Coming to America

American television floods the world, but more and more, clever TV ideas also travel in the other direction.

Reality shows in particular import well. "American Idol" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" originated in England; "Survivor" started in Sweden, and "Big Brother" came from the Netherlands. With few exceptions, however, only the UK has managed to produce dramatic shows and comedies which translate—from "All in the Family" to "Masterpiece Theatre" to "The Office." But as the world gets smaller, and original ideas harder to come by, Hollywood producers and agents are looking elsewhere, and they say they've found signs of a Promised Land. Israel, though faraway, isolated and war-weary, is culturally more aligned to American TV tastes than almost any other country. The nation's small, but highly educated, technologically advanced work force largely speaks English and has grown up on U.S. shows and movies, even if their own shows are in Hebrew.