There are quite a few examples of the US remaking foreign sitcoms (and often failing in the first season.) Are there any recent examples of shows that didn’t last in the US, but were remade abroad to much popularity?
What do you mean by “recent” here?
It sounds like you might rule out the American version of Coupling, for example. Ran for 4 episodes on US TV (more in other markets) in 2003.
Wow, 2003. That is a long time ago.
Maybe more like within the last 5 years?
Best example I can think of was way back in the '80s: Amanda’s by the Sea, a very bad adaptation of Fawlty Towers.
Nothing more recent that I know of.
I think the OP is looking for shows that STARTED in the US, and remade later abroad.
I don’t think there would be very many. If a show is quickly cancelled, there aren’t enough episodes for anyone to bother with, and there’s no reason to think it would be successful anywhere else.
Not a sitcom, but Wikipedia says there was a reality competition show called Don’t Forget the Lyrics!. It only aired for a couple of seasons in the US, but was remade around the world. The French version has had a couple thousand episodes.
I really enjoyed that game show. There were two lyric game shows at the time, one hosted by Wayne Brady and the other by an old boy band member (my memory is a bit fuzzy) and I watched them both. At first I thought I’d do well but, damn, I get a lot of those little words wrong-- I’m- we, it’s - so, no-umm.
Anyway, about the OP-- Small Wonder ran for four years (really? That long?) and continually pops up internationally. I don’t know if any country made their own version of it, though.
It wasn’t a sitcom, it lasted more than a single season and it wasn’t remade overseas, but wasn’t Baywatch famously more popular internationally than it was in the US?
It lasted a single season on NBC. It came back in syndication and then became the most popular show in the world (supposedly).
Here’s an article about ten American TV shows that were remade as series, sometimes several times, in various countries:
It appeared that the winner is Married . . . with Children, which has been remade twelve times, as of 2013.