Are we at peak unscripted content? Session chair Tim Davie noted that – while there was no short-age of good news for the genre (18 of the 20 top-performing original programmes on broadcast TV in the US that summer had been formatted entertainment) – there were worrying signs for the genre. The UK was still producing hit formats, but margins were declining and it was no longer the fastest growing market for original formats.
The contemporary crime series, created and written by Robert Murphy (DCI Banks), gives viewers a new story each episode.
A classic crime story is at the heart of the series and the first episode features two crime mysteries investigated by chalk and cheese duo, the wildly ambitious DCI McDonald (Tala Gouveia, Cold Feet) and the shy, modest DS Dodds (Jason Watkins, The Crown); the pair form a quarrelsome but effective partnership.
One of the first original series, comedy-drama The Morning show, has pulled in big names Jennifer Anniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell in starring roles.
Anniston and Witherspoon will play two of the biggest names in US breakfast telly, helping to wake up the people of America every day.
A teaser for the upcoming series has been released featuring the voices of Carell, Witherspoon and Anniston.
During the video, each give their own unique take on what makes good TV news, while the camera pans around an empty newsroom.
The BBC has announced an array of new multi-platform commissions developed by BBC Children’s In-House Productions, introducing a strong line-up of children’s drama for CBBC and BBC iPlayer.
The new commissions are as follows:
A five-part series exploring the reasons and repercussions behind the invasion of Iraq by the UK and USA. Told from the perspective of those who were there the series looks at the scenario from a human point of view; from families on the ground, to soldiers and rebels, the series looks at the impact that this era of war and destruction has left behind.
Other commissions include the deeply personal David Harewood: Psychosis and Me, and innovative new formats such as Murder, in which a crime is seen through the eyes of the professionals who investigate it. It was also announced that successful existing series including Hospital, A House Through Time and Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life have been recommissioned.
He announced his vision for BBC Drama at an event with Director-General Tony Hall, who said that delivering high quality drama that engages and excites the public is a priority.
Wenger has said that he wants a "strong sense of Britishness" to run through all everything BBC drama does, as it enables Britain to have a strong identity internationally.
After 5 years away from the BBC, Wenger has been moved by how much programmes have changed. He said that BBC drama became a place where they challenged "creative risk and conventional wisdom".
