TV Shows Translated

Some TV shows end up being successful all over the world and this means that their titles need to be adapted to suit their new audiences. English idioms and expressions often can’t be translated into other languages; sometimes there just isn’t an equivalent that has the same meaning and effect. TV producers also have to be sensitive to cultural differences when launching their shows abroad. What might be appropriate in one country could be offensive in another!

We’ve found some of the best translations for some of the most well-loved TV shows that have been a hit worldwide.

Some of them make perfect sense:

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Cloudless Philadelphia (Hungary)

The OC – Life on the Wave (Poland)

Six Feet Under – Two Metres below the Earth (Croatia)

Friends – Friends for Life (Norway)

Others take a bit more thinking about:

Gilmore Girls – Lovely Trouble (Poland)

Lost – Infernal Paradise (Hungary)

Scrubs – Doctor or not Doctor (Belgium)

Arrested Development – Company Monkey Business and Construction (Sweden)

Some are funny:

Curb Your Enthusiasm – Swim Quietly, Larry (Sweden)

The IT Crowd – Cube Heads (Hungary)

The Powerpuff Girls – Atomic Girls (Poland)

The Big Bang Theory – Spectacles Fogged Up (Finland)

30 Rock – A Crazy on TV (Portugal)

The Fresh Prince of Belair – A Crazy in the Area (Brazil)

Arrested Development – Weaned Relatives (Slovenia)

While others are slightly disturbing… :

Six Feet Under – The Customer is Always Dead (Russia)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Beloved of the Crucifix (Japan)

Dexter – Dexter Bloodthirsty Angels (Vietnam)

And some just made us smile:

Game of Thrones – Throne Fight (Hungary)

How I Met Your Mother – So What Happened Was (Portugal)

Curb Your Enthusiasm – Quiet, Larry! (Portugal)

House – Doctor’s Conscience (Slovenia)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Buffy Under the Spell of Demons (Germany)

Scrubs – The Beginners (Germany)

Frasier – The Gossip Machine (Hungary)

Mad Men – The Crazies (Russia)

Arrested Development – The Verdict: Family (Hungary)

Doctor Who – Who are you, Doc? (Hungary)

We think these would make a great dinner party game: ‘Guess the Translated TV Show’! Can you guess, for example, which hugely successful American series was translated into In the Shoes of Satan in Bulgaria, Total Suckage in Hungary and All Lengths in Russia?

Let us know if you have any ideas! And if you can think of any more funny translations of TV shows, do let us know!

Isabella Fink

I am native Austrian and studied Linguistics and Literature at the University of Innsbruck and in Manchester, so language and translation has always been a passion of mine. Before joining Tongue Tied, I have worked as a Translation Assistant and in Customer Services and Purchasing.

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