The UK is home to some of the greatest TV shows ever written and produced. But which of these shows are people’s favorites? Let’s find out with Betway!
The UK has proven time and again that they are the world leader when it comes to creating and producing exciting and intelligent television. Their TV formats have been adapted, remade, and refurbished to meet the needs of global audiences, and it has been done so with ease. The transitioning feels easy because the parent show was well-articulated, and the writers knew exactly who they were marketing for. So when they were remade in other countries or languages, they were catered to a crowd of the same troupe.
What Makes Them Seasoned?
The BBC has been around since the dawn of radio communications in 1922. They were a national broadcasting service that soon turned into a source of national entertainment with Radio Dramas. They produced theatre plays, and when the entertainment format moved to small screens, they shifted. The UK’s entertainment industry has had about a century’s worth of experience to do things right.
However, claiming that the UK’s TV industry’s success is due to their experience would be a mistake and unjust to the creators. The bards of the community have consistently written and produced shows that were not available anywhere else. Not all of their shows hit record sales like ‘Two pints of Lager and a Packet of Chips’; in fact, some of them are bad rip-offs of their former shows. Yet they seem to make waves across worldwide television! The UK produces enough content to be able to afford the occasional disaster.
Shows that worked and didn’t.
| Shows that Worked | Shows that Did Not | |
| Scripted | ● The Office
● Chernobyl ● His Dark Materials ● Doctor Foster ● Misfits ● Doctor Who ● Luther |
● Tree of the Year
● Bullseye ● Goodnight Sweetheart ● The Brittas Empire ● Slinger’s Day ● Birds of a Feather ● Eldorado |
| Unscripted | ● Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
● Love Island ● Got Talent ● Strictly Come Dancing ● Planet Earth ● Great British Bake Off |
● Dogs Might Fly
● Culinary Genius ● Life Striped Bare ● Drugs Live ● Naked Attraction ● Spring Break with Grandad |
Export Gold Mine for UK TV
Money-Makers
The BBC’s Top Gear was the highest contributor to the export earnings. Over the span of 25 years and counting, the show has been showcased worldwide. Generating around £50 million in revenue each year from 214 territories, with a global audience of 350 million, it is nothing but a people’s favorite.
Most Viewed
Dancing with the Stars – or Strictly Come Dancing in the UK – has more seasons than the Doctor has had companions. With a screening of more than 270 seasons across over 50 countries, the show generated an incredible 500 million viewers worldwide.
Widest Reach
Britain’s Got Talent secured 78 global sales in 2020, while Strictly Come Dancing had 63 sales, and The X Factor and Idols both made 56 sales. Reaching the major parts of the English and non-English speaking worlds, UK Television has the widest reach without a doubt.
Better Than the Originals
Cases, where the adaptations were better than the original, are truly a handful. Shows like the IT Crowd and David Tenant’s Broadchurch were massive domestic audiences but did not do well when Americanized. However, one show that took the original and made it better is Greg Daniel’s The Office. The writers of the American version felt the need to tailor the format to their audience after season 1 and turned it into a massive success.
Conclusion
Call it experience or give it a rhyme and reason of your will; British TV shows are out of the box. The production houses are not afraid to experiment, and some of the many shows they write create a mine of gold of content. What do you expect from the country that has given us rock music and classic English literature?
