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C21Pro 2019 Global Drama Trends Report

 

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Did you know that C21 publishes 10 in-depth reports and white papers each year? C21PRO and Group subscribers have full access to individual chapters as they are being written as well as the final report.

Fears the boom in international TV drama will soon turn to bust have abated as a string of new players get ready to enter the fray in 2019.

The ‘gold rush’ initiated by Netflix has stirred the establishment into action and consolidation, with Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox and AT&T’s takeover of Time Warner set to supercharge new super-sized SVoD services in the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, two (albeit briefly) trillion-dollar tech companies – Amazon and Apple – are stepping up their original series investments, with both emphasising high-end drama, the latter for the first time, having for years promised the reinvention of television.

  For those in the business of telling stories, there really never has been a better time, though concerns linger around over-supply, access to talent, market saturation, visibility and audience fatigue. But the ‘golden age’ of TV drama – now billed by some as ‘gilded’ – continues, as does the disruption and revolutionary opportunity brought by the advent of on-demand viewing.

  The C21Pro 2019 Global Drama Trends Report, produced in association with C21 sister title Drama Quarterly, explores these issues and more. The chapters in this report will publish here over the coming weeks.
C21Pro 2019 Global Drama Trends Report
Report date: November 2018

Report price: £299.00

Report editor: Jonathan Webdale


Report chapters:

Non-English drama
As premium non-English-language content continues to gain traction, key players discuss what it takes to make regional drama work on a global scale.
Hot properties
Bruno Heller, Russell T Davies and Kyle MacLachlan give the inside track on new dramas Pennyworth, Years & Years and Atlantic Crossing.
Int'l showrunning
A mainstay of US television production, the role of showrunner has now integrated itself into the European industry, in various forms.
Matter of Honour
Renowned Swedish actresses Sofia Helin, Alexandra Rapaport, Julia Dufvenius and Anja Lundqvist offer insights into their crime thriller Honour.
Next year's models
How are some of the world’s most progressive drama players adapting to a fast-changing market and how does their development agenda reflect this?
Bowker invades Europe
Writer Peter Bowker offers the inside line on his new Second World War drama World On Fire from Mammoth Screen for the BBC.
Light on Shadowplay
Co-creator of The Bridge Måns Mårlind discusses his new thriller Shadowplay, made for Viaplay and ZDF and set in Berlin in 1946.
State of shortform
Writer Nick Hornby and director Stephen Frears discuss their shortform drama State of the Union, made with See-Saw Films for Sundance Now.
In with the new
As drama, audiences and technology evolve, how are leading players innovating in areas such as digital-first production to develop new scripted series?
DR alters course
Danish public broadcaster DR has been a pioneer of foreign-language drama that travels but is rethinking its approach in the face of competition from streamers.
On the Movistar+ side
Two years on from Spanish broadcaster Movistar+'s move into original drama, Ismael Calleja provides an update on its strategy.
Belgian drama focus
Belgian dramas are enjoying increasing international success thanks to innovative storytelling and an anarchic approach to blending genres.
Euro drama renaissance
Public broadcasters in France, Italy and Germany have joined forces to develop and finance high-end dramas in the face of growing competition.
Books to screen
The boom in TV drama is driving competition for book rights as adaptations continue to offer solid foundations for commissions and audience attention.
Raising Hanna
Writer David Farr offers the inside line on his upcoming series adaptation of action-adventure movie Hanna for Amazon.
Evolving development
As the drama boom continues and shows get picked up at an earlier stage, the development process is changing fast.
Pooling resources
As competition in drama increases and budgets follow the same upward trajectory, putting together finance can involve an ever-expanding array of partners.
Where's the money?
Drama finance has become ever more complicated with the advent of global streamers but this has also inspired greater innovation in distribution deals.
Film to TV
Leading film and TV producers explore the shifting dynamics between the two industries and where each is headed next.
YouTube takes stock
YouTube is set to release 50 original series in 2019 but uncertainty hangs over its scripted ambitions following reports of a “pause” in development.
The ABC of Murders
Writer Sarah Phelps discusses her adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders for the BBC and Amazon.
Watership Down redux
Writer Tom Bidwell and director Noam Murro discuss their adaptation of Richard Adams’ novel Watership Down for the BBC and Netflix.
Global conversation
As Netflix continues to add worldwide drama series, the streamer's Erik Barmack says traditional TV language barriers are being “neutralised.”
Amazon's Euro basket
Amazon’s European drama development slate is set to bear fruit but Prime Video's Georgia Brown feels the pitches it receives still aren’t specific enough.
Rewriting scripted
What do the slew of mega-mergers this year mean for scripted in 2019 when Apple arrives on the scene?
Quality vs quantity
There’s never been a better time to be a TV drama creative but many writers and showrunners fear the craft may be compromised by high demand.
Special delivery
Visual effects in TV drama used to be a luxury, but as budgets and viewer expectations have grown such wizardry is becoming the norm.
Africa arrives
Netflix may have ordered its first African original but the continent’s TV industry is already working hard to bring local drama to global audiences.
Rewiring cable
US cablenets face unprecedented changes to the way they operate, with drama at the sharp end, but some are capitalising at home and abroad.
Navigating talent
With streamers and studios scrambling to tie down A-list talent, independent drama producers in North America are having to rethink their strategies.
Drama dalliance
Key players from European producers explain how streamers have affected the market and discuss opportunities as the scripted landscape shifts.
Narrowing windows
SVoD firms have so far given distributors a revenue stream for both library and new content. But could the next phase of the revolution see them shut out?
Britain braced
Brexit looms on the horizon, but the UK drama production business has more pressing issues to deal with.
On the funny side
Comedy drama has turned into a booming genre but it comes with its own challenges.
Piece of the live-action
SVoD and social media are creating new buzz around live-action drama for children. Helen Dugdale reports.
Paying the piper
Increasingly ambitious drama comes at a price. Who and what is driving up these costs, and how are producers putting deals together to cope?
Special agents
As disruption becomes the name of the game, the lines between talent agents, producers and distributors are disappearing.
Dramatic changes
As C21’s International Drama Summit kicks off Content London today, there are plenty of major issues for the drama industry to get its head around.
Following form
With Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat promoting new forms of storytelling on mobile how are the ways drama is made and watched changing?
The next chapter
A lot of noise has been made about how longform dramas are the ‘new novels,’ but what books are now coming to screen and how are they being adapted?
Gilding the lily
Ahead of C21’s International Drama Summit, we surveyed delegates on key issues and asked if reports of scripted TV’s demise have been exaggerated.