Americans tend to think of the US as the center of the global entertainment industry. And for the most part, they're absolutely right. It's not really a secret that Hollywood and New York pretty much make the television and film industry go, but what people probably don't realize is that, despite American shows inspiring foreign incarnations left and right, the US has imported its fair share of foreign ideas as well. Some, like The Office and Wilfred, are obvious. But there are shows in the United States, including wildly popular reality shows and classic sitcoms alike, that you probably had no idea originated overseas. Such as …
美国人一直自诩本国是世界娱乐之都，从很大程度来讲这一点毋庸置疑。我们几乎可以说正是好莱坞和纽约的存在才使得电影和电视剧产业得以长久发展，当然这也是众所周知，算不上什么秘密。但是人们也许没有意识到，尽管美国处处都彰显出自己是激发世界电影灵感的化身，但其自身题材仍有很大一部分是借鉴的国外模式，比如情景喜剧《办公室》（The Office）和《犬友笑传》（Wilfred）就是很典型的例子。美国还有很多海外引进的电视节目，这些节目包装得如此成功，你甚至都意识不到它非美国原创，其中不乏一些经典情景喜剧和当今炙手可热的真人秀，就比如下边这些。

10. American Idol
10.《美国偶像》

Wait, how can this be based on a foreign show if the word "American" is right there in the title? Well, it's not exactly written anywhere that an adaptation cannot change the title of the original. Example: American Idol is the US version of the United Kingdom's Pop Idol, which was created by the same folks and featured Simon Cowell being an ass, but only ran for two seasons.
什么？这节目明明叫"美国偶像"，怎么可能是海外引进的呢？！咳咳，孩子你太天真了，貌似也没有人规定改编版不可以更换原来的节目名吧。就拿这个节目来讲，《美国偶像》（American Idol）就是英国电视节目《流行偶像》（Pop Idol）的美国版，由英国的原班人马进行策划运行，当然还少不了一贯"毒舌"的评委西蒙·考威尔（Simon Cowell）的鼎力助阵，不过遗憾的是这个节目仅仅播出了两季。
And it doesn't stop with America importing this pop music-meets-reality show sensation, either, with versions having been spawned in places like Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Indonesia, and South Africa. First, we just have to hope that at some point, Bret and Jemaine showed up to audition for New Zealand Idol, and second, while Pop Idol launched the franchise, it was really American Idol that shot it into the stratosphere and turned it into the cash cow it's become today.
《流行偶像》是一档大众歌手选秀比赛，它使音乐不再奢侈，变得触手可及，因而赢得广泛好评。自此，节目不仅衍生出美国版，还在世界范围内生根发芽，衍生出多国版本，比如澳大利亚、新西兰、拉丁美洲、印度尼西亚和南美洲版等。在此小编想吐两句槽：其一，我们希望比特（Bret）和杰梅（Jene）将来有一天能够参加《新西兰偶像》的选秀；其二，虽然英国版的《流行偶像》是这个节目品牌的鼻祖，但真正使得这个节目变得像今天这样如摇钱树般炙手可热的，却是被美国本土化改编了的《美国偶像》。

9. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
9.《谁想成为百万富翁》

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire debuted in the United States in 1999 and was an instant smash sensation, and while it's no longer on in primetime and not many people probably realize it's still on at all, there is a syndicated version of the show currently hosted by Cedric the Entertainer that your grandmother probably watches in the afternoon.
1999年，电视游戏节目《谁想成为百万富翁》横空出世，刚一播出便火遍荧屏，不过这个节目现在已经退出了黄金时段的舞台，很多人可能都以为它下线了。目前，搞笑高手塞德里克·凯尔斯（Cedric the Entertainer）接手此节目担任主持，节目虽阔别十年归来，但被安排到下午档播出，现在的观众群或许都集中在爷爷奶奶身上了吧。
Most people probably know that the show is a global franchise, thanks largely to its prominence in the movie Slumdog Millionaire, but contrary to what a lot of you probably think, the US version wasn't actually the original. This show, like so many others, originated in the United Kingdom in 1998, and with the property quickly being snatched up for American television less than a year later. The British version actually just aired its final episode back in February, but it's also aired in pretty much every other country around the world: Canada, Cambodia, Iceland, Thailand, and even Afghanistan have all aired or are currently airing iterations of the game show.
大家可能知道，由于电影《贫民窟的百万富翁》（Slumdog Millionaire）的热映，有奖真人秀《谁想成为百万富翁》在全球掀起一片狂热，世界各地纷纷将其进行本土化再制作。大多人可能都觉得美国版《百万富翁》就是节目的原型鼻祖，恭喜你，答错了！事实上，这档节目出自花样百出、创意多多的腐国之手，1998年在英国首播，之后不到一年，美国便购下了其制作权。今年二月，英国版《百万富翁》最后一季回归，其他很多国家也同步播出，比如加拿大、柬埔寨、冰岛、泰国等，阿富汗甚至在播完一遍之后还又不停地进行复播，足以见得这档节目的吸引力有多大。

