#britcoms

bigger drawing of them all THE YOUNG ONES! 💥💥

these are my designs of them lmao made this a bit ago actually

oh mickey ☹️♥️

It’s not random. There’s a pattern—one that says a lot about how differently British and American media treat characters, especially the ones who are, well… bastards.

Take Merlin and Being Human. Both aired on Syfy in the U.S., but Merlin was imported as-is, while Being Human got a full American remake. The Office became a cultural juggernaut in the U.S., but only after the characters were softened, rounded out, and—crucially—given hearts of gold. (I haven’t seen either version of The Office, it’s just not my jam, but I have friends who’ve watched both, and the differences they describe are genuinely fascinating).

Meanwhile, Sherlock and Doctor Who get brought over wholesale. Mostly. (Yes, I’m aware of that one time they tried to Americanize Doctor Who, but let’s not dig up that grave.)

So what determines whether a show needs to be “translated” for an American audience? I think a big part of it comes down to this: how much of a bastard the main character(s) is/are allowed to be.

British media, by and large, is way more comfortable letting its main characters be absolute shits. They can be arrogant, cold, emotionally stunted, or just flat-out jerks—and still be the hero. American media, on the other hand, generally insists that if you’re going to be a bastard, you better be a relatable bastard. One with childhood trauma. One who makes pancakes for orphans. One who’s secretly just misunderstood.

To be clear, the UK also has plenty of soft, lovable leads. Merlin and Arthur are bickering dumbasses with hearts the size of planets. The Doctor is often emotionally unavailable but rarely cruel. But when you look at something like UK The Office—that boss is not quirky or misunderstood. He’s just awful. In the American version? They smoothed him out. Made him less venom, more cringe. Less “oh god fire him” and more “aw, he’s trying.”

What fascinates me is that this shift isn’t because American audiences can’t handle bastard characters. On the contrary—Dr. House was a cultural icon. Tony Stark built an entire franchise on charming douchebaggery. We love a bastard. But we also need them to earn it. The character has to prove they’re worth rooting for. If they’re cruel, they need a redemption arc. If they’re emotionally distant, they need to cry in one (1) dramatic rain scene.

This divide isn’t just in scripted media either—there’s a fantastic video that digs into the difference between British panel shows and American comedy formats, especially in contrast with Dropout's shows like Game Changer and Taskmaster. It goes into why the humor structure of British panel shows is so unique—and why it's so hard to replicate the vibe for an American audience. Highly recommend it if you're as deep into this rabbit hole as I am: Is Game Changer a (British) Panel Show?