All posts by Stephen Arnell

Dystopian blues

May 8, 2018TrendspottingABC, Altered Carbon, Amazon, BBC, Black Mirror, Blood Drive, Channel 4, Fahrenheit 451, FX, Hard Sun, Hulu, Incorporated, Kelvin’s Book, Netflix, Philip K Dick’s Electric Dreams, SS-GB, SyFy, The 100, The Colony, The Crossing, The CW, The Feed, The Handmaid's Tale, The Man in the High Castle, The Peripheral, The Rain, Van Helsing, Westworld, Y: The Last ManStephen Arnell

The television landscape is awash with series set in alternative – and not particularly bright – futures. Stephen Arnell casts his eye over the dystopian series on screen, and also finds sci-fi series with a more optimistic outlook.

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Join the club

November 30, 2017TrendspottingAmerican Horror Story, BBC, CBS, FX, HBO, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount TV, Raven, The Path, The State, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, WacoStephen Arnell

From Hulu’s The Path and the most recent season of FX’s American Horror Story to upcoming series Waco and Raven, TV dramas about cults have caught the zeitgeist. DQ takes a closer look at this trend.

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Rule Britannia

October 16, 2017IN FOCUSAnne Mensah, Britannia, Cameron Roach, Jez Butterworth, Neal Street Productions, Sky Atlantic, Sky Vision, Vertigo FilmsStephen Arnell

Britannia, Sky Atlantic’s epic Romans-in-Britain drama, debuts early next year. Ahead of the show’s world premiere at Mipcom this week, DQ talks to Sky drama chiefs Anne Mensah and Cameron Roach.

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A house divided

July 25, 2017WE NEED TO TALK ABOUTConfederate, David Benioff, DB Weiss, Game of Thrones, HBO, Malcolm Spellman, Nichelle Tramble SpellmanStephen Arnell

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss have ruffled some feathers by revealing their plans for life after Westeros. Stephen Arnell analyses their proposal for a new alternative-history drama about the Civil War.

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Will power

July 3, 2017TrendspottingABC, BBC, Craig Pearce, Shekhar Kapur, Still Star-Crossed, TNT, Upstart Crow, Will, William ShakespeareStephen Arnell

With TNT’s Will and ABC’s Romeo & Juliet sequel Still Star-Crossed airing this summer, Stephen Arnell looks at William Shakespeare’s record as a drama character in his own right.

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Return of the King

June 21, 2017Trendspotting1922, Castle Rock, Gerald’s Game, IT, Mr Mercedes, Netflix, Spike, Stephen King, The Dark Tower, The MistStephen Arnell

As Spike launches its adaptation of The Mist, Stephen Arnell explores how TV and film versions of Stephen King’s work have become more popular and prolific than ever.

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Chain reaction

March 7, 2017WE NEED TO TALK ABOUTBBC, Doctor Who, Facebook, Social media, SS-GB, Stephen Moffat, Taboo, The Good Wife, The Walking Dead, TwitterStephen Arnell

Social media is having an increasing impact on the success or failure of television drama, as Stephen Arnell discovers.

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Who’s next?

February 9, 2017WE NEED TO TALK ABOUTBBC, BBC Worldwide, Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi, Steven MoffattStephen Arnell

With Peter Capaldi revealing he plans to leave the Tardis at the same time as showrunner Steven Moffatt also departs Doctor Who, Stephen Arnell considers the future for the long-running sci-fi drama.

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Kings of the wild frontier

January 10, 2017TrendspottingDeadwood, Frontier, Harlots, HBO, Jamestown, Longmire, Netflix, Sky Atlantic, Sky1, Taboo, The Frankenstein Chronicles, Tin Star, WestworldStephen Arnell

Period dramas are never far from our screens, but they currently appear to be more popular and diverse than ever. Stephen Arnell examines the current trend for costume series.

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Stranger than fiction?

November 22, 2016WE NEED TO TALK ABOUTDesignated Survivor, Donald Trump, Graves, HBO, House of Cards, Madam Secretary, Netflix, Saturday Night Live, VeepStephen Arnell

