Hollywood producers have been known to look across the pond for inspiration for new TV shows — and a few times, they’ve struck sitcom gold doing it.
Some of the greatest American sitcoms ever were actually based on British TV shows, whether they faithfully recreated the characters and situations or just took the basic premise and went in a totally new direction with it. It hasn’t always worked out, of course: Cross-cultural humor can be tricky, and the TV graveyard is littered with failed attempts to turn British sitcoms into American ones. (Remember NBC’s ill-fated attempt to adapt the U.K. hit “Coupling”? Well, maybe it’s best that you don’t.)
But on these five occasions, the trans-Atlantic transfer worked out perfectly, resulting in lots of laughs, a treasure trove of Emmy nominations, and Nielsen-topping ratings. So read on to see our list of U.S. sitcoms that rose to greatness after using a British series as a springboard — and then hit the comments below to remind us of any we might’ve missed.
All in the Family
Archie Bunker may seem like a distinctly American creation, but we can trace his origins back to jolly old England with the U.K. comedy “Till Death Us Do Part,” which aired on the BBC from 1965 to 1975. It followed the Garnett family who lived in London’s East End, led by patriarch Alf Garnett, a working-class bloke with, shall we say, old-fashioned views on race and politics. He had a long-suffering wife named Else, along with a daughter named Rita, with Rita’s progressive husband Mike often clashing with Alf. (Sound familiar?)
Norman Lear bought the rights to “Till Death Us Do Part” and set about creating an American version, weaving in aspects of his own father, who would tell Lear’s mother to “stifle herself.” With Carroll O’Connor starring as cranky bigot Archie Bunker, “All in the Family” debuted on CBS in 1971 and became a massive hit and a cultural touchstone, topping the ratings for five straight seasons and winning four Emmys for best comedy series before signing off in 1979.
Sanford and Son
After hitting it big with “All in the Family,” producer Norman Lear looked to the U.K. for more sitcom ideas and found a great one in “Steptoe and Son,” a BBC comedy that aired four seasons in the 1960s and then four more in the ’70s after a five-year hiatus. “Steptoe” starred Wilfrid Brambell as Albert Steptoe, an elderly chap who ran a store reselling junk in London. Harry H. Corbett co-starred as Albert’s son Harold, who had ambitions to achieve something greater but was constantly brought back down to earth.
Lear saw the show as the perfect vehicle for stand-up comic Redd Foxx and cast him in “Sanford and Son” as junkyard operator Fred Sanford, who lived in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood with his “big dummy” son Lamont, played by Demond Wilson. (The late Hal Williams, who went on to play dad Lester on “227,” also co-starred as Officer Smitty.) “Sanford and Son” debuted on NBC in 1972 and turned into a Top 5 hit, too, with Foxx’s Fred Sanford becoming a comedy icon with his brash insults and feigned heart attacks. (“I’m coming for you, Elizabeth!”) It wrapped up a six-season run in 1977.
Three’s Company
“Three’s Company” scandalized American audiences with its racy premise when it debuted on ABC in 1977 — a man living with two women he’s not married to! — but the premise actually dated back years earlier to the British comedy “Man About the House,” which made its debut on ITV in 1973. The “Man About the House” pilot opens nearly the same as the “Three’s Company” pilot, with two female roommates discovering an aspiring chef asleep in their bathtub after a party and asking him to move in… strictly as a friend, of course. (One roommate was named Chrissy, the landlords were the Ropers, and the chef was even named Robin Tripp.)
ABC liked the idea and moved the action to sunny Santa Monica, casting John Ritter as aspiring chef Jack Tripper, with Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt as roommates Chrissy and Janet. (Norman Fell and Audra Lindley co-starred as landlords Stanley and Helen Roper.) “Three’s Company” became a huge hit, topping the Nielsen ratings and running for a total of eight seasons. And when it came time for a spin-off, ABC copied the Brits there, too: First, the Ropers got their own series, “The Ropers,” in 1979, based on the U.K. spin-off “George and Mildred.” Then when “Three’s Company” ended in 1983, Ritter continued playing Jack Tripper in “Three’s a Crowd,” based on the British continuation “Robin’s Nest.”
The Office
Before we giggled at the cubicle drones at paper company Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch, we giggled at the cubicle drones at paper company Wernham Hogg’s Slough branch. “The Office” debuted on the U.K.’s BBC Two in 2001, with Ricky Gervais starring as obnoxious branch manager David Brent. The mockumentary format and less-than-glamorous cast were groundbreaking in a TV landscape overrun by shiny “Friends” clones, and “The Office” won rapturous critical acclaim, even taking home the Golden Globe for best comedy series in 2004, the first British comedy to ever do so.
When NBC launched its version of “The Office” in 2005, it followed the original formula very closely, with Steve Carell starring as obnoxious branch manager Michael Scott. In fact, it followed the original too closely at first, with critics complaining it was just a pale imitation. (It even made our list of the best TV shows with bad first seasons.) But the U.S. “Office” found its footing in Season 2 and became a fan favorite and critical darling, winning the Emmy for best comedy series in 2006 and enjoying a healthy nine-season run.
Ghosts
When “Ghosts” debuted on CBS in 2021, it felt like a breath of fresh air: a goofy supernatural comedy that somehow made its way onto a network schedule. But fans might not realize that the “Ghosts” story actually began two years earlier, with a U.K. comedy that debuted on BBC One in 2019.
The British “Ghosts” starred Charlotte Ritchie as Alison Cooper, who inherits a mansion and soon learns it’s filled with ghosts who died on the property — oh, and she can see and hear the ghosts, too. (It even had a ghost who died of an arrow through the throat while working as a youth group leader, just like CBS’ “Ghosts.”) The U.K. version ran for five seasons and inspired CBS to commission a U.S. version, which debuted in 2021 with Rose McIver starring as new homeowner/ghost whisperer Sam. “Ghosts” has become a surprise hit for CBS, earning raves from critics and ranking among the Top 10 most watched shows on TV. It’s still going strong, too, with special Halloween and Christmas episodes set to air later this year before Season 6 debuts at midseason.
