Lucky thirteen.
Yes I have liked certain shows we have viewed this semester, even to the point I would chase them down and watch them (legally or not [here’s looking at you Doctor Who and Sherlock]). However, I had yet to find an example of British humo(u)r that I actually enjoyed. This was very disappointing to me because comedies are by far and away my most viewed and most enjoyed television shows as well as movies. Until today–mark it down as a momentous occasion–February 27, when I watched the thirteenth show we have viewed this semester, The Inbetweeners.
I understand that I am in the minority of the class (most of the class is female), and possibly even in the minority of the males, but I found the raunchy humor hilarious. It was the first sitcom we’ve seen that I think would succeed on American television, assuming it found the proper outlet like Spike or possibly even a pay-cable station, which aligns perfectly with its British home, E4.
After doing some research on the show, I found that not only has it been one of the best successes for the channel, but also on the awards circuit. The Inbetweeners has won a few British Academy Television Awards. That being said, I’m not sure if those awards are more on par with the Emmys or the People’s Choice Awards. More importantly for E4 though, the show has been a ratings success, and due to the nature of the channel, has been a huge success with the most coveted demographic of 18-34s.
Each of the six episodes of series one was rated in the top ten on E4. While they all had less than half a million viewers, it was enough of a success to earn a second series, which caused an explosion in popularity in the second and third series. Every episode of the second series was ranked first or second for the station and averaged over a million viewers. All six episodes of the third series ranked first for E4 and averaged 3.5 million viewers/show. For a digital station like E4 this is a huge success.
This show perfectly fits the E4 model and fits in perfectly with Johnson’s discussion of the need for branding in the “digital-multichannel” era. Several of the shows we have viewed this semester have fit the station on which they air, however, none, in my opinion, do as well as this show. The Inbetweeners is meant for a young audience, stars a young audience, and (from my large sample space I can clearly make this assumption) focuses on story lines that are applicable to youth audiences. Everybody knows how it feels to be in a new situation and not fit in right away–if not in high school, everybody went through the awkwardness of Frosh-O and Domerfest. Everybody can relate to a character in the show. Heck, I was in the same school AND BUILDING from K-12. I graduated with 24 kids, and 20 of us had been together since kindergarten or even preschool. That being said there were times I remember in high school when I felt isolated like Will, or embarrassed like Simon–Just to clarify for COMPLETELY different reasons.
Not only was The Inbetweeners one of my favorite shows we’ve seen this semester and also the one that made me laugh the most, I truly feel it is the most relatable of any of them. And that is why it is such a success for E4.
Like you, this was the first comedy of the year that I not only connected with, but loved. The raunchy humor is right up my wheelhouse and the whole honesty of the show’s premise of high schoolers “inbetween” the cool kids and nerds was something that I sadly find extremely relateable. However, unlike you, I do not know if I could see this on American television. Although I undoubtedly think it would succeed here as it is more or less just The Hangover with kids, I do not think that the program could maintain its charm if translated overseas. “Inbetweeners” finds its success in its raunchy, over-the-top swearing and gross-out humor that I do not think any American TV networks would be allowed to effectively mirror due to our absense of the watershed. Spike, Comedy Central, and MTV (three good fits) just have too many content restrictions to effectively maintain what makes the UK version so special. Although networks like HBO or Showtime could obviously maintain this offensive humor, I would argue that they would shy away from it as it is far too young a demographic for their average viewer.
Chris, I agree “The Inbetweeners” was quite relatable– and I think it is because the show used the same stock characters seen in every raunchy teen comedy in American film. Taking a look at any range of movies– the “American Pie” series, “Superbad,” even arguable “The Hangover” which features a bunch of grown-up high school boys– you tend to see a similar gang of awkward boys. Usually there is a neurotic one, one that is cool but has some social shortcomings, a seemingly normal one, and then the fat, awkward one–it’s a recipe for success. That is why I have to agree with your point–“The Inbetweeners” totally could be featured on an American TV station. They may have to tone down the humor, or maybe it only could be featured on pay-cable, but I could see “The Inbetweeners” being a highly profitable venture for a network. Why is that? I’d argue “The Inbetweeners” represents a jump of the high school teen comedy to the small screen– a more natural transition for a comedic property then say, something action-adventure. What high school or college aged boy wouldn’t want to watch the TV equivalent of “The Hangover” or “Superbad”? The real question is, why has this not happened yet? Step up your game, American TV.