THE BLACK Doves executive producer warns that if the UK television drama industry was a pilot episode, it would have have just “five minutes left to stop the bomb from going off.”
In a speech at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards in London last night, Jane Featherstone voiced extreme concern over the future of the business.
In a speech at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards in London last night, Jane Featherstone voiced extreme concern over the future of the UK television drama business[/caption]
Jane is the executive producer of Black Doves which stars Keira Knightley[/caption]
In particular, she pointed again to the funding crisis in the public service broadcasting (PSB) system reports Deadline.
Jane was the first high-level producer to publicly reveal that the BBC has several shows stuck in a post-greenlight funding cavern, during an appearance at the UK parliamentary inquiry into high-end TV and film in January.
In last night’s speech, she added: “Today, the gap between available funding for programming and current budgets is simply too high.
“We’re at risk of losing the very stories that define us.
“The danger isn’t theoretical. It’s immediate.
“We are in the 45th minute of the pilot episode, and we’ve got five minutes left to stop the bomb from going off.”
Jane, founder of Sister Pictures, a global TV and film production and development company, called for collaboration ‘across the industry to protect the source of our great shared success, our PSB system and the practitioners it supports.’
She described the UK’s PSB system, which allows producers to own the rights to the shows they make, as “like the Amazon rainforest for storytelling.”
She added: “If it dies, it takes the oxygen of diverse story with it, and we don’t have the luxury of time.”
Jane said the industry needed to first collectively agree there was something at risk here and that they needed to ask the government for financial support.
She said: “It’s harder than ever to sell British focus stories. I won’t name the shows.
“Mr Bates tonight has won awards, and we all know how difficult that would be to get made now, you’ve heard that from others.
“But it’s hard to get to sell them, and it’s hard to co-produce them.
“We know British stories resonate deeply with local audiences, and they have the power to captivate global ones.
BBC crime dramas
The BBC is reopening case files on an all-star line-up of crime dramas this summer.
Here’s a refresher on the popular programmes which span six decades.
- Campion: Aired from 1989 to 1990, this detective drama series was adapted from novels by Margery Allingham and stars Peter Davison.
- Dalziel And Pascoe: A gritty detective drama series about a mismatched pair of policemen, based on the award-winning books by Reginald Hill. Aired from 1996 to 2007.
- Death In Paradise: A misanthropic detective inspector is assigned to a Caribbean island against his will. Premiered in 2011 and is still on air to this day.
- Happy Valley: Created by Sally Wainwright, this northern noir follows Sarah Lancashire as Sgt Catherine Cawood – tough, defiant and facing her traumatic past.
- Hinterland: Welsh drama starring Richard Harrington. Brooding DCI Tom Mathias uncovers secrets – and links to his troubled past amid mountainous terrain and close-knit villages. Aired from 2013 to 2016.
- Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Based on the novels of Elizabeth George, this drama series is about upper-crust DI Thomas Lynley and working class DS Barbara Havers. Aired from 2001 to 2007.
- Jonathan Creek: Starring comedian Alan Davies, this comedy-drama series follows a inventor of magic tricks who is often called in to solve puzzling murders. Aired from 1997 to 2016.
- Law & Order: Originally broadcast in 1978, this four-part drama series is about the British judicial system. Stars include Peter Dean and Derek Martin.
- Life On Mars: Beguiling science-fiction police drama following a Manchester policeman who travels back to 1973 following a car accident. Stars John Simm and Philip Glenister. Aired from 2006 to 2007.
- Line Of Duty: Created by Jed Mercurio, this drama follows the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit. Stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar, aired from 2012 to 2021.
- Luther: Crime drama series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther. Aired from 2010 to 2019, with a follow-up film released in 2023.
- New Tricks: Warm-hearted drama following an eccentric group of old-fashioned detectives. Starring Dennis Waterman, Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam. Aired from 2003 to 2015.
- Sherlock: Benedict Cumberbatch stars a modern day Sherlock Holmes, teaming up with Martin Freeman‘s war veteran Dr Watson to solve impossible crimes. Aired from 2010 to 2017.
- Shetland: Detective drama starring Douglas Henshall, Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell, showcasing the dark side of one of the most beautiful places on earth. Premiered in 2013 and is still on air to this day.
- The Cops: Set in the fictional northern town of Stanton, this acclaimed, provocative police drama stars Katy Cavanagh, Rob Dixon and John Henshaw. Aired from 1998 to 2001.
- Waking The Dead: With a cast including Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston and Wil Johnson, this series follows a cold case team who unearths sleeping secrets, but sometimes the past is best left buried. Aired from 2000 to 2011.
- Wallander: Starring Sir Kenneth Branagh, Kurt Wallander is unable to unsee the dark crimes he’s tasked to investigate while Wallander’s job comes at a cost to his family and relationships. Aired from 2008 to 2016.
“We need to preserve our ability to support new creative voices, continue to nurture established ones so that they can shape and enrich the wider conversation.”
Wolf Hall writer Peter Kosminsky has been leading the charge for the UK to adopt a streamer levy akin to those in place in Europe and other parts of the world, calling the current situation “the greatest crisis” he had witnessed during his working career.
Jane has previously said she is isn’t keen on a streamer levy, but argued in her speech that the industry should ‘debate the ways’ in which support was provided.
She said that could mean: “Levelling up the high-end television tax incentive to match independent film.
“Better rights deals for independents and producers, higher licence fees from the broadcasters, or indeed, other solutions.
“There are many, and we need to discuss them, but we need to give ballast during this time of change.”
“This isn’t special pleading, it’s strategic,” she added.
Jane was honoured with the Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting at last nights awards.
Jane said the industry needed to first collectively agree there was something at risk here and that they needed to ask the government for financial support[/caption]