As Donald Trump prepares to move into the White House, Stephen Arnell questions the future of political dramas under the new president. It’s no understatement to say the election of Donald Trump (pictured above in The Apprentice) as the 45th president of the US has had reverberations around the world. Although hardly on a scale with the anxieties related to areas of such importance as global security, the world economy and climate change, Trump’s elevation has caused an almost immediate effect on US political drama. After being repeatedly being delayed before the November 8 election, Unstoppable – an episode of Law & Order: SVU starring Gary Cole (The West Wing, Veep, The Good Wife) as a Trump-like presidential candidate who faces damaging sexual allegations – may now have been scrapped for good, or at least been kicked down the road for the foreseeable future. Is this a worrying sign of self-censorship on the part of broadcaster NBC, or the simple recognition that the network can’t afford to alienate those who elected Trump, despite Hilary Clinton winning the popular vote? After all, Alec Baldwin’s parody of Trump on NBC’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) already earned a tweeted rebuke from the then candidate: “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” This past weekend, the president-elect renewed his attacks on SNL and opened up a new front on the cast of the popular stage musical Hamilton. So … Continue reading Stranger than fiction? →

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The bumpy road to success: Drama’s most troubled productions

September 27, 2016IN FOCUSHBO, Netflix, The Get Down, WestworldStephen Arnell

With HBO preparing to debut the much-anticipated Westworld, Stephen Arnell finds that, despite its troubled production history, the show looks certain to be the cable channel’s latest hit. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s eagerly awaited re-imagining of Michael Crichton’s classic sci-fi movie Westworld premieres on HBO on October 2. The 1973 hit film has already spawned both a lacklustre sequel (1976’s Futureworld) and a short-lived CBS TV series, Beyond Westworld (1980). Now Nolan and Joy’s Westworld (pictured above) has been plagued by production woes – including a two-month shutdown earlier this year, the departure of cast members Miranda Otto and Eion Bailey and a protracted development process since HBO ordered the pilot way back in August 2013. At one point it was reported that HBO had persuaded Nolan to ‘put aside his ego’ to get the show back on track. Earlier rumours of graphic rape and sex scenes in Westworld also gave fuel to widespread condemnations of HBO’s depictions of sexual violence against women, with critics citing other shows such as The Night Of, Game of Thrones, Rome, Deadwood and The Sopranos, in which this appeared to be a recurring theme. Despite this, word of mouth around the show is exceptionally strong. Early reviews have given Westworld an aggregated score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with some critics predicting a Thrones-style worldwide success for HBO. In his September 19 review, IGN Movies’ Eric Goldman wrote: “From its standout cast to its excellent visuals to one hell of a hummable score … Continue reading The bumpy road to success: Drama’s most troubled productions →

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A farewell to kings

June 28, 2016IN FOCUSAmerican Lion, BBC, Bernard Cornwell, Game of Thrones, George RR Martin, HBO, Lewis & Clark, Mogadishu Minnesota, Sky, Sky Atlantic, The Last Dragonslayer, The Last Kingdom, Troy: Fall of a CityStephen Arnell

As HBO says goodbye to Game of Thrones for another year – and edges closer to the show’s end – it’s time for the storied network to look towards life after Westeros. With the sixth season of Game of Thrones (GoT, pictured top) now concluded, rumours abound that the final two chapters of the fantasy drama may only run to a total of 13 episodes. It’s time for HBO to contemplate life after Westeros. For HBO (and other channels that air the series, like Sky Atlantic in the UK), the prospect of saying goodbye to such a ratings juggernaut must be daunting, with thoughts of what – if anything – can take its place. Doubts have been raised about the appeal of some HBO’s upcoming slate of shows. Sci-fi series Westworld and 1970s/80s New York-set porn industry drama The Deuce (from The Wire’s David Simon) should attract high sampling, but others may fall by the wayside. Succession, about a super-rich dynastic American family, and Somali-American drama Mogadishu, Minnesota could find less traction, as might historical miniseries Lewis & Clark and American Lion (starring Sean Penn as the seventh US president, Andrew Jackson), which might struggle outside the US. Back in 2008, the UK’s Channel 4 played HBO’s other presidential biopic miniseries, John Adams, to critical praise but few viewers. For Sky Atlantic, some of HBO’s more US-centric shows – such as public-housing drama Show Me a Hero, Olive Kitteridge, The Brink and the recently cancelled Vinyl – have failed to … Continue reading A farewell to kings →

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The shape of things to come: what next for sci-fi and fantasy?

