Not too long ago there were fears that drama as a genre would struggle to adapt to the changing television landscape. Firstly, audience fragmentation was making funding more complicated. With drama among the most expensive of all genres, there was a view that it would be difficult to put together production budgets. Secondly, there was concern about the impact of PVR-style technologies. With drama more susceptible than most genres to time-shifts, some analysts predicted that there would be an increase in ad-skipping which would make the genre less attractive to commercially-funded networks. This argument predicted a shift towards live and reality TV.
However, drama has not only survived but thrived in recent years. While digital fragmentation has indeed made funding more complicated, it has also become obvious that scripted content helps network stand out from their rivals. So, rather than giving up on scripted content, broadcasters, producers and distributors have found new and innovative ways to finance shows. The result has been the most impressive array of titles in the history of genres.
Ten years ago, sci-fimystery Lost debuted on ABC and the month after, Desperate Housewives joined the show on the same network. It is no exaggeration to say the ratings successes of both shows changed the drama landscape forever. Having storylines unfolding over the entire season instead of being wrapped up within the hour was nothing new – Fox already had 24, for instance. Post-Lost, the creative emphasis immediately switched from procedural storytelling to serialised. Every other broadcast network wanted their version of Lost or Desperate Housewives and were soon unveiling plenty of serialised dramas of their own.
Within a year, procedural dramas were old-hat and there was something of a glut of serialised ones. TV critics in newspapers debated the merits and demerits of this form of storytelling, and some even started tagging the new dramas with colour-coded alerts ranging from green to red, depending on how much concentration was required to follow season-long storylines.
Viewers simply could not keep up with all the new shows; fatigue set in and ratings duly started to tumble. ABC axed Invasion mid-run without even wrapping up the story, as did Fox with Reunion, and other serialised dramas also fell by the wayside in quick succession: Kidnapped (NBC), Threshold (CBS), Heist (NBC) and more. Studios started bemoaning the impact this form of storytelling was having on syndication revenues and even international buyers began longing for something set in a hospital or a law firm that viewers would not be put-off watching if they had not seen all the previous episodes.
Now, after ten years, serialised storytelling once again rules the roost, with a growing Emmy pile, an ever-increasing number of U.S. cable channels embracing the format and broadcast networks following them. The main broadcast nets in the U.S. are all moving into limited runs, turning their dramas into events and making the most of the summer months with yet more original serialised dramas. But this time there are no complaints from critics or viewers about how demanding it all is, keeping up with so many storylines spanning not just one whole season but now four or five.
BBC’s Sherlock series, a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories received top honour at the 9th Seoul International Drama Award (SDA), where it was awarded ‘The Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year’. Since its premiere in 2010, Sherlock has garnered immense international success, spreading across the UK, Russia and Asia. China was the second country, out of the UK, to premiere Sherlock series three. By the end of August 2014, online video portal in China, Youku, had received more than 72 million hits for series three and 1.7 million viewers watched it on Chinese IPTV platform, BesTV, when it premiered in January 2014.
UK based ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Maria Kyriacou, Managing Director claimed, “There are a lot of networks out there that are totally defined by drama.
It is certainly an important part of the mix for both our domestic channel ITV and for our international distribution business.”
ITV’s drama distribution slate over the last few years reflects the importance of the genre to the company. Viewed in its entirety, ITV’s slate is a good indicator of the kind of dramas that are attracting investment at present.
On one hand, there is a trend towards titles like Mr Selfridge and Dancing On The Edge – authored pieces with respected writers and the kind of high-end budgets that can only be achieved via co-production.
Asia has never been more ready for dramas than now. Asian dramas have taken the market by storm or waves in recent years. “They are popular across the region due to well-known talents and storylines that reflect the sensibilities of local viewers. Thanks to the globalisation of TV content and the large number of Asians living in other parts of the world, the popularity of this genre is going to extend far beyond our region in the years to come,” said Ang Hui Keng, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Networks, Asia, Sony Pictures Television.
