Doctoring the scripts

Anke Stoll, head of acquisitions and development at distributor DRG, reflects on what makes a good scripted format and the UK’s reluctance to import them.

Anke Stoll

For decades European formats have been successful all over the world. Whether they are reality shows or gameshows, they have started in the UK, the Netherlands or Scandinavia and conquered the globe.

But what about scripted formats? Before you or I were even born, British comedy took over America. From BBC1’s Till Death Do Us Part (adapted into CBS’s All in the Family) to ITV’s Man About The House (ABC’s Three’s Company), UK comedies were the recipe for US success. If we fast-forward to more recent times, The Office has also done the same.

Doc Martin

So, is this now the turn of drama formats?

In the US, the largest and most lucrative market in the television industry, broadcasters have looked at every script they can lay their hands on – and not just from the UK. They have discovered the strength of Scandinavian crime series like The Killing and Israeli political thrillers such as Homeland, and are always looking at Latin America, following the enormous success of Ugly Betty.

Why the appeal? It’s simple: it saves development time and it saves money, as you don’t have to pay for an expensive pilot that goes nowhere. They are also proven in terms of ratings.

So, while this is an enormous opportunity for UK producers to enter the US market, what about the reverse? Why don’t UK broadcasters welcome foreign formats?

The main reason is they don’t have to. The strength of the UK creative community and the financial health of British broadcasters mean they can and should develop homegrown drama first. And at DRG, we have been a huge beneficiary of that with Doc Martin.

We started pitching Doc Martin as a scripted format over seven years ago and since then we’ve launched six other Doctors around the world. It all started in Germany, where ZDF adapted the first two seasons. The German broadcaster followed the original scripts very closely, but reported back that their Doc Martin was a little ‘too intelligent’ for the German audience to continue.

At Antena 3 in Spain, things were different. They produced 54 episodes of Doctor Mateo, all of them 70 minutes long. They exceeded the number of episodes produced in the UK within a period of just three years. We found that Antena 3 allowed for a more cultural adaptation of the scripts, taking into account the beautiful Spanish weather and a more outdoors lifestyle, shooting scenes on the beach and in the piazzas.

Other successes include France. Lead by one of the most loved French actors, Thierry Lhermitte, the French series is now in its fourth season, which is currently in production for TF1. Greece also produced 20 episodes of the show before it was killed off by the recession, and in Holland, SBS is in production with a longer run of 13 episodes for the second season of Dokter Tinus.

However, when we tried to pitch our Scandinavian, Australian and French scripts over here in the UK, we faced a number of challenges and hardly anybody reacted – until a year ago.

Key to the success of Doc Martin, both as a scripted format and as a finished series, is the original scripts and the idea. Doctors exist all over the world and the lifestyle transition between the big city and a rural idyll translates well globally. While the original scripts offer a mix of comedy and drama that has a universal appeal, there is nothing offensive or extreme that could put off some of the more conservative countries. The casting of Doc Martin is also a key factor to its success. The right actor who can cross the bridge between a comedic and dramatic performance is essential.

Returning to the original question – why don’t UK broadcasters look at foreign scripted formats? Reality and gameshow formats that come from abroad work well on UK television, so why not drama? Foreign drama is beginning to work in the UK with the success of The Killing, The Bridge and The Returned. Perhaps it’s a case of just putting a definite article in front? Either way, it has certainly given UK audiences a taste of something different.

Who says British viewers only want to see British shows? Is British realism still what the UK viewers really want to watch? While US drama has not been successful in primetime on the BBC or ITV, one scripted format has been successful: ITV1’s Law & Order UK. So why not more?

In my view, the recipe for success with a scripted format includes the following elements: a gripping idea, a unique angle, interesting setting and, of course, an excellent and well-written script. With all of these elements replicated, UK broadcasters stand a strong chance of making a scripted format a success.

The pressure is on for broadcasters to deliver ratings-winning programming and scripted formats allow them to witness first-hand the proven success of an original production and to ultimately act upon it; replicating a series that has delivered elsewhere and tweaking where relevant to allow for a more local feel.

If the UK picks up on the idea and trend, schedules can be refreshed and we can start to look forward to continuing success for UK broadcasters.