We ’ve come up a long means since the days of " Howdy Doody " and vacuum tubes . Now , it ’s Snookie and broadband . Some American shows have gained an almostcult - corresponding follow abroad , thanks in part to the Internet andsatellitetechnology .
In the 1980s , Europeans and others have it off watching " Dallas , " " Dynasty " and " The Dukes of Hazzard " [ source : Pfanner].Then things changed : Foreigners were n’t watching that much Americantelevision . Five or six years ago , it was hard to receive any U.S. telecasting series on the prize - time schedules in Europe , or anywhere else for that matter . In recent age , however , American television show have become immensely pop . But , most Europeans still have a rather bleak view of the United States [ rootage : Pfanner ] .
Part of the reason might be because of what they ’re look on . In March 2011 , U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bemoaned that U.S. television was giving people around the humankind a malformed view of Americans . " I remember having an Afghan superior general secern me that the only thing he thought about Americans is that all the men wrestle and the womanhood walked around in bikini because the only TV he ever determine was Baywatch andWorld Wide Wrestling , " she say [ source : Fung ] .
Think what you want about the quality of American TV , but there ’s no disputing that some of America ’s No . 1 exports are its TV scheduling . Go to the next page to find out what some of the top American show are , and were , overseas .
10: Baywatch
Let ’s just start with the most democratic AmericanTVshow ever – " Baywatch . " At its peak , the show star Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff was spread in 142 countries . More than 1 billion masses have look out the show [ source : Britannica ] .
" Baywatch " made its debut in 1989 , then was canceled after one season . Hasselhoff and his partner bought the right wing to the show and resurrected it as a syndicate serial in 1991 . One of the reasons " Baywatch " got a second chance at life story was because of its abroad popularity . The show go off the aura in 2001 . However , it made Hasselhoff one of the most recognizable American celebrities in the world . Hasselhoff ’s European fans help oneself launch his music career in the late ' eighty [ rootage : life ] .
9: The Office
Fans of " The Office , " with Steve Carell as the hirer from hell , have sex their favoriteTVshow is based on a democratic British series of the same name star Ricky Gervais . So , when the American version of " The Office " attract 11.2 million viewers during its first show in 2005 , it shocked many in the manufacture . Most executive director had suspected it would fall flat because of its , well , British - type humor [ seed : Roberts ] .
Since then , the show has become an international sensation and has been copied several time . The French call their " Office , " " Le Bureau ; " while those living in Quebec cite to it as " Le Job . " In Germany , they call " The Office " " Stromberg . " The Chileans have their own version of the show , too [ source : Chen ] .
One of the reasons for the show ’s success abroad was its popularity oniTunes . In 2006 , NBC made the show uncommitted for download and it promptly topped the download chart . Other American networks soon began making their display usable on the cyberspace [ source : Roberts ] .
8: House
Since 2008 , " House " has been top U.S.TVexport in Europe . The show made its launching in 2004 on Fox . The storyline centers on Dr. Gregory House , played by Hugh Laurie , an off - the - wallphysicianwho clashes with his colleagues at the fictional Princeton - Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey .
So far , NBC Universal has license the show to 250 territorial dominion around the world . In France , the show averaged 9.3 million TV audience during the 2009 season , up 30 percent from 2008 . The Italians opine House isbellissimo , with 4.7 million viewers . On average , 4.2 million Germans watch each episode . The show is also democratic in Poland and the Netherlands [ source : Adler ] .
7: The Oprah Winfrey Show
For more than two decennium , " The Oprah Winfrey Show " has been wildly popular , not just in the United States , but internationally . But even the daytime diva has had her problem . For the retiring several twelvemonth , the show has been contend in theratingsboth in the United States and abroad . When Oprah herald in 2010 that she was stopping production , her ratings crashed to an all - time low [ author : Harris ] .
The vogue has been playing out for the retiring few years . In 2008 , Oprah ’s numbers dropped by 7 percent over the previous yr , from 7.8 million to 7.3 million spectator a day [ informant : Cockroff ] . Despite her sagging ratings , Oprah is still immensely democratic abroad . She has a very patriotic rooter base among women . Her guests , such as British telling aesthesis Susan Boyle and Bollywood film stars , have always given The Oprah Show an international flavor . " Oprah " air in 156 countries , including such far - off place as Niger , Malaysia and Vietnam [ origin : oprah.com ] .
6: The Cosby Show
" The Cosby Show " rocket to popularity almost right away after it began airing in 1984 . Starring comedian Bill Cosby , the show ran for eight season on NBC . It feature Cosby as the paterfamilias of the Huxtable clan , an upper - middle class African - American class be in Brooklyn . The show was a mega - hit mainly because it shatter the stereotypical look-alike of African Americans ontelevision .
Although the show was groundbreaking in the United States for its portrayal of African Americans , it was also an outside achiever . During its run , " The Cosby Show " perpetually top theratingsin Canada , Australia and New Zealand [ source : Edgerton ] . The show also altered external television receiver syndication proving that comedy was marketable oversea , and made its distributer , Viacom , a TV marketing ball of fire [ reservoir : Havens ] .
Prior to " The Cosby Show , " overseas audiences balked at catch most American sitcoms . But Cosby changed all that . estimate suggest that " The Cosby Show " take in more than $ 100 million in international syndication revenue . While telling , it was far below the $ 1 billion the show earned in domestic syndication [ source : Edgerton ] .
