ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Simon from ‘The Inbetweeners’ thinks this is why the US remake was so horribly unfunny

The US MTV version was a massive flop

Simon from ‘The Inbetweeners’ thinks this is why the US remake was so horribly unfunny
13 August 2018

In the pantheon of noughties Brit comedy, The Inbetweeners sits proudly among the gods of Peep Show, The Thick of It and even The Office.

From 2008 to 2010, Will, Simon, Jay and Neil kept us entertained and cringing as we voyeuristically watched them lose their virginity, show off their ‘dead hand’ wanking techniques and projectile vomit over unsuspecting children.

The nerdy foursome also memorably took trips to Malia and Australia in a pair of successful films.


Watch the funniest Inbetweeners moments from season 1


But one Inbetweeners incarnation that was definitely much less funny – in fact, really quite awful – was the US remake.

Running for only one season before being cancelled, the MTV show was listed by Metro as one of the ‘Top 10 British comedies whose US remakes have flopped’.

If you’re lucky enough to have missed the show until now, here’s a little taste:

See what we mean?

And now The Festival actor Joe Thomas, who played Simon on the Channel 4 programme, has revealed why he thinks the US version was so unfunny.

“They tried to make an American version of The Inbetweeners and it was very hard because they couldn’t really swear very much because it was on network TV,” he said on Sunday Brunch yesterday.

“And then you couldn’t show them drinking and stuff and… that’s kind of the whole show. Just do the credits then – the beginning credits and the end credits. Just film the outside of a school, and that’s it.

“Just draw people’s attention to the various educational opportunities available to them.”

And if you’re still holding out hope for another season of the original British comedy, then keep on dreaming. Thomas added: “I think it’s probably done. I love those guys […] but at the moment, it’s really sort of [about] challenging myself in new ways.”


Related

Only a true ‘Inbetweeners’ fan will ace this quiz
20 crime dramas to binge watch on Netflix
- TV bosses at Fox just gave an important update on how long ‘The Simpsons’ is going to last
- The 30 Best Only Fools And Horses One Liners


(Image: Getty)