10 Best American TV Shows Based on British Shows

America has been an independent nation for almost 250 years, but there’s still a lot we get from the British, including high tea, One Direction, and “brat summer.” We also steal plenty of television from England. The United States has imported a couple hundred shows from our friends across the pond, some of which have gone on to be our country’s biggest hits. 

Some of these British imports we copy and pasted, changing almost nothing but the accents of the cast. Others have been given such a massive overhaul, they’re hardly recognizable. It seems fair to say we do better when we borrow reality shows and comedies than trying to make British dramas American (Sorry, MTV Skins. You will never be famous). However, when the adaptation works, it really works.🤩 📺 

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Here are ten of the best American TV shows that were based on British originals: 

Best American TV shows based on British shows

10. Dancing with the Stars

Across the pond, Dancing with the Stars is named Strictly Come Dancing (or just “Strictly” to fans), but almost everything else is the same. In fact, original judges Len Goodman and Bruno Tunioli began on the British version before coming to the U.S. to judge the American competition. The American version is currently on Season 33, and while the show has undergone some changes in the past few years (additional judges and new hosts), it still remains a staple of the ABC calendar. It has also delivered multiple Emmy-winning dance performances and made household names out of the Hough siblings, the Chmerkovskiy brothers, and more.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 33 (Including Who’s Been Eliminated)

9. American Idol

This may be the most shocking entry on the list, but American Idol is an adaptation of the British singing competition Pop Idol, and Simon Cowell was a judge on both series. However, the British series only lasted two seasons, while American Idol is still going (minus that two-year break when the show moved from Fox to ABC). American Idol has also launched the careers of multiple big-name stars including national treasure Kelly Clarkson, Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson, country legend Carrie Underwood and more.

Related: ‘American Idol’ Winners: Where Are They Now?

8. Love Island

What can we say? The Brits really know how to make great reality TV. Love Island is one of the most addictive dating competition shows in the reality TV world. The current version of Love Island launched in the UK in 2015, and it only took us three years to get Love Island: USA. So far, Love Island has inspired 22 different spinoffs worldwide, but we’re glad to have our own – even if the UK version is still the GOAT.

7. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was a primetime event when it first launched on ABC in the late ’90s. Millions of viewers tuned in to see if there was anyone who could answer multiple choice questions on their way to $1 million, but it was actually the English who came up with the idea first. The UK version of the game show launched in 1998, and the United States adapted it only a year later, changing very little except for having an American host – Regis Philbin – and more American-centric trivia. The show is still running today, but is now executive-produced by Jimmy Kimmel and features celebrities playing in pairs to win money for a charity of their choice.

6. Shameless

There are a lot of valid complaints about the later seasons of Shameless, but the first seasons were incredible television, and those first seasons were the ones adapted from the British dramedy of the same name. William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum led the U.S. version, which aired on Showtime for 11 seasons. Shameless followed the criminal adventures of the Gallagher family children as they tried to cope and survive the exploits of their alcoholic father, Frank. Macy scored six Primetime Emmy nominations, though everyone who watched agrees that Rossum should have shared in a lot more of that glory.

5. The Circle

And we’re back to incredible reality television. The Circle is the gift we never knew we needed. Players anonymously play for popularity points and a cash grand prize in this Netflix original that started overseas. The U.S. version is now up to seven seasons, and  the catfishes keep getting wilder. It is the ultimate escapist television and somehow brings humanity to anonymous social media trolling.

Related: ‘The Circle’ Season 7 Spoilers! Deb Levy Says Catfishing Let Her Go Hard at the Other Players

4. All in the Family

We also have the Brits to thank for this classic sitcom. All in the Family is loosely based on the British TV comedy Till Death Do Us Part, though multiple characters and themes are different. All in the Family was produced by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin in the ’70s and was the No. 1 most-watched show on TV from 1971 to 1976. Ironically, All in the Family launched the spinoff Maude and Maude led to Good Times, both of which were adapted back into British TV comedies, though neither tied themselves to each other or Till Death Do Us Part.

Related: 75 Best Archie Bunker Quotes from ‘All In the Family’

3. Ghosts

The last three entries on this list are comedies that took the original premise of their British predecessor and turned it into something legendary. Ghosts is the most recent, but even with only three seasons under its belt, it’s already a critically beloved series. The show follows a couple that moves into a haunted estate, only for the wife to realize she has the power to talk to ghosts residing in the house. The British version ran for five seasons, but there’s hope that the U.S. version will continue on for years to come.

2 . Veep

Veep is having a bit of resurgence this year thanks to Kamala Harris‘ unexpected presidential campaign, but this seemingly uniquely American comedy was actually British first. It is based on the series The Thick of It, which stars former Doctor Who Peter Capaldi. The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci also created the American version, which won Julia Louis-Dreyfus a historic six Primetime Emmy wins in a row for playing the power-hungry Vice President, Selina Meyer. Obviously the British version is not about a VP, as they don’t have one, but minister of the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship. 

1. The Office

The Office is one of the most comforting binge-watches we have in American television. Hundreds of thousands of people fall asleep to the sound of paper being sold at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The British version was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who would also later cameo on the American version adapted by Greg Daniels. Both series exploit the comedy in mundane office workplaces, but the U.S. version leaned into the head boss, played by Steve Carrell, being a comically incompetent manager, whereas Ricky Gervais’ character in the original was more apathetic. Both shows are great, but US version will go down as one of the greatest comedies of all time. 

Related: The Most Anticipated Comedy Movies