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The Inbetweeners (American TV series)

The Inbetweeners
GenreSitcom
Based onThe Inbetweeners
by Damon Beesley
and Iain Morris
Developed byBrad Copeland
ShowrunnerBrad Copeland
Starring
Narrated byJoey Pollari
Theme music composerOK Go
Opening theme"This Too Shall Pass"
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
  • Aaron Kaplan
  • Brad Copeland
  • Clay Spencer
  • Damon Beesley
  • Iain Morris
  • Jennifer Russakoff
  • Justin Levi
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesBwark Productions
Kapital Entertainment
Brad Copeland Productions
MTV Production Development
Original release
NetworkMTV
ReleaseAugust 20 (2012-08-20) –
November 5, 2012 (2012-11-05)

The Inbetweeners is an American television sitcom developed by Brad Copeland for MTV. The show stars Joey Pollari, Bubba Lewis, Mark L. Young, Zack Pearlman, Alex Frnka and Brett Gelman. The show is a remake of the original British series of the same name written and created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, who served as executive producers alongside Copeland, Aaron Kaplan and Lauren Corra. It ran on MTV from August 20 to November 5, 2012. On November 28, 2012, the series was canceled after one season, due to poor ratings and reviews.[1]

Main cast

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Production

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After an unsuccessful attempt by ABC to create an American version of The Inbetweeners in 2008,[2] MTV announced in late-September 2010 that it had hired noted comedy writer Brad Copeland (known for writing on American comedies such as Arrested Development and My Name Is Earl) to write the script for an American Inbetweeners series.[3] Taika Waititi was chosen to direct the pilot.[4]

On 31 March 2011, MTV officially announced that it had picked up The Inbetweeners for an additional eleven episodes, creating a twelve-episode first season. Copeland served as executive producer and showrunner.[4]

In November 2012, MTV had decided not to go ahead with a planned second season of the American remake.[1] MTV said to The Wrap, "While we won't be moving forward with another season of The Inbetweeners, we enjoyed working with the show's creators and such a talented, funny cast."[5]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"Taika WaititiTeleplay by : Brad CopelandAugust 20, 2012 (2012-08-20)0.91[6]

Will McKenzie is a new student at Grove High, a suburban public school. He has transferred from a private school due to his mother not having enough money for his private school fees because his father left his mother for his much younger secretary. Will has three new friends: Simon Cooper, Jay Cartwright and Neil Sutherland - all four are unpopular virgins who want to gain popularity and improve their sex lives.

At Jay's suggestion, the group skip school and Will buys vodka from a liquor store which they drink. Simon spray paints I Love Carly D'Amato on the drive in front of the house of Carly, whom he has been attracted to since they were both eight. She invites him to her house that evening when her parents will be out. He brings Will, but the duo leave after a drunken Simon vomits over Carly's eight-year-old brother and Will scares the child by talking to him about terrorism. Simon's parents and Will's mother confront their sons after their wrongdoing; Will claims that he skipped school due to being bullied.

This episode is based on First Day and Bunk Off - the first two episodes of the original UK series.
2"Sunshine Mountain"Taika WaititiTeleplay by : Brad CopelandAugust 27, 2012 (2012-08-27)0.65[7]
3"Club Code"Todd Strauss-SchulsonTeleplay by : Daniel Sweren-Becker
Story by : Daniel Sweren-Becker		September 3, 2012 (2012-09-03)0.67[8]
4"The Wrong Box"Taika WaititiJohn LevensteinSeptember 10, 2012 (2012-09-10)0.57[9]
5"The Masters"Taika WaititiCody Heller & Brett KonnerSeptember 17, 2012 (2012-09-17)0.53[10]
6"Class Clown"Todd Strauss-SchulsonRyan RidleySeptember 24, 2012 (2012-09-24)0.52[11]
7"Crystal Springs"Todd Strauss-SchulsonTeleplay by : J. Michael Feldman & Debbie JhoonOctober 1, 2012 (2012-10-01)0.53[12]
8"The Field Trip"Taika WaititiTeleplay by : Monica PadrickOctober 8, 2012 (2012-10-08)0.53[13]
9"Fire!"Michael BliedenJohn LevensteinOctober 15, 2012 (2012-10-15)0.65[14]
10"Reading Gives You Wings"Michael BliedenTeleplay by : Marisa Pinson
Story by : Marisa Pinson		October 22, 2012 (2012-10-22)0.55[15]
11"Spa Time"Michael BliedenDebbie Jhoon & J. Michael FeldmanOctober 29, 2012 (2012-10-29)0.62[16]
12"The Dance"Iain MorrisTeleplay by : Brad CopelandNovember 5, 2012 (2012-11-05)0.66[17]

