The Kumars at 42 is undoubtably one of the most successful British comedies of recent years.  The winning formula sees Sanjeev Bhaskar playing the thirty-something son of an Indian family who have moved to the suburban life in Britain, running a chat show in a studio that his parents had built for him as an extension to their semi-detatched house in Wembley.

It's little suprise then, that this successful formula has now been exported to worldwide audiences.  But, I hear you say, surely a program fronted by an Asian family would only last about 10 minutes on American screens before the citizens of the beloved homeland executed a 'Regime Change' and replaced the Kumars with, say, Jay Leno or David Letterman.  Sanjeev Bhaskar would no doubt end up in a small holding cell in cuba. 

In fact, the formula for the Kumars has undergone a few changes to be suitable for America.  No, they haven't replaced the annex-style studio with a branch of Starbucks, or replaced the guests with U.S flags, or granny Kumar with U.S. flags.  Instead, they have re-themed the Indian family as a Mexican family.  Mexico is easier for the target audience to locate, being positioned only inches south of the bottom edge of most American World Maps.

The Mexican immigrant family will be called 'The Ortegas'.  Producers have said "There will be 'subtle' changes in this version because we are dealing with a Mexican family living in the United States and how they came to be here is very different from how an Asian family came to be in England"

They continued; "We have used stuff in the English show that will apply here, but we have twisted it for our own purposes. We met with and talked to the creators and writers over there."

Similar re-workings of the show are taking place in 16 countries around the world, including Australia, Germany and the Netherlands.