Independent UK prodco Synchronicity Films’ Deanne Cunningham reveals how drama development has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deanne Cunningham

Drama has been described as the most difficult genre to shoot under Covid-19 and there is expected to be a sizeable shortage of new scripted content next year due to breaks in production. The current backlog will have an impact on the industry for some time, even without further lockdowns.

On the plus side, however, the popularity of drama has never been more evident, as shown by the increased engagement with streaming services during the pandemic.

“It just goes to show how much people need drama and how it’s been something that people have really relied on during the pandemic for comfort and escapism, more than any of the other forms of television,” says Deanne Cunningham, head of development at Glasgow-based Synchronicity Films, the prodco behind UK pubcaster BBC1’s 2018 hit The Cry.

Cunningham, who was brought into Synchronicity in September, will also work as executive producer on select shows in production.

Over the past decade, she has held various scripted roles, with production credits on hit dramas for ITV such as Cold Feet and Endeavour, as well as script editing positions on several award-winning shows, including Humans.

She has worked extensively in script development, including at BBC Drama, before joining Synchronicity, which has given her substantial insights into the current climate within the business.

Before Covid-19 struck, a balance between production and development was the norm, according to Cunningham. But due to productions going on hiatus for so long, the focus on development has increased considerably. This gives execs and producers more time to get new projects to a position where they can start production.

But, Cunningham adds, this also creates more pressure across the board to get things to a stage where projects can be greenlit immediately once things get back to normal.

Covid has raised numerous and expensive considerations when it comes to production. This has put the practicalities of projects – such as the need for VFX environments instead of the usual multiple locations or crowd scenes – at the front of developers’ minds.

“It’s definitely impacted the way we develop, but also the kind of things that we’re developing,” says Cunningham. “We have to presume that we can’t just go back to normal yet, in terms of how we would shoot those kinds of scenes. So, we’re having to look into different ways of doing it.”

At Synchronicity, playwright Joseph Wilde’s TV debut Clyde Waters is in advanced development with a UK broadcaster. The horror story follows three young naval recruits completing their training in submarines at a Scottish base who fall victim to an evil force.

Synchronicity set up an Australian office after shooting The Cry there

Although development began before the pandemic and filming in the confines of a submarine, perhaps unsurprisingly, created problems, the creative process hasn’t been affected significantly, says Cunningham. “[BBC thriller] Vigil was recently shot up here in Scotland and they had a submarine set. They managed to make that work, despite filming during the pandemic, so it can be done with creativity.”

The main issue is that Covid safety protocols make production that much more expensive. “The health and safety of the cast and crew is obviously paramount, but who’s covering those costs?” asks Cunningham.

Aside from the additional expense, the pandemic also seems to be changing the shows that are being commissioned. Broadcasters are shifting their interest away from dystopian stories to “slightly more optimistic, warmer content, something that feels a bit more unifying,” she adds.

This means projects currently in development at the company won’t represent the realities of life under Covid – the masks, the social distancing. Cunningham explains: “Everybody has had enough of the pandemic and people look to drama as a form of escapism. I don’t think that anybody really wants to see that on the screens.

“But the longer it goes on there is a bigger question mark as to whether this is something that we may end up having to incorporate into our dramas. The feeling is that if things get back to normal next year, after the vaccine, then we can draw on drama as a way of escaping from the pandemic rather than something that’s reflecting it.”

However, Cunningham wonders how love scenes can be shot while giving the appearance of a Covid-free world on screen.

Should the pandemic lead to further years of restrictions, Cunningham’s longer-term concern is that the incorporation of masks and social distancing will actually work against many of the principles of making good television.

But with more money allocated to development as the demand for new content increases, so do opportunities. One silver lining to the pandemic is that many established writers who have signed up for projects are stuck in the production log-jam, which means more opportunities for new, diverse writers.

Despite the hiatus in production, there are more platforms than there have ever been, so these opportunities are not just pandemic-related but caused by broader trends in the industry, Cunningham believes.

Regarding Synchronicity’s own slate, the company is currently developing a premium limited series based on author Andrew O’Hagan’s 2020 novel Mayflies. The book, which was published in the UK in September and comes out in North America in March 2021, will be adapted for TV by Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth is Missing).

Meanwhile, Oscar-nominated writer Olivia Hetreed (Girl With a Pearl Earring) is set to adapt Shankari Chandran’s debut novel Song of the Sun God for Synchronicity and Australia’s Dragonet Films, while Synchronicity has also optioned Craig Russell’s Lennox crime thriller book series Lennox for TV.

The company has also opened an Australian office, based in Melbourne and headed by Ruth Underwood, to expand its global reach. The decision was made following the success of The Cry, which was filmed down under.

The Aussie outpost’s first project is a TV adaptation of Helen FitzGerald’s novel Ash Mountain, a portrait of small-town life in rural Victoria. The thriller’s international distribution is being handled by NENT Studios UK.