Upcoming TV Shows Based on Foreign Hits
You're home from work. You've officially de-pantsed, and you've got your sock-monkey slippers at the ready. The night is thoroughly mapped out: You're going to microwave some leftover tikka masala, snuggle on your IKEA couch, watch a bit of the BBC's "Doctor Who," and partake in the Nintendo-flavored frenzy of "Mario Kart 8" with the S.O.
Congratulations -- you might be in your jammies, but you just had a cultural tour of India, Sweden, England, and Japan. That's just one beautifully lazy night living in a connected world.
Just like you, TV networks aren't blind to what's happening across those big ponds -- if they see something that works overseas or over the border, they're more than happy to try to make it work in the States. While you were busy doling out blue Koopa shells, they were busy getting these foreign hits ready for your TV screen.
'No Tomorrow' (The CW)
Irony of ironies, the CW's upcoming "No Tomorrow" had a yesterday, and it's going to have a whole lot of tomorrows. That's because it already had eight episodes as "Como Aproveitar o Fim do Mundo," a Brazilian TV miniseries.
Just like its Latin American mama, "No Tomorrow" examines the life of a realist quality-control professional romantically invaded by a conspiracy theorist who claims to know the date the world will end. Just think of it as "The X-Files" meets "This Is the End" meets a quirky rom-com, and you'll do just fine.
'Maniac' (Netflix)
Man, how many times did you think, "I wish this series director would give us a "True Detective"?
Probably zero -- but you're going to get it anyway, when director Cary Fukunaga reboots Norway's "Maniac" into an English-language show of the same title. If you really were hoping for that "Superbad" reunion, though, be prepared for a lot less underage drinking and wiener jokes, and a lot more psychiatric patients who inhabit complex fantasies they've built inside their heads. Close enough.
'3%' (Netflix)
A few years ago, shows like "The Office" and "The IT Crowd" wound down, and so ended American TV's British Invasion. Fast forward to 2016, and it seems like Brazil might be the new England -- like "No Tomorrow," "3%" has Brazilian roots, this time as a three-part web series from 2011. And though it'll stream in the U.S., it's staying true to its roots as a completely Brazilian production.
Speaking of sticking to what you know, that's exactly what director Cesar Charlone is doing -- the "Blindness" cinematographer is heading up this equally dystopian tale, in which only 3 percent of the population makes it past the age of 20. You know, on account of those soul-shattering, government-mandated life-or-death trials they're destined to endure. Just a tad different from the fake IDs and sophomore-year drama most people had to worry about.
'Feed the Beast' (AMC)
For better or worse, "Feed the Beast" is not about the inevitable carbo-loading that happens after you binge "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." It does have plenty to with restaurants, it just has a little more to do with the seedy industry underbelly than it does with the corndog-fueled beer belly. When two desperate best friends risk everything to make their restaurateur dreams come true in this drama -- inspired by the Danish series "Bankerot" -- AMC promises a heaping helping of the two essential Bs: betrayal and backstabbing. Better make your reservations.
'Animal Kingdom' (TNT)
"Animal Kingdom" isn't actually mining an overseas TV series -- don't get the wrong idea. "Animal Kingdom" is mining "Animal Kingdom," which was a feature-length Australian movie in 2010. Totally different thing. And you said Hollywood doesn't have any new ideas.
While the cast is a whole lot less Aussie-fied -- Ben Mendelsohn and Joel Edgerton are out in favor of Ellen Barkin and Shawn Hatosy -- and the story is moving from Melbourne to California, the movie's core remains intact. Barkin steps into the role of "Smurf," a crime-family matriarch who runs the gamut from coddling her sons to wreaking complete emotional havoc on their lives -- Sundance critics compared the original movie to an Australian "Goodfellas." Sounds smurfy.
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