“Asian dramas have experienced tremendous growth in terms of production quality. In addition, many series, including Korean channel ONE’s dramas – The Inheritors and Doctor Stranger, were shot on location in other parts of the world and feature special storylines that appeal to a larger global audience. We are also seeing an increasing number of co-productions, particularly across Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. As a result many series, like GEM’s Prince of Lan Ling and Chocolat, feature a diverse cast and crew that spans a number of territories. We are focused on series with compelling storylines, a stellar cast with strong acting chops, and high production quality,” added Ang.
He believes Asian dramas are attracting high-calibre talent, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest selling points. Many of these stars are adored across Southeast Asia which is why Sony Pictures Television has been bringing them to meet viewers, advertisers and affiliates for years.
At the recent Asia TV Forum, Fuji Television announced that it will launch a full-scale internet and cable VOD distribution in Singapore through StarHub TV, delivering hit dramas such as Nobunaga Concerto and Dear Sister starting Spring 2015.Fuji TV has been strengthening its internet VOD distribution around the world, supplying contents to distributers in North, Central and South America, Europe, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The network announced its full-scale distribution launch in Singapore as their first giant step into the Southeast Asian market.
Takayuki Hayakawa, general producer for International Sales at Fuji TV said, “With the rapid spread of internet technology, we’ve become aware of the vast amount of people around the world who enjoy watching dramas via smart phones and other new digital devices. We are excited to work with StarHub to give Singaporeans easy access and enjoy Fuji TV’s quality dramas.”
Lee Soo Hui, Head of Media Business Unit, StarHub said, “We have been working with Fuji TV for many years to put quality Japanese dramas on our linear channel VV Drama.
Customers want more control over their viewing habits and we are delivering this viewing experience by offering Fuji TV content on multiple screens and shortening telecast windows.”
Still in Asia, Erika North, HBO Asia’s Head, Programming and Production said, “The future for TV dramas in Asia has never been brighter and it’s an exciting time – the quality of TV content across the region is becoming more competitive and over the coming years, we should see more international export potential which is a good news for producers. HBO Asia certainly plans to continue developing exclusive premium such as Asian TV series for our regional viewers. Ultimately, it would be wonderful to see greater convergence between the region’s robust film industries and the TV business – more crossover of talent – that would be very interesting.”
North expressed, “Drama in an international sense has evolved immensely over the last few years and everyone talks about TV’s current Golden Age. Drama has become more movie-like with stories that are more complex and innovative. In Asia, I believe we will see a continued evolution as channels and platforms seek new ways to engage their audiences.” She also shared several positive views and benefits for producing in Asia including, crew, casts and spectacular locations the region has to offer. With incentive schemes available in Singapore through the Media Development Authority and FINAS in Malaysia, and more studios and infrastructure, the region is genuinely set for growth.
HBO Asia’s first original drama series Serangoon Road, premiered on HBO and is the only programme that received eight nominations in the recent 19th Asian Television Awards. A co-production with Australian Broadcasting Corporation Television, this ten episode hour-long detective noir series is set against the tumultuous backdrop of 1960s Singapore, when the global balance of power is shifting and Singapore is at its crossroad; a time when the British colonial rule is coming to an end. The drama was solely filmed in Singapore and Batam, Indonesia.
The immediate difference between the last ten years of drama is video-on-demand. Back then, the VOD industry was not well established so it was easier for viewers to lose track of plot lines or character developments and consequently lose interest in a show. And viewers knew how much time they would need to include another TV obsession in their lives and so would limit the number of shows they followed.
Now, they can hear some buzz about a show well into its third season and binge-watch every previous episode over a couple of weekends and catch up. This trend had its audience grow with every new season and the impact of SVOD on ratings is now well-documented. What is less well-documented is the impact of binge-viewing on storytelling.
Admittedly, the initial examples of original SVOD dramas have pretty much followed traditional forms but that could easily change as the new medium finds its own voice, just like early television drama was often described as simply ‘radio with pictures’ before the needs and potential of the new medium became apparent.
If the future is on-demand, then many of the dramatic devices that suited the old linear medium will no longer be required, just as playwrights and radio dramatists who moved to TV had to quickly learn. As a concept, the episode seems to be tied to the world of scheduled television and – like the ad break – imposes itself on the storyline often inconveniently, as far as viewers are concerned. Without the need to have highs, lows and beats artificially grafted on to suit an older medium, why not let the storyline unfold in the way best suited to the story?.