June 2, 2016WE NEED TO TALK ABOUTAmblin, BBC, Brave New World, Childhood's End, Fox, Gateway, HBO, His Dark Materials, Hugo, Hulu, Hyperion, Likely Stories, Mammoth Screen, Midnight Texas, NBC, Neil Gaiman, Red Mars, Sky Arts, Spike, SS-GB, SyFy, The Handmaid's Tale, War of the Worlds, WestworldStephen Arnell

Stephen Arnell casts his eye over the television landscape and finds there are plenty of science-fiction and fantasy series in the works to keep genre fans happy. At the same time as a tide of comic book and graphic novel TV adaptations have hit the screen, there has been a less trumpeted but increasingly visible trend in series based on ‘hard’ science fiction and ‘serious’ fantasy. With the recent announcement of Bryan Cranston’s new Philip K Dick anthology series Electric Dreams (produced by Sony Pictures Television for Channel 4), there seems to be an unmistakable head of steam behind adaptations of ‘hard’ sci-fi – coming hot on the heels of Amazon’s critically lauded The Man in the High Castle (also based on a Philip K Dick novel) and Syfy’s miniseries version of Arthur C Clarke’s downbeat Childhood’s End. This resurgence of more serious-minded sci-fi is demonstrated in the UK, with Channel 4 leading the way with the AMC coproduction Humans and the less viewed, but well-regarded, Utopia. The alternate-history Axis victory premise of Amazon’s High Castle will be mirrored by BBC1’s upcoming SS-GB, which itself harks back to 1978’s BBC2 production An Englishman’s Castle, which starred Kenneth More as a TV soap writer in Nazi-occupied Britain. Broadcasters and OTT providers have discovered a new vein to mine, as evidenced by a slew of shows being developed or in production, including HBO’s series version of Michael Crichton’s Westworld (pictured top), best known to older readers from the 1973 movie starring Yul … Continue reading The shape of things to come: what next for sci-fi and fantasy? →

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Upfronts 2016: Networks perform the safety dance

May 24, 2016IN FOCUSABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, The CW, TNT, Upfronts, USA NetworkStephen Arnell

As the dust settles on the US networks’ Upfronts week, Stephen Arnell casts his eye over the new shows set to hit our screens in 2016/17. In the main, innovation appeared to be in short supply at last week’s Upfronts – reboots, legal and cop dramas and the dispiriting trend of making TV versions of hit movies are the order of the day for the nets. Despite the poor performance of Minority Report, Rush Hour and Limitless (which were all cancelled after one season), we’ll see series versions of films including Lethal Weapon (Fox), Training Day (CBS), Taken (NBC), The Exorcist (Fox) and lesser-known properties Frequency (The CW) and Time After Time (ABC). Sci-fi thriller Frequency was a medium-sized hit for Dennis Quaid (who’ll star in season two of Sky Atlantic’s upcoming Fortitude) in 2000, while Time After Time was released way back in 1979, with Malcolm MacDowell and David Warner as HG Wells and Jack the Ripper respectively, Wells pursuing the Ripper through time to then present day San Francisco. NBC cablenet USA Network is taking a punt on Shooter, based on the 2007 Mark Wahlberg actioner, starring Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions, McGruber, The Lincoln Lawyer). Turner’s TNT also unveiled its adaptation of acclaimed crime drama Animal Kingdom, with Ellen Barkin (The Big Easy, Happyish, Ocean’s 13) taking the lead role as matriarch Smurf. Fox seems to be the home for budding Satanists, with a series reworking of William Friedkin’s classic The Exorcist joining a schedule that includes Lucifer … Continue reading Upfronts 2016: Networks perform the safety dance →

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November reign: How did the now ex-ITV drama boss do?

April 12, 2016THE BUSINESSBBC, Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, Doctor Thorne, Houdini & Doyle, ITV, ITV Encore, Jekyll & Hyde, Kevin Lygo, Marcella, Polly Hill, Steve NovemberStephen Arnell

Following Steve November’s exit from ITV, Stephen Arnell assesses his tenure as the commercial broadcaster’s head of drama. The news of ITV drama director Steve November’s departure brought to a close the first stage of new ITV director of television Kevin Lygo’s shake-up of senior commissioning roles at the network. For the commercial broadcaster, drama is the most important genre in terms of cost, peaktime value and ratings. Although Lygo’s background is chiefly in entertainment (his skills will be crucial in reinvigorating that critical part of the schedule), one shouldn’t forget that he was, under pseudonym Ruby Solomon, the writer of the one-off comedy-drama Walter, commissioned and broadcast by BBC1 in 2014. And when Lygo was Channel 4’s director of television and content, drama successes under his regime included Shameless, The Devil’s Whore, Skins, Elizabeth I, Dead Set and Any Human Heart. With characteristic speed, Lygo poached BBC drama chief Polly Hill to replace November – no doubt fulfilling a dual purpose in both attracting proven talent and inconveniencing the BBC during a period when drama is its strongest genre. So how should we assess November’s tenure at the helm of ITV drama? He was very fortunate in inheriting a department in rude health thanks to the previous team of Laura Mackie (director) and Sally Haynes (controller), who were responsible for a slate of hits including Downton Abbey, Broadchurch, Whitechapel, Appropriate Adult, Mr Selfridge, Scott & Bailey and Vera – all contributing to ITV’s Channel of the Year win at … Continue reading November reign: How did the now ex-ITV drama boss do? →

