Zoneboy
10-17-2007, 04:43 AM
Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071017/tv_nm/james_dc;_ylt=AiC0YmmhC2GpMERu2nM3rLxxFb8C)
COLOGNE, Germany (Hollywood Reporter) - Where U.S. sitcom giants from "Seinfeld" to "Friends" to "Everybody Loves Raymond" failed, "The King of Queens" conquered Germany.
The series finale of Kevin James' blue-collar show drew 8% of the total viewing public Monday -- an almost unheard-of figure for a U.S. comedy. The figure was twice the average for "Queens"' German channel Kabel1. "Queens" also drew 2.5 million viewers aged 14 to 49, for a market share of 16.4%.
The series has been a hit since it debuted here in March 2001, making James a star from Bonn to Berlin. In 2005, the actor took his fame to a new level with the romantic comedy "Hitch," in which he played a luckless nerd alongside Will Smith's silver-tongued date doctor. The movie was a massive hit in Germany, selling 4.2 million tickets for a EUR25.5 million ($36.1 million) box office gross.
This past summer, James was a main focus of the German campaign for "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," a tacit acknowledgment that, in these parts, the heavyweight comedian is better known than nominal headliner Adam Sandler.
The strategy seemed to pay off. Despite its very U.S.-centric themes (the gay marriage debate, health insurance) "Chuck & Larry" opened at No. 1. "King of Queens" or not, it seems, James' German reign continues.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
COLOGNE, Germany (Hollywood Reporter) - Where U.S. sitcom giants from "Seinfeld" to "Friends" to "Everybody Loves Raymond" failed, "The King of Queens" conquered Germany.
The series finale of Kevin James' blue-collar show drew 8% of the total viewing public Monday -- an almost unheard-of figure for a U.S. comedy. The figure was twice the average for "Queens"' German channel Kabel1. "Queens" also drew 2.5 million viewers aged 14 to 49, for a market share of 16.4%.
The series has been a hit since it debuted here in March 2001, making James a star from Bonn to Berlin. In 2005, the actor took his fame to a new level with the romantic comedy "Hitch," in which he played a luckless nerd alongside Will Smith's silver-tongued date doctor. The movie was a massive hit in Germany, selling 4.2 million tickets for a EUR25.5 million ($36.1 million) box office gross.
This past summer, James was a main focus of the German campaign for "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," a tacit acknowledgment that, in these parts, the heavyweight comedian is better known than nominal headliner Adam Sandler.
The strategy seemed to pay off. Despite its very U.S.-centric themes (the gay marriage debate, health insurance) "Chuck & Larry" opened at No. 1. "King of Queens" or not, it seems, James' German reign continues.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter