John Elmes: London Screenings raises the bar

I’m required to write two of these leader columns a year– three at most – and yet I still struggle to come up with something original. Even if you feel you can level that accusation at some TV shows, the conveyor belt of original programming is still remarkable.

The near 50% uptick in submissions to our London TV Screenings Hot Picks testifies to that, with more distributors than ever set to flock to the capital for the showcase. Our 10-strong selection, more laser-focused than last year, reflects the collective strength in each genre.

“The 170% jump in formats submissions reflects a market looking for track records that can de-risk commissioning, even a little bit”

Specialist factual is resurgent, a rebellion – perhaps – against those of the ‘post-truth’ and ‘alternative facts’ leaning. Both Fremantle’s Once Upon A Time In Space and Fifth Season’s Prophet Of Ecstasy straddle science and history documentary with popular culture storytelling – informative without being preachy and dry.

The 170% jump in formats submissions reflects a market looking for track records that can de-risk commissioning, even a little bit. And yet, our choices either present new format avenues – fact-ent competition Chess Masters (All3Media) and lifestyle/self-improvement psychology series Inside Therapy (WBITVP) – or unique twists on established genres, such as dating-cum-social experiment Twin Love.

While it is alarming that UK scripted titles have dropped this year, the quality bar is still high. Paramount Global Content Distribution’s historical tentpole King & Conqueror is another big swing and Sony Pictures Television gangster series This City Is Ours will surely entice myriad buyers.

That the London TV Screenings is an international affair is underscored by our trio of global scripted shows. US buyer PBS Masterpiece commissioned Banijay Entertainment’s Maigret, a British-made show about a Parisian detective, while Australia’s leading position in scripted has been cemented by attracting major US talent for Cineflix Rights’ Stan original Sunny Nights.

But in Mediawan Rights’ Kabul, the realities of creating eye-catching drama in an SVoDdominated world are writ large. The drama hails from not one but two European commissioning clubs, spanning more than 10 broadcast partners – a truly international collaboration.

There’s a statement for the industry.

• John Elmes is the international editor of Broadcast