8. Dancing with the Stars
8.《与星共舞》

It's hard to believe Dancing with the Stars is almost 10 years old, and harder still to believe that there's a show that forces us to endure Tom Bergeron week after week. The show debuted in 2005 and played on the idea that, apparently, Americans love watching C-list stars learning to mambo and showing off their jazz hands.
真不敢相信《与星共舞》都开播近十年了，不过更不敢相信的是，竟然能有一档节目让我们心甘情愿地忍了十年主持人汤姆·鲍格朗 （Tom Bergeron）。这档节目于2005年首播，出发点就是吃准了美国人喜欢看二线明星学跳曼波舞，随着摇摆爵士乐舞动的猎奇心理。
Of course it's not just Americans who love this stuff, since it was inspired by the British show Strictly Come Dancing. The title of the original is a play on the film Strictly Ballroom and, like our American version, it involves celebrities dancing with professionals, with the show having debuted in 2004. Not only has it been brought to the United States, but there are now more than 40 countries worldwide that have their own version, and that's just sad on so many levels.
当然啦，有猎奇心理的可不仅只是美国观众，因为这个节目其实是模仿的英国BBC电视台2004年首播的节目《舞林大会》（Strictly Come Dancing），节目名字源自电影《舞国英雄》（ Strictly Ballroom ）。同美国版一样，英国的节目内容也是邀请各界名人搭配专业舞蹈演员共同参加比赛。引进该节目模式的国家可不止美国一个，世界上有四十多个国家都复制了该模式，不过同原版相比，效果却参差不齐，不尽如人意。

7. Homeland
7.《国土安全》

Homeland is an intense thriller focusing on an American soldier who was a prisoner of Al-Qaeda for several years only to finally be returned home, where it's revealed he was brainwashed into a sleeper terrorist whose mission is to kill the Vice President. The first season was terrific, though the second and third have been, well, less than stellar for the most part. But what really matters here is that the original concept didn't involve an American soldier at all, because it was set in Israel.
《国土安全》是一部反恐惊悚片，讲述了一位被基地组织俘虏多年的美国士兵重返国土的故事。故事亮点在于这名士兵在基地时被洗脑，已经变节成为为基地组织效力的潜伏恐怖分子，此般被遣送回国的任务是暗杀副总统。该剧第一季很是精彩，不过第二、三季却稍显逊色。当然，小编此番目的可不是评价这部剧，而是想说这剧的原始版本跟美国士兵可没有半毛钱关系，因为原剧故事的设定场景在以色列，而《国土安全》是其改编版。
The show Hatufim was created by the same guy who brought Homeland to the United States, Gideon Raff. Like Homeland, it revolves around prisoners of war. In this case, it's three Israeli soldiers who were captured in Lebanon, and the show is less reliant on huge plot twists and conspiracy theories, and more focused on examining the psychology of what the three prisoners of war endured. Sure, they have a secret they're hiding, but it doesn't go as wildly off-the-rails as Homeland.
创作人吉迪昂·拉夫（Gideon Raff）打造了以色列剧集《战争囚徒》（Hatufim），并将其引入美国。同美国版《国土安全》一样，原版以色列《战争囚徒》的情节同样是围绕一名战争俘虏，不过其主角为在黎巴嫩被捕的三名以色列士兵。原剧剧情不如美国版那样迂回曲折、充满阴谋论，而是更加注重展现三名战争俘虏所遭受的心理折磨。虽然两剧主人公心里都深藏发动恐怖袭击的秘密，但美国版的剧情可比以色列版刺激多了。

6.Ugly Betty
6.《丑女贝蒂》

Ugly Betty was a popular show on ABC that was so American, it actually starred someone named America. It revolved around the titular "ugly" Betty, a girl with no fashion sense who still somehow manages to land a job at a fashion magazine, because irony. Dealing with high fashion, you'd imagine this show originally aired in France or Italy, right? Nope, it was actually imported from Colombia — specifically, from a telenovela soap opera called Yo soy Betty, la Fea. It ran from 1999 to 2001, and has inspired more adaptations than just the most famous American one, leading to it becoming what some believe to be the most successful telenovela in history.
《丑女贝蒂》是美国ABC电视台出品的一档热播剧集，极具美利坚特点，甚至连担任主角的女演员都叫艾美莉卡。正如剧名所示，这部电视剧的主角是一位名叫贝蒂的丑姑娘，她毫无时尚观念，却莫名其妙地找到了一份在某时装杂志任职的工作，生活多讽刺啊。大家可能会觉得，既然是涉及前沿时尚的题材，想必这部剧一定是源自法国或者意大利吧？恭喜你，又答错了！事实上，该剧改编自哥伦比亚同名电视肥皂剧《丑女贝蒂》（Yo soy Betty, la Fea）。哥伦比亚版《丑女贝蒂》于1999年上映，2001年完结，它的巨大成功令其他国家纷纷效仿拍摄不同版本，在很多人心中，该剧被认为是有史以来最成功的一部电视肥皂剧。

翻译:毛志遥 来源：前十网