American versions of foreign television shows and royalties

Cafe Society
1

Do the producers of the American shows have to pay royalties to the creators of the original show?

I ask because I don’t think I have ever noticed a “Based on the British show XXX” in the credits. That wouldn’t preclude payment being made, but without entertainment media, the viewer would never know that certain shows are remakes.

2

The creators of the original show get royalties.

For example, Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant are credited (and presumably got royalties) for creating the American version of The Office even though they really originated the British version on which it was based.

3

Copyright law applies to works made outside the US, so you can’t just take them without permission. House of Cards has a credit listing the writer of the UK series, as well as the writer of the book both were adapted from.

Shows rarely say “Based on the UK series”; instead, they list the writers of that series at some point in the credits.

And though listing is great, you can be sure they paid the creators a royalty for the use of the show.

4

Does that apply to unscripted shows, like Iron Chef or Big Brother?

5

As I recall, All in the Family had a credit “Based on ’Til Death Us Do Part” in the closing credits, but it scrolled by so fast you had to be watching for it to catch it.

6

Okay, so the writer/creator credit is the (modern) vehicle for attribution.

7

Sure. They have to pay the person who created the concept.

8

Also, Sanford and Son had an acknowledgement that it was based on the British comedy Steptoe and Son and Three’s Company mentioned that it was based on the show Man About the House.

9

In the case of Big Brother, the company that produced the original Dutch version franchised it around the world.

10

Homeland is based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War. Gideon Raff from that gets a “based on” credit. 60 credits for the latter and counting. 24 for the former. He probably will end up making a lot more money off Homeland than the original series. Not sure about the producers of the original.

Then there’s the Belorussian version of The Big Bang Theory …