GENRE REPORT


DRAMA


“DIVERSITY IS AT THE


FOREFRONT OF OUR MINDS, IT'S NOT


JUST BOX TICKING” ROANNA BENN,


DRAMA REPUBLIC


production delays. “From a crew perspective, it could well be a very good time – there is going to be no shortage of work,” says Heath. Producers are, however, trying to reduce the


numbers of people on set to maintain as safe a working environment as possible. “The people I’m really worried about are those just starting their careers in making television – the runners and assistants, on set and in development,” says Jonathan Lewsley, acting head of scripted, UK, Amazon Studios Europe. “The Covid era means that opportunities to get started in our industry may be so much fewer - all productions and companies are having to ask who is absolutely essential to be on-set.”


THE COST OF COVID While producers are happy that demand is high, coronavirus has added hugely to their workload, and to their costs. Susy Liddell, director of production at Drama Republic, thinks she and many of her industry colleagues now spend at


least 50% of their time talking about and dealing with Covid-related issues, from safety protocols through to insurance. “When you’ve got a big crew on a production, it’s a lot of work for the producer, line producer and safety advisors.” Drama Republic was fortunate in that it


managed to shoot its most recent shows, Life and Us, just before lockdown – but it had to put on hold its new supernatural crime drama Netflix series The Irregulars with just two weeks left to film, restarting the production again in August. Post on Life and Us was completed remotely


during lockdown at home. The editing was “quite easy” says Roanna Benn, but the sound mixes and grades were trickier. “We all had to make sure we were watching and listening to the same thing.” Most producers say remote drama post


works well, but just takes more time. “It’s not as instantaneous as playing with the images in a room all together, but it works out fine,” says Heath. “I don’t want it to be the way we do shows forever.”


THE ROAD AHEAD Looking ahead to next year, producers say that the outlook is good. Many expect budgets to rise, amid competition for stand out drama shows. Commercial broadcasters like ITV and C4 were hit hard in March by the downturn, but Covid-19 has not turned into the cataclysm for them that was feared at the time. Money that could not be spent this year will be allocated to projects for next year. C4, for example, recently said that it will increase its budget “massively” next year as the ad-supported broadcaster rebounds following Covid-19. The broadcaster has recently announced a


number of new dramas, including true crime series My Name is Lizzie, crime thriller Before We Die, prison drama The Screw, and coming of age tale The Birth of Daniel F Harris. True crime is also a major focus for ITV, which


has enjoyed success with Des and White House Farm. Indeed, the broadcaster’s dramas are performing well. ITV was the channel with the


Winter 2020 televisual.com 57


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