Nuanced

It was BBC Director-General Alasdair Milne who, in the mid-80s coined the phrase 'wall-to-wall Dallas' as a possible after-effect of the coming deregulation of UK broadcasting. 

The BBC itself was a longstanding consumer of US TV,  starting with The Lone Ranger, Sgt Bilko, I Love Lucy, The Perry Como Show, Bronco Layne, Laramie, Circus Boy and many more. The 70s and eighties saw shows that lasted an hour in the States with ad breaks, coming to BBC1 schedules at 45 minutes. 

They included Starsky & Hutch, Ironside, Kojak, The Rockford Files, Petrocelli, Cannon, Cagney & Lacey, Dallas, Charlie’s Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard, and many more. 

In the 1990s the BBC Governors joined calls for a row-back, and more investment in British-made drama. 

In a continuing run of purchases, iPlayer now seems to require an enormous amount of US padding. Today we're told the BBC has bought all three seasons (28 x 30) of American teen comedy-drama Love, Victor from Disney Entertainment. Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition says: “Love, Victor is a heartfelt, funny and nuanced coming-of-age story, beautifully portrayed by a winning and relatable cast.”