International Co Production
In finding out why it could be best to use two different channels/companies for my series, I found a large reason for why British channels are joining with oversees producers, as BBC controller of drama commissioning, Ben Stephenson states that "the world is opening up to British programming more and wanting to invest in it. [And] that British producers are getting more ambitious about the quality and scale of their work."[1]. Meaning that both parties from whichever country can benefit from co production. Another important reason for co production is higher funding and budget for TV shows, as according to Sky's head of drama, Anne Mensah; "I don't think you lose anything as a co-production – it gives you money to create bigger and better projects."[1]
International co production also seems to be on the rise in popularity between series creators, as "The past few years have seen a rise in the number of international co-productions, aka television shows that are funded by more than one country and, therefore, generally have bigger budgets and more diverse filming locales"[2]. It's also worthy of noting that "because of its sizeable audience, the United States is still the most sought-after partner for international co-productions"[2]. Taking from this, I feel that it would be important to select an American production company to collaborate with a British production company for The Identity.
With this in mind, I researched a variety of USA and UK production company and broadcasting channel collaborations. In my analysis of these companies, I made the considerations of which would be the most fitting for a drama three part mini series with a varied cast, and more specifically, The Identity and it's themes.
Sky Living & ABC
Firstly, I researched the American company ABC, producers of a wide variety of popular, modern drama series including Nashville, Grey's Anatomy and Scandal [3]. All of which are co produced with the UK channel Sky Living, allowing the content to be aired internationally and appeal to a wider demographic [4].
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| An example of the American drama series 'Scandal' and it's promotional material for both ABC and Sky Living. |
While both production companies and channels are highly successful and popular, as well as broadcasting drama shows, I decided against choosing this collaboration. As my three episodes will need to be 60 minutes long due to a large amount of content, and almost all ABC and Sky Living shows are historically no longer than 45 minutes per episode due to commercial breaks. There also seems to be no miniseries to date produced by ABC, so I feel that it is unlikely that they would decide to take on The Identity.
Sky Atlantic & HBO
Initially, after researching these companies, I thought that I had decided on HBO and Sky Atlantic for The Identity. As HBO is an extremely popular channel for dramas, with a constant flow of new series being taken on by the company. Including, Divorce, The Night Of and Westworld - all modern and fresh American sub genre drama series [5].Another factor that entered into my decision was that HBO has a history of producing drama miniseries, such as Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Casual Vacancy. This represents that the company are willing to take on one-off series and dramas, and have been successful in doing so. Since collaborating with the UK channel Sky Atlantic, HBO TV series such as the above have been able to broadcast internationally and gain a larger viewership [6]. While all of these factors have good reasoning for selecting the pair for The Identity, I feel that the style, themes and plot in my series are less suited to HBO and Sky Atlantic due to a lack of 'epic-ness' typically seen on these channels.
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| A promotional poster for HBO's Divorce drama series above, and a Sky.com promotional photo |
BBC One & AMC
I've found that the most suitable international co production companies for The Identity are BBC One and AMC. Firstly, I chose BBC One for a large variety of reasons, including their stance on TV Drama, as they state that BBC One "leads the way in drama and offers a greater range than any other channel. Our drama is distinctive, ambitious and varied ... we aim to expand the range and ambition of new drama with diversity of stories and writers and are looking for more drama that reflects true stories"[7]. This is ideal for a brand new drama series that has a plot that could may well happen in real life, giving the impression that this channel would be interested in commissioning The Identity.
BBC One also has a history of broadcasting many popular and successful drama series including Sherlock, The Missing and Happy Valley. All varying in cast, locations, themes and plot - yet still still remaining with a low key style of BBC drama - focusing on content as opposed to epic scenes etc. Producing and broadcasting a variety of drama miniseries is also common on BBC One, with well received 3-part and 4-part miniseries such as And Then There Were None and recently, One of Us. Another ideal factor for my 3-part miniseries having the opportunity to be placed within the BBC.[8]
In relation, the American company and broadcasting channel AMC has created a large number of miniseries, including The Making of the Mob, The American West, and most importantly, The Night Manager. This is a 2016 miniseries recently co produced by AMC and BBC, airing on AMC's channel and BBC America in the USA, and on BBC One in the UK. Alongside this, AMC have been home to hit American drama TV shows such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and have collaborated with BBC on series including Doctor Who and drama series Orphan Black.[9]
Not only would using the co production of BBC One and AMC prove to be the right choice financially (as a large budget would be needed in reality for oversees filming and cast), allow for a high opportunity for my drama miniseries to be commissioned due to the channels' histories and programming, and reach a much a larger and broader audience internationally. But using AMC also allows me to create a more varied amount of promotional material, marketed in different ways. As BBC tend to have very small marketing campaigns broadcast on their own channels, and are unlikely to have promotional posters, AMC typically market more broadly in America, using their own promotional posters, such as the examples below...
I've found it extremely helpful to research the benefits of international co production as well as a variety of American and British channel collaborations. As I was able to distinguish which factors of individual channels and companies are most suited to The Identity, leading to my decision of BBC One and AMC. I will be expanding on my decision in further detail in another journal post.
BBC One also has a history of broadcasting many popular and successful drama series including Sherlock, The Missing and Happy Valley. All varying in cast, locations, themes and plot - yet still still remaining with a low key style of BBC drama - focusing on content as opposed to epic scenes etc. Producing and broadcasting a variety of drama miniseries is also common on BBC One, with well received 3-part and 4-part miniseries such as And Then There Were None and recently, One of Us. Another ideal factor for my 3-part miniseries having the opportunity to be placed within the BBC.[8]
In relation, the American company and broadcasting channel AMC has created a large number of miniseries, including The Making of the Mob, The American West, and most importantly, The Night Manager. This is a 2016 miniseries recently co produced by AMC and BBC, airing on AMC's channel and BBC America in the USA, and on BBC One in the UK. Alongside this, AMC have been home to hit American drama TV shows such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and have collaborated with BBC on series including Doctor Who and drama series Orphan Black.[9]
Not only would using the co production of BBC One and AMC prove to be the right choice financially (as a large budget would be needed in reality for oversees filming and cast), allow for a high opportunity for my drama miniseries to be commissioned due to the channels' histories and programming, and reach a much a larger and broader audience internationally. But using AMC also allows me to create a more varied amount of promotional material, marketed in different ways. As BBC tend to have very small marketing campaigns broadcast on their own channels, and are unlikely to have promotional posters, AMC typically market more broadly in America, using their own promotional posters, such as the examples below...
Left: BBC's The Night Manager AMC poster. Right: Netflix's The Killing AMC poster.
Lastly, this co production allows for the miniseries to be viewed online after being broadcast on television, both on BBC iPlayer, and AMC's online channel. This would be extremely beneficial for the series due to the high popularity of viewing film and television online for younger audiences.
I've found it extremely helpful to research the benefits of international co production as well as a variety of American and British channel collaborations. As I was able to distinguish which factors of individual channels and companies are most suited to The Identity, leading to my decision of BBC One and AMC. I will be expanding on my decision in further detail in another journal post.
References
1. Why British TV producers are going global
2. Are International Co-Productions The Future of TV Drama?
3. ABC Shows
2. Are International Co-Productions The Future of TV Drama?
3. ABC Shows
5. HBO Shows
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