Critical reception

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The series was panned by critics. However, on Metacritic the series has a score of 62 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews". The American version is extremely unpopular with viewers from the UK, with many newspapers reporting that it had "flopped".[18] It was listed by Metro as one of the "Top 10 British comedies whose US remakes have flopped".[19]

Cancelled film adaptation

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On July 3, 2012, it was announced that a U.S. adaptation of The Inbetweeners Movie was in the works. Morris and Beesley were approached by Paramount Pictures to lead the project.[20] However, following the cancellation of the series, the film was never produced.

On August 22, 2013, Jim Field Smith was initially revealed to be directing the American adaptation of the British film, then titled Virgins America, but as of 2023, no further developments have taken place. Whether Morris and Beesley had any involvement with the project is unknown.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bibel, Sara (November 28, 2012). "'The Inbetweeners' Canceled by MTV". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 2, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  2. ^ Reynolds, Simon (October 17, 2008). "ABC to remake E4's 'Inbetweeners'". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 27, 2010). "MTV Greenlights 'Inbetweeners' Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (March 31, 2011). "MTV Picks Up 'Inbetweeners' To Series". Deadline. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  5. ^ Kenneally, Tim (November 28, 2012). "'The Inbetweeners' Canceled by MTV". The Wrap. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  6. ^ Yanan, Travis (August 21, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: TNT's "Major Crimes" Tops Viewers, VH1's "Love & Hip-Hop" Wins Demos". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  7. ^ Yanan, Travis (August 28, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: "Major Crimes" Tops Viewers, "Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta Reunion" Wins Demos". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  8. ^ Bibel, Sara (September 5, 2012). "Monday Cable Ratings: 'Love and Hip Hop Atlanta' Wins Night, 'T.I. and Tiny', 'Switched at Birth', 'WWE Raw', 'Major Crimes', 'Perception' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  9. ^ Yanan, Travis (September 11, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: ESPN Dominates with Return of "Monday Night Football"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  10. ^ Yanan, Travis (September 18, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: ESPN Overshadows Broadcast, Cable with "MNF"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  11. ^ Yanan, Travis (September 25, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: Packers/Seahawks Shocker Gives ESPN's "Monday Night Football" Season High". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  12. ^ Yanan, Travis (October 2, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: "Monday Night Football" Hits Another Season High for ESPN". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  13. ^ Yanan, Travis (October 9, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: ESPN Remains Untouchable with "Monday Night Football"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  14. ^ Yanan, Travis (October 15, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: Another Week, Another "Monday Night Football" Victory". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  15. ^ Yanan, Travis (October 23, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: Presidential Debate Tops Viewers, "Monday Night Football" Wins Demo Race". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  16. ^ Yanan, Travis (October 30, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: ESPN Is Tops Once Again with "Monday Night Football"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  17. ^ Yanan, Travis (November 5, 2012). "Monday's Cable Ratings: Saints/Eagles Puts "Monday Night Football" on Top for ESPN". The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  18. ^ "Of course America's version of The Inbetweeners failed. They don't do teenage filth like our boys do". The Independent. November 29, 2012. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022.
  19. ^ Metro.co.uk, Rachel Tarley for (December 5, 2012). "Top 10 British comedies whose US remakes have flopped".
  20. ^ "US Remake Of Inbetweeners Film In Pipeline". Sky News. July 3, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  21. ^ "Jim Field Smith to Direct Virgins America". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline. August 22, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
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