British TV Series Superior to the American Version
Which of these British drama or comedy scripted TV series is the most superior to its American counterpart?
Discuss the topic here.
Discuss the topic here.
List activity
743 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
36 titles
- CreatorRicky GervaisStephen MerchantStarsRicky GervaisMartin FreemanMackenzie CrookThe story of an office that faces closure when the company decides to downsize its branches. A documentary film crew follow staff and the manager David Brent as they continue their daily lives.U.S.A Version: The Office (2005)
- StarsHelen MirrenJohn BenfieldTom BellA female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.U.S.A Version: Prime Suspect (2011)
- StarsJohn CleesePrunella ScalesAndrew SachsHotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
- CreatorArmando IannucciStarsChris AddisonJames SmithPeter CapaldiThe Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.U.S.A Version: Veep (2012)
- CreatorBrian FillisStarsRhys ThomasKayvan NovakRichard MaddenAn insight into the lives of three paramedics, who must deal with the stress and tribulations of the job as well as their personal lives.U.S.A Version: Sirens (2014)
- CreatorToby WhithouseStarsLenora CrichlowRussell ToveyAidan TurnerA werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost try to live together and get along.U.S.A Version: Being Human (2011)
- CreatorBrian CookeJohnnie MortimerStarsRichard O'SullivanPaula WilcoxSally ThomsettSitcom exploring the trials and tribulations created by one man and two women flat-sharing in the 70s.U.S.A Version: Three's Company (1976)
- StarsRobert GillespieStacy DorningGlyn HoustonDudley Rush is an artist with a difference. Eccentric and childlike, he insists of wearing his large lion ventriloquist glove-puppet on his hand whenever he draws the "Barney, the Bionic Bulldog" comic strip. Unhappy about having to spend what he considers valuable time working, he always procrastinates, so he's always late meeting the strip's deadlines, which frustrates his long-suffering agent, Duncan Thomas, who often falls victim to Dudley's practical jokes. Duncan frequently visits the Rush home; it's quite obvious that he's strongly attracted to Dudley's lovely wife Muriel, which drives Dudley to bouts of excessive jealousy. Dudley is also annoyed at the excessive number of Muriel's delicious cakes that Duncan delightedly tucks into when he visits. With Dudley, Muriel, and their attractive daughters Jacqui and Susan all being blessed with their own wonderfully weird, ready wit, life at the Rushes' is never dull.U.S.A Version: Too Close for Comfort (1980)
- CreatorMatthew GrahamTony JordanAshley PharoahStarsJohn SimmPhilip GlenisterLiz WhiteAfter a near-fatal car accident, smart, savvy, sharp-suited detective Sam is mysteriously transported back to 1973. Confused by his new surroundings, Sam tries to return to the present, but the police force of long ago needs his help.U.S.A Version: Life on Mars (2008)
- StarsSimon BirdJames BuckleyBlake HarrisonFollows four friends and their antics during their final years of school.U.S.A Versions: The Inbetweeners (2012)
- StarsIan RichardsonSusannah HarkerMiles AndersonThe schemes of a ruthlessly ambitious British politician who will stop at nothing to get to the top.U.S.A Version: House of Cards (2013)
- CreatorRussell T. DaviesStarsAidan GillenCraig KellyCharlie HunnamA groundbreaking gay adult drama which chronicles the lives of Stuart and Vince, as well as 15-year-old Nathan, who is in love with Stuart.U.S.A Version: Queer as Folk (2000)
- CreatorPaul AbbottStarsDavid ThrelfallRebecca AtkinsonAlice BarryThe lives and relationships of a group of siblings and their estranged father Frank Gallagher on a rough Manchester estate.U.S.A Version: Shameless (2011)
- CreatorJohnny SpeightStarsWarren MitchellAnthony BoothUna StubbsA working-class Cockney bigot with a biased and experienced opinion of everything shares them bluntly and carelessly.U.S.A Version: All in the Family (1971)
- StarsWilfrid BrambellHarry H. CorbettFrank ThorntonBritish sitcom about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in London. The intergenerational divide between the miserly Steptoe and his ambitious son results in comedy, drama, and tragedy.U.S.A Version: Sanford and Son (1972)
- CreatorChris ChibnallStarsDavid TennantOlivia ColmanJodie WhittakerThe murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.U.S.A. Version: Gracepoint (2014)
- StarsJo BrandVicki PepperdineJoanna ScanlanDarkly comic drama series about life on an NHS geriatric ward.U.S.A Version: Getting On (2013)
- StarsSharon HorganStephen ManganAnthony HeadAlex Taylor (Stephen Mangan) works for CMA, a successful talent agency. Whilst he is grateful for his job, he is currently going through a messy divorce, causing him to become depressed. His boss however, Stephen Cauldwell (Anthony Head), is sex-obsessed, cocksure and roguish. Alex later meets Helen Ryan (Sharon Horgan), a co-worker who is more successful and herself recovering from a messy relationship, after her boyfriend died months before her wedding.U.S.A Version: Free Agents (2011)
