1. TELEVISION DRAMA
Television drama is the most expensive form of television, with a prime time
American TV series such as House costing up to $12 million per hour – that’s about £6
million. The average cost for US drama is more like $2 – 5 million per hour. British
drama such as Dr Who (60 mins) costs about a £1 million per hour.
In fact a US broadcast hour is only a maximum of 52 minutes of drama. Some US
broadcasting networks only broadcast 44 minutes of actual drama in an hour that means
16 minutes of advertising.
For details of the cost of BBC drama see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/business/tariffs.shtml
Discuss...
The BBC's controller of fiction Jane Tranter says it is TV drama that now "gives our
lives meaning and shape" rather than literature. Discuss
Drama is the form of television which attracts the largest regular audiences. Big sporting
occasions can attract larger audiences – the Nadal/ Federer Wimbledon final 2008
attracted over 13 million viewers – but drama pulls them in regularly, and this is what
channel bosses and advertisers like. Television channels – especially E4 and BBC3 are
targeting young audiences with edgy, modern dramas such as Skins.
http://www.e4.com/skins/
Genre
The codes and conventions of different types of TV Drama:
The Serial – continuing narrative over a limited number of linked programmes with an
over arching narrative. It the much the same cast, such as Footballers’ Wives, and a
cliffhanger at the end of each episode. Closure is only achieved at the end of the run.
Typically made in 13 episodes – a quarter of a year. Examples include State of Play and
Rome.
Soaps – an ongoing, multi-stranded television serial drama, typically set in an enclosed
location such as Albert Square in Eastenders, Coronation Street, or Emmerdale, with a
large cast of central characters and arching story lines. The soap is an everlasting serial.
The Series - linked programmes with the same lead characters where each episode is a
complete story Spooks (BBC), House (C5) or The Bill (ITV), Heartbeat (ITV) or Midsummer
Murders, Agatha Christie’s Poirot (ITV) Casualty (BBC) and Dr Who (BBC) or US series like
Superman.

2. ...and the expensive and successful US series such as House, Desperate Housewives
and Ugly Betty are a mixture between the two with ongoing over arching plot lines and
some form of closure in each episode. The main characters continue, but the story told -
the challenge, the question, the problem of that episode - is resolved at the end of the
hour. Successful US series are made with 22 to 24 episodes.
Series drama usually conforms to certain genres such as:
•Medical - Casualty, Holby City
•Crime and Justice – The Bill, Life on Mars (see case study), Ashes to Ashes
•Family – Smallville
•High School – Skins
•A type of Science fiction – Dr Who, Heroes, Torchwood
Other classifications of TV drama:
The mini-series – a serial or series of up to about 6 episodes.
The one-off drama – as it says, a special drama of only one episode.
The costume drama – typically an adaptation of a classic text such as Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice, or a Dickens' novel such as Bleak House.
Discuss...
what type of TV drama is LOST?
Resources:
Television Studies: An Introduction: Jonathan Bignell: (Routledge., 2004)
The Television Handbook (third edition): Jonathan Bignell & Jeremy Orlebar Routledge
2005
State of Play: Contemporary High-end TV drama: Robin Nelson (MUP 2007)
Digital Television Production: Jeremy Orlebar (Arnold 2002)
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama
2. http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/drama
3. http://www.screenonline.org.uk BFi resources for British TV and film
4. http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/drama/index.html Some interesting articles on
TV drama
5. http://www.e4.com/skins/