Reversioning TV Shows for Audiences Overseas

As US television shows like “Lost” and “24″ have become big hits on TV overseas, interest in the reversioning of TV shows for foreign audiences has increased.

Watching international versions of well-known American TV can be an intriguing experience. Listening to French or German dialogue while watching a well-known actor’s lips form English words is undoubtedly amusing (and can make for a very fun guessing-game of “what did he say?”).

Reversioning TV shows for audiences overseas requires far more than simple voice dubbing, however. You might be surprised to find out just how much thought goes into localizing TV shows for specific audiences abroad.

Talking the Talk: Dubbing and Subtitles

Of course the first major step in reversioning programs for TV overseas is linguistic translation, either through dubbing or subtitles. The dubbing vs. subtitling debate is still active, especially in newer media like video games. However, as technology for dubbing has improved, this has become an increasingly popular option for the reversioning of television shows.

In some countries, the professionals who have the job of doing voice overs for major Hollywood players become stars in their own right. The German film industry, for example, imports a large number of American films every year and has a sort of “Oscars of Dubbing” that recognizes the German voices of stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep.

From Linguistic to Cultural Translation

Simply changing the language doesn’t mean the job of reversioning a TV show for overseas audiences is complete, however. Cultural translation is another factor many studios address by localizing TV shows for different countries through facets like music.

A recent Time article cited the French reversioning of the popular “Prison Break” series as an example. To try to increase the appeal to French viewers, the Fox hit’s theme song was totally scrapped and replaced with an entirely new song by French rapper Faf Larage. The change paid off — a big promotional push for the song helped bring it to the #1 spot in the charts while also upping the profile of “Prison Break” among French viewers.

Why Bother Reversioning TV for Overseas Markets?

The process of localizing TV shows for overseas audiences doesn’t always stop at language and cultural translation. In some cases, the show is totally redone with new cast members, sets and more. Disney’s localization for a Chinese version of “High School Musical” and the American version of “The Office” — originally a UK hit — are both good examples.

Reversioning is usually more efficient than redoing an entire TV show, however, and many US studios have found reversioned TV shows overseas to be very popular.

Part of the reason for increased interest in reversioning is most likely due to studios finally realizing that it takes more than just linguistic translation to make a show a hit abroad. If the appropriate localization measures are taken to accommodate international audiences’ tastes, reversioning TV shows can be hugely popular with overseas audiences — and very lucrative for TV studios. With the can’t-miss combo of audience demand and corporate profits, there’s no doubt that  reversioning TV shows for viewers overseas will continue to grow in popularity.