5. House of Cards (2013)
Frank Underwood. His name makes you think of the most corrupt president the US has ever known. But Francis Urquhart was just ahead of him as the most corrupt premiere of England. Between 1990 and 1995, the BBC aired three short seasons of The House of Cards, based on the books of Michael Dobbs. The American remake was one of the first Netflix originals. It expanded the story of the ambitious politician in an almost perfect way, and the first couple of seasons were amazing because of it. Unfortunately, the quality of the later seasons started to drop and the sixth season, which was without Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), was a major letdown. Despite the ending, it was a great series.
4. Wallander (UK)
Between 2008 and 2016, Kenneth Branagh marvelled as grumpy detective Kurt Wallander (UK) on the BBC network. But before that, Krister Henriksson did the same for Swedish network TV4. Both versions of Wallander are particularly bleak and gloomy but are put together well. Nonetheless, both Branagh and Henriksson manage to portray their characters in a slightly different manner, which makes it appear as if you're not watching the same thing.
3. Homeland
Homeland is based on an Israeli drama called Hatufim (Prisoners of War), which aired from 2010 till 2012. Homeland took the idea of a possible brainwashed released prisoner of war and built an incredibly exciting series around it. Unfortunately, it appeared as if Homeland's writers were writing themselves into a corner. Then they went into a whole new direction in the fourth season, which also connected to the actualities in the Middle-East.
2. One Day at a Time (2017)
Norman Lear is a legendary television creator from the seventies and eighties. He's written and produced many popular sitcoms. Three years ago, Netflix took the story of One Day at a Time from 1975. The original revolved around a single mother with two teenage daughters and a way too small apartment. In the new version, the mother has a daughter and a son and the family has a Cuban heritage. This new version is more focused on themes such as integration, emancipation and diversity, but it still has its sense of humour. After three seasons, Netflix decided to cancel the series. After that, the Pop network acquired it, and it's currently airing its fourth season.
1. The Office
The legendary British office series from Ricky Gervais was seen as one of the best comedy series of all times. Nonetheless, NBC was willing to remake it. At first, it appeared as if it would fail. The first season reused several storylines from the British version. Starting in the second season, the writers would use their own stories and jokes, which fit American working culture a lot better. The Office has now become a huge inspiration for other office comedy series, such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation.
And there are many more good series from which you wouldn't expect that they're actually remakes. I've never seen Shameless, but both the British and the American version are excellent. The same applies to Being Human. I'm also looking forward to the remake of Utopia, which will release on Amazon soon. Is a remake not really your thing? Or did you find nothing in this top-five that makes your heart beat faster? Don't worry! More top-five lists will come soon.