Not too long ago there were fears that drama as a genre would struggle to adapt to the changing television landscape. Firstly, audience fragmentation was making funding more complicated. With drama among the most expensive of all genres, there was a view that it would be difficult to put together production budgets. Secondly, there was concern about the impact of PVR-style technologies. With drama more susceptible than most genres to time-shifts, some analysts predicted that there would be an increase in ad-skipping which would make the genre less attractive to commercially-funded networks. This argument predicted a shift towards live and reality TV.
However, drama has not only survived but thrived in recent years. While digital fragmentation has indeed made funding more complicated, it has also become obvious that scripted content helps network stand out from their rivals. So, rather than giving up on scripted content, broadcasters, producers and distributors have found new and innovative ways to finance shows. The result has been the most impressive array of titles in the history of genres.
Ten years ago, sci-fimystery Lost debuted on ABC and the month after, Desperate Housewives joined the show on the same network. It is no exaggeration to say the ratings successes of both shows changed the drama landscape forever. Having storylines unfolding over the entire season instead of being wrapped up within the hour was nothing new – Fox already had 24, for instance. Post-Lost, the creative emphasis immediately switched from procedural storytelling to serialised. Every other broadcast network wanted their version of Lost or Desperate Housewives and were soon unveiling plenty of serialised dramas of their own.
Within a year, procedural dramas were old-hat and there was something of a glut of serialised ones. TV critics in newspapers debated the merits and demerits of this form of storytelling, and some even started tagging the new dramas with colour-coded alerts ranging from green to red, depending on how much concentration was required to follow season-long storylines.
Viewers simply could not keep up with all the new shows; fatigue set in and ratings duly started to tumble. ABC axed Invasion mid-run without even wrapping up the story, as did Fox with Reunion, and other serialised dramas also fell by the wayside in quick succession: Kidnapped (NBC), Threshold (CBS), Heist (NBC) and more. Studios started bemoaning the impact this form of storytelling was having on syndication revenues and even international buyers began longing for something set in a hospital or a law firm that viewers would not be put-off watching if they had not seen all the previous episodes.
Now, after ten years, serialised storytelling once again rules the roost, with a growing Emmy pile, an ever-increasing number of U.S. cable channels embracing the format and broadcast networks following them. The main broadcast nets in the U.S. are all moving into limited runs, turning their dramas into events and making the most of the summer months with yet more original serialised dramas. But this time there are no complaints from critics or viewers about how demanding it all is, keeping up with so many storylines spanning not just one whole season but now four or five.
BBC’s Sherlock series, a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories received top honour at the 9th Seoul International Drama Award (SDA), where it was awarded ‘The Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year’. Since its premiere in 2010, Sherlock has garnered immense international success, spreading across the UK, Russia and Asia. China was the second country, out of the UK, to premiere Sherlock series three. By the end of August 2014, online video portal in China, Youku, had received more than 72 million hits for series three and 1.7 million viewers watched it on Chinese IPTV platform, BesTV, when it premiered in January 2014.
UK based ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Maria Kyriacou, Managing Director claimed, “There are a lot of networks out there that are totally defined by drama.
It is certainly an important part of the mix for both our domestic channel ITV and for our international distribution business.”
ITV’s drama distribution slate over the last few years reflects the importance of the genre to the company. Viewed in its entirety, ITV’s slate is a good indicator of the kind of dramas that are attracting investment at present.
On one hand, there is a trend towards titles like Mr Selfridge and Dancing On The Edge – authored pieces with respected writers and the kind of high-end budgets that can only be achieved via co-production.
Asia has never been more ready for dramas than now. Asian dramas have taken the market by storm or waves in recent years. “They are popular across the region due to well-known talents and storylines that reflect the sensibilities of local viewers. Thanks to the globalisation of TV content and the large number of Asians living in other parts of the world, the popularity of this genre is going to extend far beyond our region in the years to come,” said Ang Hui Keng, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Networks, Asia, Sony Pictures Television.