5: Married with Children
The hottestTVshow in Russia is about a horseshoe salesman with a mouthy wife and braggart hair . Oh , and let ’s not blank out the two incorrigible teenager . Sound intimate ? " Married with Children , " which satirise mediate family life story in the United States , is astoundingly democratic in Russia . How pop ? Well there ’s an authorized version of the show with a Russian cast . The Russian version is very well - like among younger viewers , and the mold are home names [ generator : Levy ] .
America ’s " Married with Children " ran from 1987 to 1997 . Its Russian counterpart , " Schastlivy Vmeste , " which means " Happy Together , " takes blank space in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg instead of Chicago . The name of the two chief character ( Al and Peg Bundy ) are Gena and Dasha Bukin . rather of railing on American middle division life , the show centers on the lives of a Russian middle class crime syndicate [ source : Levy ] .
Russians began watching situation comedy , both foreign and domesticated , during the economically worrisome time of the 1990s when the nation was on the verge of economical ruin . The show did not do well . rather , Russians turned to Romance American soap operas . Now , the situation drollery has a wider audience , mainly because the Russian economy has ticked up . " The nurse " and " Who ’s the Boss " are also popular there [ germ : Levy ] .
4: American Idol
Imitation is the sincere variant of flattery , or so the onetime power saw goes . If that ’s the subject , then the creators of " American Idol " must be exhilarate . " American Idol " is the tycoon of knockoffs . Many display , including ABC ’s " The One , " and Bravo ’s " Going Platinum , " have been inspired by Idol [ origin : Powers ] . Yes , we cognise , the show itself is a whang off from the British " Pop Idol , " which is itself a knockoff from the Australian " Popstars . " But that ’s beside the compass point .
" American Idol " is depict in 100 country . With the elision of Canada , where it is spread live , most the great unwashed view " Idol " on magnetic tape - delay [ source : NZ News ] . Yet it does n’t seem to diminish the show ’s popularity . In Vietnam , " Vietnam Idol " is a tremendous smasher , and has been since 2006 . " Vietnam Idol " is a kinder , gentler version of its American counterpart . Instead of offering snide and sometimes injurious criticisms , " Vietnam Idol " judges seek to give the contestants constructive feedback [ author : VietNews ] .
3: 24
On April 1 , 2011 , just three weeks after atsunamidevastated Japan and set off a nuclear incubus at theFukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station , Tokyo boob tube pulled the final season of " 24 . " official for Tokyo TV pulled the show because its storyline have nuclearradiation . TV executive say the guinea pig was inappropriate look at the current state of affairs . or else , the TV station will re - run seasons one through seven [ source : Blair ] .
The news was disconcerting for many Japanese who are lover of the show and its paladin Jack Bauer . play by Keifer Sutherland , Bauer has fought nuclear threats , felo-de-se bombersand kidnappers . Sutherland is so admired in Japan , and so identifiable with his character , that when he visit , the Japanese media address him as " Jack " [ informant : Betros ] .
" 24 " is so accept in Japan that on Jan. 1 , 2011 , Nipponese television aired the first seven seasons consecutively for a week , set it in the Guinness World Records for the longest running on - air time for a television program . In increase , Fox ran a campaign in which viewers could make headway 100,000 hankering , or nearly $ 1,200 , every 60 minutes [ informant : Betros ] .
2: Desperate Housewives
Are the women of Wisteria Lane America ’s new undercover artillery in the engagement againstterrorism ? According to a U.S. State Department cable unearthed by Wikileaks , hit television shows such as " Desperate homemaker " are better at persuading Saudi youth to reject violence than millions of dollar sign of U.S.propaganda . The appearance are broadcast uncensored in Saudi Arabia [ root : Daily Mail ] . In 2008 , " Desperate Housewives " had an international TV pursuit of 61.5 million watcher , outstrip such hit as " Monk " and " Ugly Betty " [ source : West ] .
1: Jersey Shore
For good or worse , Nicole " Snookie " Polizzi is going global . She and the other genius of MTV ’s hit serial , " Jersey Shore , " are just beginning to essay the external waters , which seem to be as inviting as the seacoast of The Garden State . MTV executive believe that thespray - tanned , party loving cast members will be big hits oversea .
Although Tuscany and Paris are a tenacious fashion from Seaside Heights , MTV execs are pull out all the stops to ensure the show – featuring Pauly D , Mike " The Situation " Sorrentino , JWoWW and the others – becomes a big international collision . One of the overseas print advertising for the Shore goes something like this : " Muscle+ gel + lashing bed = sex . " There ’s also an external television ad that shows a underweight man and a two-piece - clad woman blowing up water plaything that in the end reveal hot flesh and six - pack abs ( read : The Situation ) [ author : Stetler ] .
" Jersey Shore , " with its faux - Italian roots , has such a pursual that several output company are creating various version focusing on Americans of Israeli , Iranian and Korean heritage . As for MTV , it premier the show in 2010 in more than 30 rural area , and it ’s already No . 1 among 18- to 24 - year - old in Mexico and Colombia [ germ : Alston ] .
In case you have n’t been follow , the " Jersey Shore " cast will pass part of the next season in Italy . In Venice , the dramatis personae was reportedly pack by young Italians shouting the show ’s catchphrase in broken English . The cast often uses such phrase as " gym , tan , laundry , " and " grenade - destitute zone . " hundred auditioned for part as extras [ seed : Alston ] .
