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 wants to be a millionaire and The weakest Link, both also
from Britain. Other examples include Survivor, imported from
Swiden; Big Brother, based on a Dutch series of the same name;
and TLC's Trading Spaces, based on the British series, Changing rooms.