Scriptedpofc Octnov20.Indd MACHINERY COVERTBI.Indd 1 1 25/09/202002/10/2020 17:0810:02 Lagardère Studios Distribution Presents
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Insight on screen TBIvision.com | October/November 2020 Television Business International Attention seekers Where next for long-running drama series? 8 Brave New World How Aldous Huxley's novel TBI Scripted was reworked for Peacock 6 LAGARDERE_THEScriptedpOFC OctNov20.indd MACHINERY_COVERTBI.indd 1 1 25/09/202002/10/2020 17:0810:02 Lagardère Studios Distribution presents 8x55’ 8x45’ 10x45’ www.lagardere-studiosdistribution.com ScriptedpXX Lagardere Group TBI OctNov20.indd 1 28/09/2020 15:08 TBI Scripted | This Issue Contents October/November 2020 Contact us Editor Richard Middleton [email protected] Direct line +44 (0) 20 7017 7184 Deputy editor Mark Layton [email protected] Contributors Stephen Arnell, Nick Edwards Sales manager Michael Callan 2 [email protected] Direct line +44 (0) 20 7017 5295 Art director Matthew Humberstone [email protected] Direct line +44 (0) 20 7017 5336 Marketing executive Abigail Dede [email protected] Direct line +44 (0) 20 7017 6018 6 8 Commercial director Patricia Arescy [email protected] Direct line +44 (0) 20 7017 5320 2. Packing it up Scripted seasons have been getting shorter over recent years and Covid-19 looks to Editorial director Stuart Thomson be accelerating this trend. Stephen Arnell explores the long-term implications. [email protected] Direct line +44 (0) 20 7017 5314 4. Building an American Utopia Amazon Prime’s Utopia might be a remake of the eponymous UK drama, but as producer Sharon Levy tells Mark Layton, it’s quite a dierent type of show. 6. Script to screen: Brave New World US showrunner David Wiener tells Mark Layton how he approached updating the @TBImagazine ‘prescient’ vision of Aldous Huxley for Peacock’s adaptation of Brave New World. 8. Bridging the gap Published by Informa Tech, Blue Fin Building, Serialised drama has soared in popularity, but as the number of shows on oer 110 Southwark Street, London SE10TA e-mail: [email protected] web: www.tbivision.com continues to multiply, are audiences getting tired of long-term commitment? Printed in England by Walstead Roche Ltd, St Austell, Cornwall PL26 8LX. 12. Scripted Hot Picks © 2020 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved TBI’s pick of the latest in scripted drama, including Trickster and Romulus. Reproduction without permission is prohibited October/November 2020 1 Scriptedp01 Contents OctNov20-ML RJM.indd 1 02/10/2020 14:39 TBI Scripted | Shorter seasons Packing it up Scripted seasons have been getting shorter over recent years and Covid-19’s impact on production looks to only be accelerating this trend, with some producers cutting episode counts to ensure delivery. Stephen Arnell explores what the longer-term implications might be arlier this summer it was revealed that the The potential for quick- Costs, cuts & commissions second season of BBC and HBO drama His turnaround scripted Dark Materials was still on track to air in content, such as the UK’s “We’re not cutting back episodes on dramas 2020, despite the travails of Covid-19. Staged (above), has been unnecessarily,” says Gabriel Silver, senior EThe eects of the pandemic on production, however, recognised internationally commissioning editor for Sky Drama, but the meant the show would only consist of seven, rather approach is changing. “One thing that Covid-19 than the initially planned eight, instalments. has made us do is think about making editorial The abandoned episode was a standalone focusing adjustments to better protect against a postponement on James McAvoy’s character of Lord Asriel, which or abandonment of filming again due to another spike. appears to mean the overall narrative of the second “So, although the ambition going into production is season is largely unaected. for a 10-part series, could you get out at episode seven Jane Tranter, executive producer at the show’s or eight or nine if you had to? That means you can still producer, Bad Wolf, assured potential viewers that deliver a satisfying show for the audience, but also help “essentially, our adaptation of The Subtle Knife has to safeguard against possible disruption to filming. been completed.” “A reduced episode count also provides a For the scripted business, which is still reeling from makeweight against the added cost of protecting cast the eect of lockdowns on filming, it is however an and crew (and the wider public) against Covid.” example of how some producers are adapting to the Over in India, producer Sunder Aaron of challenges to get their shows onto screen in a hugely Locomotive Films says the structure of scripted shows unpredictable world. in his part of the world has not changed dramatically 2 October/November 2020 Scriptedp02-03 Shorter Seasons OctNov20-ML