There are reasons why the most popular television program in any given country is a local production set in that country.
The FBI and NCIS franchises are two of the most popular American TV shows with millions of viewers.
Another similarity between the two is that they’ve had numerous spinoffs. NCIS has had more spinoffs than FBI, but they both have a spinoff set outside the country.
FBI: International follows the Fly Team, which operates in Budapest, Hungary. It’s basically an FBI task force transplanted to a new country.
NCIS: Sydney’s name outs the show. Set in Sydney, it follows an overseas branch of NCIS that operates in Australia.
Theoretically, introducing viewers to different perspectives on something they’re familiar with is a good idea.
However, it has the potential to backfire, and with these two international spinoffs, that has happened.
Procedurals Can Never Capture an Entire Culture Well
A forty-minute procedural episode must accomplish a lot, especially law enforcement shows.
It must introduce the week’s case, cross through suspects, investigate the prime suspect, and pursue them. All the while, it must deliver enticing twists and develop the lead characters’ stories.
No procedural has been able to balance all this, some opting for the thrill of the hunt while others focus on some characters’ connections.
With shows set in the US, the writers don’t have to think about some things. An existing shared national culture is uniform from the East to the West Coast.
Language is one of these shared cultural aspects, and it carries with it some nuances and uniqueness that can never be explained. It has to be experienced.
Shows like FBI: International and NCIS: Sydney must be Americanized for the audience, thus depriving them of the authenticity of where they are set.
Everyone must speak English; if someone doesn’t, it is translated. Viewers miss many unique features in every language because no translation can fully capture a different language in its full glory.
Subtitles often convey the message better without paraphrasing, but most people don’t like them.
These international shows are left feeling like a shell of the country they’re set in.
While some might even try to gun for a little authenticity by hiring local crews, filming on location, or captioning native languages, the problem begins in the writers’ room.
American writers write most episodes, and that’s a problem.
There is a running joke about an American stereotype where most Americans have a basic understanding of world geography.
When many writers use their knowledge of geography supplemented by simple Google searches, their understanding of another country becomes surface-level.
As a result, the portrayal of characters and countries looks like a really bad AI wrote it.
Adversely, it can affect the show, resembling a parody of the flagship series. Watching NCIS: Sydney made me feel like I had a bad dream about NCIS.
The constraints of broadcast television never allow these shows to scratch below the surface.
My long-running pet peeve about FBI: International is how it touts itself as “international” while rarely getting out of Europe. At least NCIS: Sydney is honest.
The Ethics of a Country’s Law Enforcement Agency Operating on Foreign Soil Are Murky
Local law enforcement knows how best to handle the local population. They know how to navigate the intricate laws, customs, and unwritten rules that make them effective at their job.
Enter an American law enforcement agent who thinks they know the job better and bulldoze their way into investigations.
It’s an emerging problem with the Fly Team’s new boss, Wesley Mitchell.
At best, it’s disrespectful. The worst-case scenarios are endless. Many people who watch police shows learn about police on these shows.
Constantly painting other countries’ police as corrupt and ineffective gives viewers a distorted view of how the world operates.
Sure, many police forces worldwide are corrupt, but strangers don’t have the right to come into someone’s house to change the furniture arrangement, especially when their own furniture could use some arranging, too.
It’s like I can call my cheating spouse a whore, but you can’t. They’re my whore!
These shows are not the first to attempt to venture beyond the States. Once upon a time, CBS tried to spin out Criminal Minds.
Thankfully, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders never made it past Season 2, and those two seasons were disastrous.
Each episode went to a different country, leaving in its wake damaging stereotypes about the host country while furthering the “American lives before anyone else” trope.
Is it surprising that many Americans feel entitled when they travel outside the country?
These things might seem trivial to some, but the effects do accumulate over the years. Worst of all, the products are not entertaining enough.
So, What Can Be Done?
In this case, I’m afraid nothing can be done. Apart from not making these shows in the first place, there is not much anyone can do.
Networks want to have programming for viewers; writers need jobs, and so do actors. And sometimes, the show you might consider the worst is a money-maker for the network.
The only other thing is if no one watches, but that’s a tall order. A network can play footage of paint drying, and someone will tune in because it makes for better TV wallpaper than a black screen.
And for us viewers, we should take the information offered with a spoonful of salt.
Are there gangs that kidnap tourists in Morocco? Yes. But that is true for most tourist destinations.
What do you think, TV Fanatics?
Drop a line in the comments section and share your thoughts.
Watch NCIS: Sydney Online
Watch FBI: International Online
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