This is not to say that every show needs to be a forensic examination of the ”now.” TV is a broad church and part of its remit is to provide comfort, but I do think it’s telling that the dramas that have genuinely engaged with the present have distinguished themselves as the best shows of the past few years, and the different approaches they’ve used indicate where the medium can – and perhaps must – go to stay relevant.ĭonald Trump was the US President, Boris Johnson is the Prime Minister, and we’re currently in the middle (or beginning or end) of a global pandemic. In 2007 The Killing was a fresh and exciting thriller, now, a decade plus later, I’ve watched enough shows about divorcees investigating the murders of young women to last me a lifetime. Even shows set in the present day seem like reheated versions of old stories. My personal theory as to why a show like The Crown is so successful is that there’s something soothing about watching the 20th century because we know we survived it. Faced with an unknowable present, it feels like collectively we have retreated to familiar stories and characters. If there has been a defining trend around storytelling in the past decade, it’s nostalgia. This poses a challenge for the modern dramatist – how do you reflect a reality that is constantly shifting and that nobody really understands?įar too much TV drama has failed to address, and in many cases actively ignored, this challenge. Our collective understanding of what is and isn’t possible has fundamentally changed and keeps on changing. The past few years have been a succession of completely mad world events that previously nobody thought could happen. How TV Drama Can Adapt When Reality Becomes Stranger Than Fiction.Īt the risk of sounding like a narration for an Adam Curtis documentary, reality has become a little unstuck of late. He liked Succession before it was popular (or so he says!). He was also a shadow script editor on 4screenwriting 2020. He’s worked for the BFI, Neal Street Films, The Fyz Facility amongst many others. Danny is a freelance script editor and reader with over 7 years of experience. This week’s newsletter is written by script reader / editor, DANNY MORAN.
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