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Everything old is new again

March 8, 2016IN FOCUSAMC, BBC Studios, Channel 4, ITV, Mammoth Screen, Peaky Blinders, Peter Ansorge, Sky Arts, SS-GB, Steven Knight, The Night Manager, The War of the WorldsStephen Arnell

As UK networks continue to mine classic stories for new dramas, Stephen Arnell asks whether international coproductions are the key to unlocking creativity. It’s fair to say last week’s announcement that BBC Studios is planning a six-part series based on John Buchan’s popular adventure The 39 Steps – just eight years after the corporation’s previous Bourne/Bond-style stab at the novel – hardly set industry pulses racing. In fact, unless the approach to the source material is radically different from previous adaptations, one can’t imagine the atmosphere in the BBC production meeting to discuss the idea when it was broached was exactly electric. With the recent transformation of BBC Production into BBC Studios, this was perversely exactly the kind of show calculated to reinforce prior negative expectations of what the new entity would be – safe, traditional and rather unimaginative. The exit of Studios head Peter Salmon after six months to Endemol Shine may see BBC Studios leave its comfort zone – if a non-corporation insider is chosen to replace him. Coupled with the plethora of Agatha Christie adaptations, younger takes on popular characters such as ITV’s Endeavour (Inspector Morse) and the upcoming Prime Suspect prequel Tennison (incidentally, there’s a Young Marple in development for CBS in the US), as well as reboots of Poldark (pictured top) and Maigret, new versions of Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White and EM Forster’s Howards End, there is a feeling that mainstream drama in the UK is playing safe and becoming atrophied, although I’m … Continue reading Everything old is new again →

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Dramatic decisions

January 22, 2016THE BUSINESSStephen Arnell

Former ITV executive Stephen Arnell shares 10 points drama commissioners should consider in the search for their next big hit. If there were a sure-fire way of creating a drama hit, you can be sure I wouldn’t be writing this article – I’d be making the show. However, there are a few things gleaned from a fair few years in (or commenting on) the TV industry that may be helpful to executives, despite some admitted contradictions and statements of the obvious. Admittedly, the following contains more don’ts than dos but that, of course, is unfortunately the nature of the beast. So, in no particular order: 1. Fight the temptation to ride the coattails of others’ hits. More often than not, by the time your version is aired, the market will have moved on. In the UK we have Game of Thrones (Sky Atlantic) wannabes such as The Last Kingdom (BBC2) and its junior cousin Beowulf (ITV), while Penny Dreadful (Sky Atlantic/Showtime) has led to The Frankenstein Chronicles (ITV Encore) and another ‘junior’ version, Jekyll & Hyde (ITV). AMC’s Mad Men resulted in short-lived series such as Pan-Am (ABC), Breathless (ITV) and The Hour (BBC2). Downton Abbey (ITV) spawned BBC1’s lacklustre reboot of Upstairs Downstairs. With the exception of The Hour, which some felt was prematurely cancelled after two short seasons, many of these imitations were seen for what they were and have been largely ignored. 2. Try to cast according to the role and not what talent is currently hot. … Continue reading Dramatic decisions →

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What the Dickens? The art of the shared universe

December 18, 2015TrendspottingAlan Moore, BBC1, DC, Dickensian, Great Expectations, John Davis, Marvel, Penny Dreadful, Red Planet Pictures, Sky Atlantic, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Tony JordanStephen Arnell

As BBC1 prepares to air Dickensian, which brings together multiple characters from across Charles Dickens’ works, DQ highlights some of the other shows to have taken the shared-universe approach. At first glance, Tony Jordan’s mash-up of some of Charles Dickens’ most memorable characters in BBC1’s upcoming Dickensian (pictured above) appears particularly novel. However, the idea of multiple characters from writers’ various works appearing in a wholly original script is, in fact, not especially new. And the idea of spinning-off or reimagining Dickens’ characters has actually been undertaken before – witness the late John Sullivan’s four-part series Micawber (ITV, Christmas 2001), which starred David Jason, and the previous year’s modern-day take on A Christmas Carol (also ITV), with the network’s then ‘actor de jour’ Ross Kemp. Back in 1998, Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron helmed a contemporary version of Great Expectations, boasting a cast including Robert De Niro, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke. But with 20 30-minute episodes over the Christmas period (echoing Jordan’s EastEnders origins), there is certainly a risk for the BBC in commissioning Dickensian. The corporation must be hoping that viewers will make the commitment to watch at such a competitive time of the year. Furthermore, there’s always the risk that the series will merely be a clever pastiche, when compared with viewers’ recollections of the novels or previous TV versions and films. Dickens’ work has long provided a steady stream of adaptations for TV, the episodic nature his novels ideally suited to the medium. Most recently there has been … Continue reading What the Dickens? The art of the shared universe →

