# TV Shows that were quickly canceled in US but made popular abroad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369 "2016-11-01T15:35:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/1 "2016-11-01T15:35:45Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/2 "2016-11-01T16:58:10Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/3 "2016-11-01T17:06:13Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/4 "2016-11-01T18:08:58Z")
I think the OP is looking for shows that STARTED in the US, and remade later abroad. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/5 "2016-11-01T18:39:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/6 "2016-11-01T19:22:55Z")
Not a sitcom, but Wikipedia says there was a reality competition show called _[Don’t Forget the Lyrics!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Forget_the_Lyrics!)_. It only aired for a couple of seasons in the US, but was remade around the world. The [French version](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%27oubliez_pas_les_paroles!) has had a couple thousand episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/7 "2016-11-01T20:20:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not a sitcom, but Wikipedia says there was a reality competition show called _[Don’t Forget the Lyrics!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Forget_the_Lyrics!)_. It only aired for a couple of seasons in the US, but was remade around the world. The [French version](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%27oubliez_pas_les_paroles!) 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Wonder_(TV_series)#Reruns_and_international_airings) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/8 "2016-11-01T20:28:28Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/9 "2016-11-04T00:22:42Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-that-were-quickly-canceled-in-us-but-made-popular-abroad/770369/10 "2016-11-04T04:08:25Z")
Here’s an article about ten American TV shows that were remade as series, sometimes several times, in various countries: > **[Married…with Many Children: 10 Foreign Versions of American TV Shows | TIME.com](https://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/09/lost-in-translation-10-foreign-versions-of-american-tv-shows/)** > > A growing number of U.S. series — from 'Everybody Loves Raymond' to 'Law and Order' — have been adapted for foreign audiences It appeared that the winner is _Married . . . with Children_, which has been remade twelve times, as of 2013.