What a Country!
| What a Country! | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Based on | Mind Your Language |
| Developed by | Martin Rips Joseph Staretski |
| Written by | Frank Mula Martin Rips Leonard Ripps Mike Scully Joseph Staretski |
| Directed by | Peter Baldwin Robert Claver Linda Day Dolores Ferraro Russ Petranto |
| Starring | Garrett M. Brown Yakov Smirnoff George Murdock Vijay Amritraj Harry Waters, Jr. Ada Maris Julian Reyes Leila Hee Olsen Gail Strickland |
| Theme music composer | Richard DeBenedictis |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Martin Rips Joseph Staretski |
| Producers | Wendy Blair Eric Cohen Leonard Ripps |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Production companies | Ripstar Productions Primetime Entertainment Tribune Entertainment Viacom Enterprises |
| Original release | |
| Network | First-run syndication |
| Release | September 27, 1986 – May 23, 1987 |
What a Country! is an American sitcom starring Garrett M. Brown and Yakov Smirnoff that aired in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 23, 1987. The series is based on the British sitcom Mind Your Language and was intended as a showcase for Ukrainian-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff, whose catchphrase provided the show's title. Five years previously in 1981, an episode of sitcom Diff'rent Strokes titled "Almost American" had served as a backdoor pilot for a US version of Mind Your Language but it was not picked up for a series.