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Out with the new, in with the old

November 20, 2015TrendspottingAcorn TV, Adam Crozier, Agatha Christie Limited, Amazon, AMC, Baywatch, BBC Worldwide, Broadchurch, Cagney & Lacey, Channel 4, Cozi TV, Cynthia Kennedy, Downton Abbey, Endemol Shine, Euston Films, Foyle's War, FremantleMedia International, Gold, Granada Plus, Indian Summers, Inspector Morse, ITV, ITV Encore, ITV Studios Global Entertainment, ITV2, ITV3, Jordskott, Kate Harwood, Keshet International, Law & Order, LocomoTV, Love Hurts, Magnum PI, Midsomer Murders, NCIS, Netflix, Pie in the Sky, Poirot, Rumple of the Bailey, Sarah Doole, Stephanie Hartog, TCM, TCM Europe, The Americans, The Frankenstein Chronicles, The Sweeney, True Entertainment, TV Land, WidowsStephen Arnell

As more original dramas are produced than ever before, DQ finds there’s still a place for classic series to find new audiences. In the ever-changing world of TV, there are few things that can be termed a constant – but one enduring trend is the appeal of ‘classic’ drama, especially the detective genre. Back in 2004, the executives of ITV’s digital channels were charged with creating a new channel to help stem the network’s ratings decline, particularly among upmarket ABC1 viewers. Looking at the wealth of ITV-owned library drama available, the answer came quickly enough, although there were some doubts over the appeal of repeating hits from the network’s past. Confounding these qualms, ITV3 launched to instant success – and 11 years later regularly ranks as the sixth most watched channel in the UK, behind only the five former terrestrial channels. That’s all with a schedule that differs very little from its opening year and, one suspects, a similarly meagre budget. So why does it work? ITV3 succeeded through the choice of quality detective shows such as Inspector Morse, Foyle’s War, Agatha Christie’s Poirot (pictured top) and Midsomer Murders that benefited from self-contained storylines within each episode and a certain timeless aspect. The series were also aided by being shot on film, avoiding the tired look of many re-runs. Despite viewers knowing the denouement of most episodes, they stayed for repeat viewings because of the characters, scenery and the programmes’ ability to function as ‘comfort TV’ – easy for viewers … Continue reading Out with the new, in with the old →

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AMC UK: BT taking on Sky with new channel

August 28, 2015IN FOCUSAMC UK, Cleaners, Delia Bushell, Fear The Walking Dead, Into the Badlands, Manhattan, Rectify, Red Road, Sky Atlantic, SundanceTVStephen Arnell

As AMC launches in the UK with big hitters including Fear the Walking Dead and Into the Badlands, Stephen Arnell assesses the channel’s opening line-up and its potential threat to Sky Atlantic. Not content with vying with Sky for football rights in the UK, BT is set to challenge Sky Atlantic in the field of upscale drama with the launch today of AMC UK as part of AMC’s strategy of rolling out across the world. Although limited in terms of audience by initial exclusivity to the BT platform (and as part of the BT Sport package on Sky), AMC is a clear statement of intent that the platform is set to up its game across all genres. BT MD Delia Bushell calls drama a “key motivator” for driving customer growth in what she describes as a “golden age” for TV series. Irrespective of its actual audiences, Sky Atlantic has dominated the high-end imported drama market in the UK, with the likes of Fox and Universal generally perceived (with a few exceptions) as providing little in the way of real competition. Details of the actual schedule are relatively sketchy at the moment, but the channel has secured some heavy hitters in the shape of The Walking Dead ‘companion piece’ Fear the Walking Dead (FTWD) and the martial arts mash-up Into the Badlands. Set in LA and starring the familiar faces of industry veterans Cliff Curtis (Once were Warriors, Live Free or Die Hard), Kim Dickens (Gone Girl, Deadwood) and actor/musician/politician and all-round renaissance … Continue reading AMC UK: BT taking on Sky with new channel →

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