One of the big programming surprises of the 2002 summer TV series was a show on the Fox Network called American Idol, a talent search that highlighted several aspiring performers.
The final episode of the show garnered the biggest audience share among 18- to 49-year olds that the network has ever had.
Based on a british series called Pop Idol, American Idol is another in a long list of shows that the United States has imported.
In fact, many popular U.S. TV shows originated overseas.
These include the quiz shows Who Wats to Be A Millionaire and The Weakest Link, both also from Britain.
Other examples include Survivor, imported from Sweden; Big Brother, based on a Dutch series of the same name; and TLC's Trading Spaces, base on the British series, Changing Rooms.