- StarsRalph BatesPeter BlakePeter DenyerJohn Lacey comes home one evening to discover a letter from his wife, starting with "Dear John" and informing him that she is leaving him. Lonely and now divorced, John joins a club where lonely divorced people can meet.U.S.A Version: Dear John (1988)
- StarsRowan AtkinsonMel SmithPamela StephensonBritish sketch comedy starring the likes of Rowan Atkinson and Mel Smith.U.S.A Version: Not Necessarily the News (1982)
- StarsDavid MorrisseySarah ParishThomas MorrisonSoon after local entrepreneur Ripley Holden (Morrissey) opens his arcade in his beloved home town of Blackpool, a murder investigation makes tears at the fabric of his personal and professional lives.U.S.A version: Viva Laughlin (2007)
- CreatorAshley PharoahStarsStephen TompkinsonDeon StewardsonNomsa XabaThe story of an English family who moves to the South African bush to set up and run a game reserve.U.S.A version: Life Is Wild (2007)
- StarsJack DavenportGina BellmanSarah AlexanderSix best friends talk about all aspects of sex and relationships on their never-ending quest to find true love.U.S.A version: Coupling (2003)
- CreatorEileen AtkinsStarsGordon JacksonDavid LangtonJean MarshThe lives and fortunes of the Bellamy family and their below-stairs servant staff at 165 Eaton Place play out against the social, political and historical backdrop of Edwardian London from 1903 to 1930.U.S.A version: Beacon Hill (1975)
- CreatorRachel AnthonyS.J. ClarksonLowri GlainStarsSarah ParishSharon SmallOrla BradyThe lives and loves of four female friends: Katie, a doctor having an affair with a patient; Trudi, a 9/11 widow; Siobhan, a barrister; and Jessica, a commitment phobe who plays the field.
- CreatorPeter BroughanStarsCiarán McMenaminSimone LahbibStephen McColeAn up-and-coming Glasgow based rock band are faced the harsh realities of the music industry on their journey to becoming the next big thing.
- StarsTiff NeedellJeremy ClarksonQuentin WillsonQuentin, Tiff, Vicki and others look at all things car-related.U.S.A Version: Top Gear USA (2008)
- StarsMichael AspelFiona BruceHugh ScullyA team of experts from auction houses tours towns throughout the UK to value treasures brought in by members of the public.U.S.A Version: Antiques Roadshow (1997)
- StarsSamantha FoxOlivia WilliamsKen LorimerDuring the first week of this reality series, the new wife must adhere to exactly the same rules and lifestyle of the wife she is replacing. Each wife leaves behind a house manual which explains her role in the family and the duties she holds. This almost always determines what rules the wives will apply at the "rules change ceremony". During the second week, the new wives are allowed to establish their own rules, and their new families must adhere to these new household rules. It usually takes a while for the families to adjust to this policy, meanwhile the wives disburse a sum of money to the family they have become involved with, to do what the wives see fit to spend it on. At the end of the two weeks, the two couples all meet together for the first time, and the wives, along with their husbands, discuss how they felt about the two weeks. This often descends into personal insults and has degenerated into violence at least twice. More often than not, however, both families reach toward a middle ground and express that they have learned from the experience. Sometimes, the table meeting is a very heartfelt and emotional time for the two families who sometimes have complete and mutual respect for each other. A few weeks later, the cameras return to record what changes have occurred since the wife swap.
- StarsAlan DedicoatCraig Revel HorwoodTess DalyA dance competition where celebrities compete to be crowned the winner. Who is kicked out of the competition each week is decided by the judges' scores and viewer votes.U.S.A Version: Dancing with the Stars (2005)
- StarsBarnaby KayAndy EdgeStephen MartinIn Undercover Boss high flying business executives leave the comfort of their corner offices to go on an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their companyU.S.A Version: Undercover Boss (2010)
- CreatorSteven KnightStarsChris TarrantJeremy ClarksonJudith KeppelThe original British version of the popular quiz show, that became a worldwide phenomenon.
- StarsGordon RamsayLaurence DavyNeil FarrellBritish reality series in which world-renowned chef Gordon Ramsay visits struggling restaurants in an effort to help them succeed.U.S.A Version: Kitchen Nightmares (2007)
- CreatorMark LevesonDan PattersonStarsClive AndersonRyan StilesColin MochrieHost Clive Anderson arbitrarily awards points as four players act their way through a series of improvisational games based on suggestions from either Clive or the studio audience.
- CreatorFintan CoyleCathy DunningStarsAnne RobinsonJon BriggsAdam WoodyattBritish general knowledge quiz show which spawned imitations around the world, notably in the USA.
- StarsAngus DeaytonMarco Pierre WhiteEdwina CurrieGordon Ramsay leads a team of celebrities through the trials of a professional kitchen with the threat of elimination hanging over them.U.S.A Version: Hell's Kitchen (2005)