Posted August 30, 201410 yr British drama can often be overlooked in favour of the American powerhouses. However, it has recently been shown to be a force internationally with breakthrough hits such as Sherlock and Downton Abbey. BBC and ITV are our two main producers of drama but which one does it better? Here are examples of some of the recent big hits/critics favourites. There are loads more of course but these are just, imo, the big examples: BBC Call the Midwife Doctor Who Happy Valley Last Tango in Halifax Luther New Tricks Sherlock Spooks The Village BBC TWO An Honourable Woman Line of Duty Peaky Blinders The Hour The Fall ITV 1 Appropriate Adult Broadchurch Doc Martin Marple Mr Selfridge Mrs Biggs Poirot Scott & Bailey Vera Channel 4 Black Mirror Dates The Fear The Mill This is England Top Boy Utopia Channel 5 have stayed away from British drama with the exception of recent critically-acclaimed drama, 'Suspects'. We also have a few of the digital channels producing hit dramas including 'Being Human' and 'Misfits'.
August 30, 201410 yr itv for me for Midsomer Murders, Broadchurch, Poirot etc ;) psst it's just itv now Edited August 30, 201410 yr by steveh31
August 30, 201410 yr Author ;) psst it's just itv now I know but I wanted to differentiate it from the other digital channels just in case people may have been confused due it also being the overarching name. :P
August 30, 201410 yr BBC all the way! Really enjoying In the Club right now and I loved The Syndicate which was also created by Kay Mellor. I like how they're quite short (about 6 episodes long) and focus on a main character each episode and as the series progresses, you see how each character's story connects with another's in some way. Prisoners' Wives had a similar layout too. It's how gritty the shows are and there's clever twists and turns throughout. Even though some events wouldn't happen on your average day, they still look realistic. This is probably why I enjoy Eastenders and enjoyed the first 5 series of Waterloo Road so much, again just real, gritty, British drama.
August 30, 201410 yr Black Mirror and Utopia are two of the best British dramas I've seen in a long time, it's sad they don't get more discussion on here :( I really enjoy Channel 4's dramas in general, quite left field and standout, which I guess they can afford to be, not being as commercial as the other two ofc., they get my pick but BBC 1 are a close second, ITV just don't quite hit the mark for me, they've not done a standout drama which makes me remember them as something other than a commercial reality/primetime entertainment overload. Edited August 30, 201410 yr by Chez Wombat
August 30, 201410 yr voted BBC Two because The Honourable Woman was so wonderful, but BBC in general - Happy Valley was fantastic too. C4 are good for the more esoteric, youthful, stylish stuff though.
August 31, 201410 yr Author I prefer BBC One out of all the channels. Even if you remove Doctor Who, it has housed some of my favourite British dramas over the years. Most recently, I was gripped by Happy Valley, never have I been so tense at a show than I was when I watched Episode 4! I think having no adverts really benefit the pacing of the shows as they can really flow as with the others, mainly ITV, there is often 3 mini-cliffhangers to compensate for the adverts. The only thing that I've watched on ITV recently was Broadchurch and so, while that has become one of my favourite TV shows, I've never really been appealed by any of it's other output and even if I initally have, I feel let down and never stick with the dramas. However, there is a upcoming one that I've seen advertised starring Reece Shearsmith, Alex Kingston and Noel Clarke which seems intriguing! Channel 4 dramas seem grittier but I haven't seen enough of them for me to vote them as the best producers of drama. I loved Black Mirror and I do need to check out Utopia. BBC Two seem to excel in one-off dramas, but again, I haven't seen enough of them to judge. There was one over Christmas starring Olivia Colman and Vanessa Redgrave that I like though and of course An Adventure in Space and Time was great.
September 2, 201410 yr BBC1 for me I love in the club, the syndicate, happy valley, prisoners wives and so many more of their dramas as well
September 2, 201410 yr I'd really like to watch Happy Valley - I saw it advertised but didn't ever see an episode, and when I checked online for it I couldn't find anything. :( I think having no adverts really benefit the pacing of the shows as they can really flow as with the others, mainly ITV, there is often 3 mini-cliffhangers to compensate for the adverts. Good point. I always find that I get hyped up for what happens next much more in a drama without adverts than with, even though ones with adverts have cliffhangers like you say.
September 19, 201410 yr BBC all the way! Really enjoying In the Club right now and I loved The Syndicate which was also created by Kay Mellor. I like how they're quite short (about 6 episodes long) and focus on a main character each episode and as the series progresses, you see how each character's story connects with another's in some way. Prisoners' Wives had a similar layout too. It's how gritty the shows are and there's clever twists and turns throughout. Even though some events wouldn't happen on your average day, they still look realistic. A second series of In The Club has been commissioned. It's not clear how many of the original cast will return but Kay Mellor has indicated she would like as many as possible to be involved. A lot will depend on whether the cast are available for filming.
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