RJM.indd 2 01/10/2020 21:52 TBI Scripted | Shorter seasons as a result of the pandemic. “Over the past few months NENT Studios UK, says that while there may be some in India, there hasn’t been any Covid-related curtailing “Although the short-term impact on specific shows directly aected of series/projects that I have noticed. For my projects, ambition is for by lockdowns mid-shoot,” the downward trend was we are still discussing 10 episodes that are going into a 10-part series, already well underway. development. could you get out at “This has been down in part to budgetary pressure “In India, when it comes to streaming, the issue episode seven?” – why don’t we make more, shorter shows – as isn’t so much a Covid-related impact, but really about Gabriel Silver, well as the impact of SVOD commissioning on the making sure that the creators and producers are Sky Drama development process,” he says. capable of telling a story in a compelling fashion that “Distributors have traditionally shied away from can have a proper run. Many Indian series have fewer four-parters, for example. Most broadcasters around than 10 episodes, but that pre-dated Covid and really the world, and especially in the US where the biggest was the result of the producers not yet being ready to rewards tend to be earned, have always found six to be tell longer stories. too few, so dropping to four can be tough.” “Indian TV is mostly populated with long-running series that air on a daily basis (similar to telenovelas). Slimming process Of course, production ceased because of the pandemic, and is only now getting back on track. However, I However, in a bid to make commissioning budgets doubt very much whether the conventions of Indian go further, shorter runs – including four-parters – are television serials will be changed going forward.” becoming increasingly popular. “The simple maths of Elsewhere, the pandemic and the reaction to the it allows you to launch more projects, try more things, death of George Floyd in the US has in some ways potentially take more risks, and have a more regular stimulated scripted production and provided content- and varied dialogue with your viewers,” Clarke says. hungry broadcasters with a slew of quick turnaround “Obviously, the same is true of any reduction in series transmitted over recent months. series length, regardless of your starting point. There In the US, Freeform debuted the romantic comedy are downsides of course, such as not keeping viewers series Love In The Time Of Corona, while Isolation in your channel eco-system as long as you would Stories and Unsaid Stories for ITV, along with otherwise, but perhaps the pros outweigh the cons.” the BBC’s Talking Heads and Staged, highlighted And shorter seasons can of course work – Clarke the potential in the UK, with the latter selling points to NENT Studios UK’s four-parter The Cry. internationally. But with the exception of Talking “The editorial was so tight and so engaging that Heads, it’s dicult to see these shows having much of buyers around the world saw past the format and an afterlife, if and when the pandemic hopefully ends. concentrated on the quality of the storytelling, with People may well not want to be reminded of the dreary most picking it up even before the stellar viewing months of lockdown. figures on BBC One.” But the growth of SVODs has also meant that Consumption & quality material no longer has to be stretched to breaking point, as has been the case with some linear networks It remains to be seen how the pandemic will continue that have a necessity to fill inflexible schedules. “If to impact the drama pipeline over the coming year, streaming has done anything,” adds Clarke, “it has but for viewers around the world, any reduction of been responsible for removing a few of the formatting episodes isn’t necessarily unwelcome. Network shows shackles that come with a linear schedule. If the best have regularly been accused of stretching their stories version of an SVOD series is seven eps – so be it.” thin, while embracing some SVOD serial dramas can That naturally has commercial implications, prove to be a daunting prospect when you know that a including the loss of economies of scale which can 10 or 15-episode series can often contain a fair amount be achieved on longer runs. In terms of network of filler to work through. schedules, gaps will have to be filled, but for the These usually include flashbacks when the early non-linear SVOD, it seems likely to escape relatively formative years of characters are explored; others unscathed if episode losses are not too drastic. where relatively minor cast members are brought into Shorter seasons will continue to have an eect on focus and ‘bottle’ episodes, where the action is confined freelance creatives, producers and writers however, to one set, with a small number of regular players.