Channel 4 looks to set subs standard with 4 World Drama
One of the team behind Channel 4 and Global Series Network’s forthcoming subtitled series service 4 World Drama tells DQ why viewers can get excited about foreign-language drama. This autumn will see a first in the UK as the collaboration of public service broadcaster Channel 4 and a collection of industry veterans known as Global Series Network (GSN) launch the subtitled series destination 4 World Drama. Available free to viewers through digital hub All 4 via funding from advertising and sponsorship, 4 World Drama (working title) is a testament to the surge in popularity of subtitled drama in the UK – heralded in 2006 with the unexpected success of French crime drama Spiral on BBC4, and driven three years later with the channel’s first transmission of the original Swedish version of Nordic Noir drama Wallander. Channel 4 will also offer an opportunity for selected titles to gain greater exposure by appearing on digital channel More4, which currently hosts foreign-language dramas such as political thriller Mammon and multi-lingual Second World War miniseries The Saboteurs. Previously the niche preserve of late-night movies, or very occasional series on BBC2 and C4, subtitled drama is now an established (and growing) part of the UK’s TV landscape. The Killing, The Bridge (as The Tunnel) and the aforementioned Wallander have all – with varying degrees of success – been remade into thoughtfully adapted English-language versions, as has movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but the originals are still commonly held to be superior. Not only … Continue reading Channel 4 looks to set subs standard with 4 World Drama
