''Benidorm Bastards'' is a Belgian comedy television series.

Format

''Benidorm Bastards'' is a Belgian hidden camera comedy programme on the

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

TV channel 2BE. All characters are amateur actors and

senior citizens Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

. The programme has a similar concept to ''

Trigger Happy TV ''Trigger Happy TV'' is a hidden camera/practical joke comedy television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for three series on the British television channel Channe ...

'', a Belgian version of which was broadcast on the same channel. In October 2010, a second season started on 2BE. In the program old actors try to act as if they were young talking about things no older person would dare to talk about. They also have funny situations like out-of-control electric wheelchairs and other funny happenings which seem strange to young people.

Awards

* In September 2010, the programme won the Rose d'Or in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

in the category "comedy", and also "best of 2010." * In November 2011 the series won an

International Emmy Award The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York City, New York–based International Academy of Televisi ...

in the category "comedy."

Criticism

The mayor of the Spanish town of

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

does not approve of the programme's title ''Benidorm Bastards''. He demands that "Benidorm" be removed from the title because the term "bastard" created "a negative projection" that damaged its image. The name Benidorm is used because many Belgian and Dutch seniors move to Benidorm after retirement.

International broadcasts

Episodes of the original Belgian version of the show air in the Netherlands (RTL4, December 2013), in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on SBS2 in Dutch with English

subtitles Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, caption ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as ''Benidorm Pranksters'' with English dubbing and on

ATV Home ATV Home () was a free-to-air Cantonese television channel in Hong Kong, owned and operated by Asia Television. It was formed in September 1963 as a result of the split of the bilingual Rediffusion Television subscription service (which was pri ...

RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service of Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...

programming block with Cantonese dubbing.

International versions

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

version of the show, announced on 15 April 2010, is broadcast by

RTL 4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free TV channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with infotainment, televi ...

since 21 August 2010, recast with Dutch actors. From 17 March 2018 6 episodes of ''Benidorm bastards & de boefjes'' have been broadcast. In this series not only seniors, but also children are pranking with adults. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

network

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

announced it would be creating an American adaptation, ''

Betty White's Off Their Rockers ''Betty White's Off Their Rockers'' is an American comedy television series launched in 2012 that was broadcast on NBC for its first two seasons and Lifetime for its third. The series is hosted by Betty White, and is based on the Belgian televi ...

'', starring

Betty White Betty Marion Ludden ( White; January 17, 1922December 31, 2021), known professionally as Betty White, was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vas ...

. The show debuted on January 16, 2012, one day before White's 90th birthday. The show has adaptions in all

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n countries as well. The Danish version is ''Rollatorbanden'', the Norwegian version is ''Bingobanden'' and the Swedish version is ''Pensionärsjävlar''. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, ITV announced its own adaptation of the show. Following the American adaptation it was also entitled ''Off Their Rockers'' but with different characters. The first episode aired April 7, 2013. The Turkish version ''Baston Takımı'' airs on Star TV. The

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian version ''Os velhinhos se divertem'' airs on SBT inside the oldest Brazilian show called Programa Silvio Santos. The

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

version, ''Los mayores gamberros'', premiered on 13 September 2013 on Antena 3. The

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

version, ''Les détestables'', premiered in 2011 on V. The Italian version, ''Vecchi Bastardi'', premiered on April 7, 2014 in the afternoon on Italia 1 and ceased to be aired on 6 June 2014 (44 episodes of Italian made candid cameras mixed with international ones imported from United States, Holland, Australia, United Kingdom, Belgium and Spain). The

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

version of the show, ''Eesti Ulakad Vanurid'', started broadcasting on 19 May 2016 on TV3.

References

External links

Benidorm Bastards on 2be.be

Website of RTL.nl
{{InternationalEmmyAward ComedySeries Belgian comedy television shows Dutch-language television shows 2010 Belgian television series debuts 2011 Belgian television series endings International Emmy Award for best comedy series winners VTM 2 original programming