

[@crumblebee6728]

Literally the plot of Episodes

[@318iSpoons]

YCOMT😂

[@GreenMorningDragonProductions]

Am I the only one who watched this and then went on Wiki and IMDB to check if "Wheels" was a thing?

[@dfgdfg_]

I liked coupling until I couldn't sit down on a cushion

[@DeepSpaceNetwork]

More of this style of dissection. Enjoyed it very much

[@Patrick-jj5nh]

the wordless, raised eyebrow to camera **chefs kiss**

[@sulalee7413]

So true. Also, still admiring those sparkling shiny brite teef, Michael. 👍

[@starmersbarber]

Beautifully expressed Michael- thank you.

[@MetrosCarBlog]

Well said. Although I think the US Version of Ghosts is surprisingly good.

[@dkirk5814]

Loving the Fleabag 4th wall breaking.

[@GaiaCarney]

Great analysis, Michael! Ghosts UK is much funnier than the American version. Ghosts UK has pathos, heartbreak and utter failure on the part of ‘the livings.’ In the US version, ‘the livings’ fail their way to success in every episode and the ghosts are . . . cheery 🙄

[@lohihilo7884]

Maybe we'd get fewer bad US versions if British series were EVER available in North America. It's like the BBC in particular has an aversion to letting us pay to watch British television, especially sitcoms.

[@FerHivore]

I wonder how much of The Office’s success is due to the setting. Though cultures can vary drastically, business tends to be more homogeneous. The dynamics you develop with your coworkers-people who you spend more time with than your family but who you know less intimately-are perhaps more universal.

[@ahahaha3505]

I thought Early Doors was the UK remake of Cheers?

[@tabonebaby]

Underrated comment. Kudos sir.

[@MrGrantSloan]

Love yer comedy, sir. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

[@JohnLloydDavis]

Imagine the League of Gentlemen made for US audiences!

[@tcritt]

A MAGA rally.

[@jens256]

"This here's a local store, for local folk...we 'ain want no trouble here..."

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Thank god I never saw that abomination. I saw the pilots for Red Dwarf and Coupling, and that was more than enough for me.

[@gooner7331]

They could just take a film crew to Florida and record for a real life US League of Gentlemen 😂

[@EllenSwf]

​@@jens256*gets out gun

[@georgesos]

Derry girls but from Compton...😂😂

[@mikegwillis]

Love your minecraft TNT cup! Also Red Dwarf was another failed UK/US remake ...

[@matthewstanton9633]

I think he's absolutely right about advertisers pressure on the networks. I do believe that there is a genuine appetite for edgy layered UK comedy. When they are finally released on Netflix they always seem to be well received

[@lburrows1261]

US reimagining EastEnders...what would that look like?

[@MC_1965]

Someone might have already mentioned Ghosts, they took the template and added new elements whilst not disrespecting the core elements of the original. Both are good.

[@kevindean0000]

The CBS version of Ghosts appears to be doing well. They even aired the first 2 seasons of the UK version, but that was clearly a result of the lack of programing due to the strikes. The CW being a part of Warner Brothers Discovery that decided to cancel 99% of their shows (damn them to hell) as been purchasing the rights to air UK shows instead of remaking them. Notably the UK has sold their shows to more than just the US market to be remade. Plus the remakes wouldn't happen without the UK companies selling them in the first place. Luckly like you said with streaming, the doors have been opened somewhat for original direct programming, At least bad remakes don't last, which is definitely better that bad ones somehow continuing. Imagine if the remakes of Red Dwarf or Skins somehow survived. At least they didn't make a US remake of Downton Abbey (that I'm aware of). There are some where the shows continued rather than being remakes like Strike Back which after it's first series was picked up by Cinemax and continued with some small connections to the first, but of course they had another season 1 to confuse things. I suppose just like the new Disney season 1 of Doctor Who which already had the Paul McGann US movie that didn't materialize a season and the UK show already itself had two series 1s when NuWho started. I guess Torchwood: Miracle Day is another that was at least a continuation as a US co-production rather than a remake. Sure there's many more. Just some things that came to mind.

[@MeanBeanComedy]

Your "American accent" is Canadian. And it's funny that it's still middle class. 😆👍🏻

[@ReeTM]

Thank you Michael, simply superb!

[@WeatherVeinFilms]

The Ghosts remake is doing extremely well and already has more episodes than the British one. It was a really great one to adapt as they can trade out the British historical figures for American ones, meaning they are sort of forced to come up with new material. Also, something you don't mention is that Coupling was absolutely filthy, so the remake was as doomed as the inbetweeners one.

[@Roy-ts9nv]

I'm looking forward to the US remake of The Crown.

[@ocularpatdown]

😂

[@soulfoodie1]

Interestingly two semiinal UK comedies Fawlty Towers and The Young Ones were co written by American women - Connie Booth and Lise Mayer

[@HDPMS]

Ghosts. That has worked very, very well.

[@Benrm1664]

Cheers mate 😂

[@ryanellis9325]

Their Red Dwarf was an affront to humanity.

[@addgrav]

US remake of Spaced. My bottom turned inside out! Archie Bunker was based on Steptoe. That did alright. US Ghosts is sort of OK. There was Episodes, that was a weird hybrid.

[@TheGrimStoic]

Satire is on its last legs - and Old Blighty is its last bastion

[@tinachristine4573]

I love it here

[@richjohnston]

Fleabag was a hit before streaming. It was on Prime much later. It only became a proper co-production with season 2.