In 2008 a British sitcom by the name of The Inbetweeners premiered on E4. It was the first comedy series commissioned for the channel, which mostly aired American imports. The show followed a group of male teenage social outcasts attending Rudge Park Conservative. The show’s premise was based around the typical male coming-of-age sex comedy and a lot of the basic content was rather standard fare. While the territory certainly wasn’t new, The Inbetweeners managed to breathe new life into the genre through its well fleshed-out characters and its over-the-top raunchy content. The series became extremely popular. It ran for three series, won several awards, and even spawned a feature film in 2011.

            The series’ popularity did not stop in the UK. The show eventually aired in Australia, France, Canada, Belgium, Sweden, New Zealand, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Columbia, France, Portugal, Russia, the United States, Norway, the Netherlands, and Spain. While the series aired on BBC America in the United States, MTV decided that they would remake the series. It is no surprise that they wanted to remake this series. British series are the most popular television import in America (Mittel 443) and some remakes of these series, such as The Office, have been extremely popular.  The first episode aired in August of 2012.

            This paper intends to look at the similarities and differences between the two versions of The Inbetweeners. By discussing the differences and similarities in form and content, this paper also hopes to spread some light on the fundamental differences between the American and British television systems. Lastly, this paper also makes an attempt to understand just how the American version turned out so bad.