2010: The Year ITV Drama Became Good Again?
Not so long ago ITV was struggling to find successful new dramas with perhaps only Doc Martin proving to be a hit while the likes of Harley Street and Britannia High were major flops. Now thanks to the success of DCI Banks and Downton Abbey it seems as though ITV has at last found its stride with drama; we take a closer look.
A few years ago it was hard to imagine and ITV drama besides Doc Martin pulling in over 8 million viewers consistently. It was hard to imagine that besides ITV’s array of long-running dramas (Heartbeat and The Royal) the broadcaster would find success in the genre. ITV’s flops outnumbered its hits with The Palace, Vincent, The Fixer, Whistleblowers, Harley Street, Echo Beach, Moving Wallpaper and Britannia High all prime examples of shows which launched with hype but were quickly dispatched – though Vincent, Moving Wallpaper and The Fixer were all renewed none got a third season.
However, it seems as though 2010 may very well be a year in which ITV has turned around its fortunes in regards to drama – though not without a price. Arguably the success of Downton Abbey, Whitechapel and DCI Banks has come at the expense of long-running serials such as Heartbeat, The Royal, Kingdom and now The Bill. When the cancellation of The Bill was announced ITV stated that it would use the money saved from it to fund new dramas one of which will be Monroe; a new six part drama starring James Nesbitt.
Many would argue that Heartbeat and The Bill especially had run their courses, were past their best and were no longer attracting big audiences. Those who would defend The Bill will point out that just last year it was pulling in 5 million viewers per episode but that was until ITV revamped it and moved it into a 9pm slot. The Bill’s cancellation was certainly controversial with producers criticising ITV and claiming it will make it harder for new writers to break into the drama genre. However, not so long ago Ben Stephenson, controller of drama at the BBC, warned he could axe some of the corporation’s longer running serials to make way for newer stuff. So ITV’s cull of Heartbeat, The Royal and The Bill could be followed by a BBC cull of programmes such as Waking the Dead and Hustle.
Undeniably ITV’s biggest success in terms of drama this year has been Downton Abbey. In fact Downton Abbey is probably the biggest success story of British drama of 2010 full stop. Sherlock over on BBC One performed extremely well for the corporation but its ratings weren’t as high as Downton Abbey. The overall figure for Downton Abbey’s opening episode stands at over 11 million viewers and subsequent episodes have seen overnight ratings rise avoiding the usual drop of several million viewers associated with second episode broadcasts. The Edwardian Drama is also attracting a newer audience to ITV1; the ABC1’s who perhaps traditionally didn’t watch ITV Drama preferring instead the BBC’s offering.
Downton Abbey has helped changed the image associated with ITV showing that the broadcast can make decent, good, well-written drama with an impressive cast without the need to fill it to the tilt with ex-soap stars. It would be wrong though to claim that Downton Abbey alone has revived ITV’s fortunes in drama. The real revival of its drama started last year with Whitechapel; the three-part drama about a Jack the Ripper copy-cat killer. Whitechapel had over 9 million viewers for ITV1 for its three-part series and while the broadcaster was slow to re-commission the dark drama its back now for a second series. The Above Suspicion stories – of which there have been two seasons so far – have also provided ITV with strong ratings; another example of success before the arrival of Downton Abbey.
ITV’s re-make of Law and Order has also proved a critical and ratings hit for ITV as it gives British viewers – who are unfamiliar with the American franchise – a new take on the crime genre. Law and Order UK not only blends the police procedural aspect of the genre (with Jamie Bamber and Bradley Walsh’s characters) but also the legal aspect with each case coming to court within the space of an episode for the trial and verdict. Law and Order has spawned several spin-offs in America and its taken over 20 years for the franchise to be given a British twist but it is one that works. While the series may use scripts from the original American drama for the basis of its episodes these are adapted for British law and audiences and work very well. ITV has ordered an additional 13 episodes of Law and Order UK – further evidence that ITV drama is growing in strength.
Now we are not going to argue that every new ITV drama this year – or last – has been a success because it hasn’t. Despite the comparisons to Cold Feet its comedy/drama Married, Single, Other failed to take off with viewers. It launched strongly but over the course of the series ratings dropped considerably. Then again BBC One’s comedy/drama Mutual Friends also flopped last year perhaps indicating that particular genre isn’t quite ready for the new Cold Feet. On the other-hand though Married, Single, Other should have been given a second chance as some of the best dramas from the past have demonstrated it sometimes takes a while to get things right. Another notable failure this year was Identity which starred Keeley Hawes and Aidan Gillen; it won’t be back for a second series though an American remake is on the cards.
ITV may have lost returning dramas such as The Bill, Blue Murder, Heartbeat and The Royal but it still has Doc Martin and Wild at Heart both of which continue to deliver big audiences to the channel. Law and Order UK has just finished its third season and, as mentioned earlier, has been given a renewal order giving ITV another successful returning drama. Above Suspicion and Downton Abbey will also be back next year and ITV has several new dramas to tempt audiences. As we mentioned earlier there’s the Monroe starring James Nesbitt. Brenda Blethyn will star in a new four-part detective drama Vera while Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp star in new six part drama Scott & Bailey. Supernatural drama The Oaks will star Alex Kingston and Jodie Whittaker and there’s plenty more to come. ITV have ordered an adaptation of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Come Rain Come Shine and The Little House are also all on their way. If that wasn’t enough Agatha Christie fans have more Poirot and Miss Marple to look forward too.
A few years ago ITV Drama was in a pretty bad shape but within a few short years it has turned itself around. There have been casualties along the way and not everyone will agree with the demise of The Bill or Heartbeat but the success of Downton Abbey and Above Suspicion et al is proof that ITV is working hard to deliver drama its viewers want to watch and you can’t fault the broadcaster for that. So perhaps in a few years time we will look back on 2010 as the year ITV really started to produce good drama once more.
