Drama Features – Page 32
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FeaturesDrama indies take centre stage
Insatiable overseas appetite for English-language drama and the consequent flow of international money into UK production were the big themes of 2015.
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Behind The ScenesChurchill's Secret, ITV
ITV’s one-off drama reveals a hidden, vulnerable side to Britain’s WWII leader as he copes with family tragedy and encroaching old age.
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FeaturesThe story behind The Night Manager
John le Carre’s sons and The Ink Factory founders, Stephen and Simon Cornwell, discuss the 23-year journey of The Night Manager from page to BBC1.
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The Broadcast InterviewSally Woodward Gentle & Lee Morris, Sid Gentle Films
The duo behind drama indie Sid Gentle Films tell Robin Parker why they’re seeking out leftfield talent - and what this means for diversity in the industry
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Behind The ScenesThirteen, BBC3
Commissioned before BBC3’s online move was set in stone, Thirteen had to shift from a traditional production road map to one that embraced all things digital.
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FeaturesInternational: China Focus
China is hardly renowned for its high-quality television drama, so how did a British team end up penning a 40-part detective series for Chinese TV?
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The Broadcast InterviewSusanne Bier, The Night Manager
Acclaimed Danish film director Susanne Bier waited 25 years to make her TV debut - with a thriller that had taken almost as long to get to the screen.
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FeaturesBest independent production company: Tiger Aspect Productions
It was the breadth and quality of Tiger Aspect’s work that most impressed the judges.
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FeaturesBest drama series: Doctor Foster
Playwright Mike Bartlett’s naturalistic rendering of a marriage spiralling into turmoil quietly evolved into an addictive thriller that kept the nation glued to their TV screens last autumn.
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FeaturesBest soap: Emmerdale
“A soap on top form” was our judges’ verdict of Emmerdale, which exuded confidence and swagger throughout the judging period.
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FeaturesBest single drama: Marvellous
In drawing on the energy and humanity of one individual, writer Peter Bowker and director Julian Farino concocted a one-of-a-kind drama to lift the spirits of even the most cynical viewer.
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FeaturesBest international programme sales: Fortitude
Arctic crime drama Fortitude was Sky’s biggest investment in original drama when it was ordered in 2013, with a budget of around £28m.
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FeaturesPiers Wenger, Channel 4
Aliens, Islamic State and dot.com millionaires are all on Channel 4’s scripted slate. Head of drama Piers Wenger tells Robin Parker what is hitting the broadcaster’s sweet spot
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Behind The ScenesBeowulf, ITV
The producers of ITV’s take on the Anglo-Saxon epic tell Olly Grant how they created a fantasy universe from scratch and made an ancient saga work for a modern audience
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Behind The ScenesDickensian, BBC1
On a vast Victorian street set in a warehouse in west London, James Rampton hears how Red Planet took a light-footed approach to its rummage through Charles Dickens’ brain
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Behind The ScenesWar and Peace, BBC1
At more than 1,400 pages, adapting War And Peace as a six-part drama was not for the fainthearted. Olly Grant meets the director, producer and crew charged with bringing the epic story to life
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Behind The ScenesWe’re Doomed! The Dad’s Army Story, BBC2
A drama about the birth of Dad’s Army reveals the behind-the-scenes conflict over the classic sitcom - and how it almost didn’t happen. Olly Grant meets the team telling the tale
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FeaturesRatings analysis: Downton Abbey, ITV
Downton Abbey gave a huge boost to ITV’s Sunday night and Christmas Day ratings. Stephen Price assesses the period drama’s impact, and how the schedules will shape up now
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Behind The ScenesThe Frankenstein Chronicles, ITV
Olly Grant hears how the team behind ITV Encore’s detective spin on Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece recreated 1920s London across 40 Northern Ireland locations
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The Broadcast InterviewGreg Brenman and Roanna Benn, Drama Republic
Drama Republic’s co-founders talk to Robin Parker about their indie’s rapid rise, working with writers, and scoring two hits in the same week with Doctor Foster and An Inspector Calls