“Asian dramas have experienced tremendous growth in terms of production quality. In addition, many series, including Korean channel ONE’s dramas – The Inheritors and Doctor Stranger, were shot on location in other parts of the world and feature special storylines that appeal to a larger global audience. We are also seeing an increasing number of co-productions, particularly across Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. As a result many series, like GEM’s Prince of Lan Ling and Chocolat, feature a diverse cast and crew that spans a number of territories. We are focused on series with compelling storylines, a stellar cast with strong acting chops, and high production quality,” added Ang.
He believes Asian dramas are attracting high-calibre talent, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest selling points. Many of these stars are adored across Southeast Asia which is why Sony Pictures Television has been bringing them to meet viewers, advertisers and affiliates for years.
At the recent Asia TV Forum, Fuji Television announced that it will launch a full-scale internet and cable VOD distribution in Singapore through StarHub TV, delivering hit dramas such as Nobunaga Concerto and Dear Sister starting Spring 2015.Fuji TV has been strengthening its internet VOD distribution around the world, supplying contents to distributers in North, Central and South America, Europe, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The network announced its full-scale distribution launch in Singapore as their first giant step into the Southeast Asian market.
Takayuki Hayakawa, general producer for International Sales at Fuji TV said, “With the rapid spread of internet technology, we’ve become aware of the vast amount of people around the world who enjoy watching dramas via smart phones and other new digital devices. We are excited to work with StarHub to give Singaporeans easy access and enjoy Fuji TV’s quality dramas.”
Lee Soo Hui, Head of Media Business Unit, StarHub said, “We have been working with Fuji TV for many years to put quality Japanese dramas on our linear channel VV Drama.
Customers want more control over their viewing habits and we are delivering this viewing experience by offering Fuji TV content on multiple screens and shortening telecast windows.”
Still in Asia, Erika North, HBO Asia’s Head, Programming and Production said, “The future for TV dramas in Asia has never been brighter and it’s an exciting time – the quality of TV content across the region is becoming more competitive and over the coming years, we should see more international export potential which is a good news for producers. HBO Asia certainly plans to continue developing exclusive premium such as Asian TV series for our regional viewers. Ultimately, it would be wonderful to see greater convergence between the region’s robust film industries and the TV business – more crossover of talent – that would be very interesting.”
North expressed, “Drama in an international sense has evolved immensely over the last few years and everyone talks about TV’s current Golden Age. Drama has become more movie-like with stories that are more complex and innovative. In Asia, I believe we will see a continued evolution as channels and platforms seek new ways to engage their audiences.” She also shared several positive views and benefits for producing in Asia including, crew, casts and spectacular locations the region has to offer. With incentive schemes available in Singapore through the Media Development Authority and FINAS in Malaysia, and more studios and infrastructure, the region is genuinely set for growth.
HBO Asia’s first original drama series Serangoon Road, premiered on HBO and is the only programme that received eight nominations in the recent 19th Asian Television Awards. A co-production with Australian Broadcasting Corporation Television, this ten episode hour-long detective noir series is set against the tumultuous backdrop of 1960s Singapore, when the global balance of power is shifting and Singapore is at its crossroad; a time when the British colonial rule is coming to an end. The drama was solely filmed in Singapore and Batam, Indonesia.
The immediate difference between the last ten years of drama is video-on-demand. Back then, the VOD industry was not well established so it was easier for viewers to lose track of plot lines or character developments and consequently lose interest in a show. And viewers knew how much time they would need to include another TV obsession in their lives and so would limit the number of shows they followed.
Now, they can hear some buzz about a show well into its third season and binge-watch every previous episode over a couple of weekends and catch up. This trend had its audience grow with every new season and the impact of SVOD on ratings is now well-documented. What is less well-documented is the impact of binge-viewing on storytelling.
Admittedly, the initial examples of original SVOD dramas have pretty much followed traditional forms but that could easily change as the new medium finds its own voice, just like early television drama was often described as simply ‘radio with pictures’ before the needs and potential of the new medium became apparent.
If the future is on-demand, then many of the dramatic devices that suited the old linear medium will no longer be required, just as playwrights and radio dramatists who moved to TV had to quickly learn. As a concept, the episode seems to be tied to the world of scheduled television and – like the ad break – imposes itself on the storyline often inconveniently, as far as viewers are concerned. Without the need to have highs, lows and beats artificially grafted on to suit an older medium, why not let the storyline unfold in the way best suited to the story?.
