Producing British Television Drama

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Ruth McElroy, Caitriona Noonan

   Pages 1-21

3. What Makes TV Drama Special?

   • Ruth McElroy, Caitriona Noonan

   Pages 23-43

4. The Ecology of TV Drama Production

   • Ruth McElroy, Caitriona Noonan

   Pages 45-71

5. Locating Regional Production

   • Ruth McElroy, Caitriona Noonan

   Pages 73-95

6. Building a Sustainable Labour Force

   • Ruth McElroy, Caitriona Noonan

   Pages 97-121

7. Cultural Intermediaries and the Value of Game of Thrones

   • Ruth McElroy, Caitriona Noonan

   Pages 123-144

8. Power and Sustainability in TV Drama Production

   • Ruth McElroy, Caitriona Noonan

   Pages 145-160

9. Back Matter

   Pages 161-172

   PDF

This book presents a compelling case for a paradigmatic shift in the analysis of television drama production that recentres questions of power, control and sustainability. Television drama production has become an increasingly lucrative global export business as drama as a form enjoys increased prestige. However, this book argues that the growing emphasis on international markets and global players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime neglects the realities of commissioning and making television drama in specific national and regional contexts. Drawing on extensive empirical research, Producing British Television Drama demonstrates the centrality of public service broadcasters in serving audiences and sustaining the commercial independent sector in a digital age. It attends closely to three elements—the role of place in the production of content; the experiences of those working in the sector; and the interventions from cultural intermediaries in articulating and ascribing value totelevision drama. With chapters examining the evolution of British TV drama, as well as what might be in store in its future, this book offers invaluable insights into the UK as a major supplier of and market for television drama.

• distribution
• public service broadcasting
• genre
• cultural policy
• branding
• TV
• BBC
• co-production
• crime drama
• Doctor Who
• tourism
• Game of Thrones
• place
• screen agencies
• Brexit
• power
• sustainability
• Netflix
• audience
• Amazon Prime

“McElroy and Noonan offer an eloquent and persuasive defence of PSB. … This is a timely, well-argued analysis of the ecology of contemporary television that, in exploring and championing the ‘local’ in drama production, has much to add to current debates.” (Stephen Lacey, Critical Studies in Television, Vol. 15 (2), 2020)

• Creative Industries, University of South Wales, Cardiff, UK

  Ruth McElroy

• School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

  Caitriona Noonan

Ruth McElroy is Professor of Creative Industries at University of South Wales, UK. She is editor of Contemporary British Television Crime Drama: Cops on the Box (2017).

Caitriona Noonan is Lecturer in Media and Communications at Cardiff University, UK. Published in Critical Studies in Television, her research interests are in cultural production and policy.

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