Spotlight
Uk Television
Stop! In the Name of Love
, a musical drama for
BBC1 built around Motown tracks.
No less impressive has been the success of
Death in Paradise
, a BBC and FranceTV co-pro-
duction that was recently renewed for a sixth
season and has sold all over the world. Jordan
says indie companies such as his have had to
embrace the international market to get things
made. “You have to be entrepreneurial to get
the budget you need but the good news is that,
if you do it right, you can get a better show.
Death in Paradise
is an example of that.”
A distinctive edge
A risk with co-productions is that conflicting
expectations among partners mean they can
become deal-led compromises, but UK produc-
ers are not allowing the allure of the interna-
tional market to compromise the creative
vision. This approach is underscored by former
Kudos CEO Dan Isaacs, who has delivered hit
shows including
Law and Order: UK
,
The Tunnel
and 2013’s breakout hit
Broadchurch
. “If you
start out thinking you’re making something for
the global market, you get in trouble,” he says.
“Dramas like
Happy Valley
and
Doctor Foster
show that one of our real strengths is the way
we protect and nurture our writers.”
One writer who is almost synonymous with
the success of UK drama is Andrew Davies,
scribe of the new
War & Peace
,
Mr Selfridge
and
numerous other literary adaptations, who
enjoys the international attention his series
attract but does not let it influence his storytell-
ing. “You’re always thinking about how you can
make the visual image tell the story, which has
a bearing on the way international audiences
respond,”he says.“But I generallywrite to please
myself. That’s the best way to make sure you do
something that pleases all audiences.” Davies
does believe, however, that growth in demand
for high-concept international co-productions
has allowed writers to become more ambitious.
“There are so many platforms hungry for dis-
tinctive material that there is real encourage-
ment for writers to think big.”
Alongside co-production, scripted formats is
another area in which the UK has enjoyed huge
success, with
Life on Mars
,
The Office
,
Broad-
church
,
Skins
,
Prime Suspect
,
Being Human
,
Mis-
tresses
and
Shameless
all making it as far as a
US series commission. And while landing a
show in the US and getting it renewed is noto-
riously difficult,
The Office
,
Shameless
,
Mistresses
and
Being Human
have established themselves
as long-running franchises.Also not to be over-
looked is the fact
Doc Martin
has been adapted
in markets such as France and Spain.
Eleventh Hour Films’ Green believes formats
are an important avenue for UK companies
because they allow the producer to focus their
energy on making a great show for the local
market. “You do the show well and the format
discussion happens separately,” she says.
“There’s less of an issue around trying to secure
the kind of high-profile cast you need for an
international co-production. It was always dif-
ficult to turn a six-part UK show into a 22-part
US procedural, but now that US channels are
commissioning in shorter runs of 10 or 12, it’s
not such a creative stretch.”
Looking ahead, the prevailing view is that UK
TV will continue to enjoy international success,
with high-profile productions such as ITV’s
Vic-
toria
sure to attract widespread global atten-
tion in 2016. “The Americans are over here
looking at UK talent,” says Isaacs. “That causes
some inflation in the market and puts pressure
on the availability of top writers but it does
mean there’s more money, which creates the
conditions to expand the UK scripted business.”
The introduction of UK tax reliefs for high-
end TV drama is also significant because it
protects the country’s craft base, and there are
new opportunities emerging from the SVoD
space. Keelan points to his company’s new co-
production with Amazon, fashion series
The
Collection
, calling it “the kind of show that may
not have got made a few years ago” (see page
77). Former Kudos Chairman Stephen Garrett,
meanwhile, is developing a London-based
series called
The Rook
for Hulu in the US.
As Jordan, whose recent production
Dicken-
sian
featured Wilson Radjou-Pujalte as the
Artful Dodger, says of the diversity of, and
global appetite for, UK TV content: “Everything
we do is about trying to reflect the world in
2016. We prize creative integrity above all
else, so it would be silly not to reflect the
spirit of the present day in this country.”
UK
The Night Manager
Death in Paradise
“
one of our real
strengths is the
waywe protect
our writers
”
Dan Isaacs, former Kudos CEO
26
