Before I started living out of a suitcase, my daily activities always included some TV. Weekday mornings, I watched the pre-market stock ticker run across the bottom of the Bloomberg screen as I worked out at Equinox. A few evenings each week, I
tuned in to my favorite prime-time shows after work. Some nights, I fell asleep
with "Friends" re-runs playing in the background. For Americans, TV is just part of life.
Everything changed when I started finding myself in a new country every other week. The channels are never the same, comedies are lost in a sea of boring global news, and the majority of offerings are in a foreign language. For a while, I used Hulu as my lifeline to American culture, but even that dried up a few months ago when Hulu blocked content to anyone using a VPN to log in internationally. In a world where "2 Broke Girls" and "Mike & Molly" are considered prime-time television, I have no option but to entertain myself in other ways.
For a couple months, I pretended to be scholarly and read a lot more e-books on my Kindle. I spent some time practicing my Spanish (which is getting very rusty these days). I also discovered plenty of creative content on Youtube. Without exaggeration, I can spend hours watching a series of clips on Youtube. It's proof that you don't need million-dollar budgets or professional scripts to entertain people.
After a long hiatus from TV, I was happy to discover that Australians have mastered the American formula of at-home entertainment. Every morning at the gym, I enjoyed shows that were essentially copies of “Good Morning America”. Anchors would make light of the day’s news, correspondents would report with fun community stories, and a “cash cow” character would call random viewers to give away prizes each morning. It’s such a better way to start the day than International CNN or Al Jazeera.
Everything changed when I started finding myself in a new country every other week. The channels are never the same, comedies are lost in a sea of boring global news, and the majority of offerings are in a foreign language. For a while, I used Hulu as my lifeline to American culture, but even that dried up a few months ago when Hulu blocked content to anyone using a VPN to log in internationally. In a world where "2 Broke Girls" and "Mike & Molly" are considered prime-time television, I have no option but to entertain myself in other ways.
For a couple months, I pretended to be scholarly and read a lot more e-books on my Kindle. I spent some time practicing my Spanish (which is getting very rusty these days). I also discovered plenty of creative content on Youtube. Without exaggeration, I can spend hours watching a series of clips on Youtube. It's proof that you don't need million-dollar budgets or professional scripts to entertain people.
After a long hiatus from TV, I was happy to discover that Australians have mastered the American formula of at-home entertainment. Every morning at the gym, I enjoyed shows that were essentially copies of “Good Morning America”. Anchors would make light of the day’s news, correspondents would report with fun community stories, and a “cash cow” character would call random viewers to give away prizes each morning. It’s such a better way to start the day than International CNN or Al Jazeera.
Even the ads reminded me of America, with only a few small variations. Progressive Insurance basically copied the American
format for Australia and replaced “Flo” with an Australian counterpart called "Kitty" who even looks similar.
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| Kitty, the Progressive insurance girl in Australia |
American TV shows have all been exported around
the world but Australia actually manages to get the current season with only a short delay. I felt truly American again,
as I watched episodes of “Ellen” at lunch with my local colleagues and laughed out loud during the "Modern Family" wedding while I ate a bacon cheeseburger from room service (the first burger I have eaten in years)!
One night, I saw an advertisement for a show called "I Wanna Meet Harry", which follows a group of American girls that were sent to England to compete for dates with a Prince Harry look-alike. At first, I thought this was just a brilliant Australian series that was created to mock gullible Americans (does anyone actually think that Prince Harry would try to find love on a low-budget TV show?) As it turns out, the show was actually produced by Ryan Seacrest and was also being broadcast in the United States. Thank you, Ryan Seacrest, for further diminishing the way Americans are viewed overseas!
On the positive side, I did find one TV series that manages to distract the attention away from crazy Americans. The popular "Real Housewives" franchise on Bravo has made its way down under, with "The Real Housewives of Melbourne"! I have always enjoyed Bravo TV for mindless laughter and this show did not disappoint. The women are basically the same as any of the US housewives installments, only with hilarious accents. If I ever move to Australia, there is no way I will get bored by the TV.
One night, I saw an advertisement for a show called "I Wanna Meet Harry", which follows a group of American girls that were sent to England to compete for dates with a Prince Harry look-alike. At first, I thought this was just a brilliant Australian series that was created to mock gullible Americans (does anyone actually think that Prince Harry would try to find love on a low-budget TV show?) As it turns out, the show was actually produced by Ryan Seacrest and was also being broadcast in the United States. Thank you, Ryan Seacrest, for further diminishing the way Americans are viewed overseas!
On the positive side, I did find one TV series that manages to distract the attention away from crazy Americans. The popular "Real Housewives" franchise on Bravo has made its way down under, with "The Real Housewives of Melbourne"! I have always enjoyed Bravo TV for mindless laughter and this show did not disappoint. The women are basically the same as any of the US housewives installments, only with hilarious accents. If I ever move to Australia, there is no way I will get bored by the TV.
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| Real Housewives of Melbourne prove even more that Australia = America |
Although my job has made TV less relevant to my daily routine, I have never truly lost the love for mindless entertainment. Whenever I turned on the TV in Australia, I knew that I could be guaranteed at least one show that I recognized from home (often far more than just one). Part of me enjoyed the constant entertainment options, but a larger part realized that I am actually more productive without the distractions.
Would other Americans also be better off without the hundreds of channels to choose from whenever they decide to sit in front of the TV? Based purely on my personal experiences abroad... Absolutely.
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