Contemporary British Television Drama

by James Chapman

Overview

The early twenty-first century has seen the emergence of a new style of television drama in Britain that adopts the professional practices and production values of high-end American television while remaining emphatically 'British' in content and outlook. This book analyses eight of these dramas - Spooks, Foyle's War, Hustle, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Downton Abbey, Sherlock and Broadchurch - which have all proved popular with audiences and in their different ways represent the thematic and formal paradigms of post-millennial drama.

James Chapman locates new British drama in its institutional and economic contexts, considers their critical and popular reception, and analyses their social politics in relation to their representations of class, gender and nationhood. He demonstrates how contemporary drama has mobilised both new and residual elements in re-configuring genres such as the spy series, cop show and costume drama for the cultural tastes of modern audiences. And it concludes that television drama has played an integral role in both the economic and the cultural export of 'Britishness'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350152502
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	05/28/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	822 KB

About the Author

James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK, and editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. His previous books on British popular television are Swashbucklers: The Costume Adventure series (2015), Inside the Tardis: The Worlds of 'Doctor Who' - A Cultural History (2nd edn 2013) and Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s (2002).
James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Spooks
2. Foyle's War
3. Hustle
4. Life on Mars
5. Ashes to Ashes
6. Downton Abbey
7. Sherlock
8. Broadchurch
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

James Chapman writes 'golden ages are usually only apparent in hindsight' -but in this thoughtful and perceptive book he builds a convincing case that the early twenty first century is special moment in British television drama. Among the many delights in this exhilarating study is the author's ability to see beyond our place and moment. Chapman deftly connect his texts into a century of British cultural production and, with equal dexterity, looks across to parallel achievements in the US and Europe. This is a path-breaking study which deserves to be widely read.” —Nicholas J. Cull, University of Southern California, USA.

“Is British television drama struggling in the face of today's US-dominated streaming and box-set culture, or actually in reinvigorated rude health? That is the question explored in James Chapman's new volume which offers a series of well-researched case studies of eight of the most memorable British productions of the last twenty years in order to wave the flag for the continuing quality and relevance of UK-produced TV drama. Author of previous historical studies of the TV action-adventure series and Doctor Who, Chapman finds cause for optimism when he turns his attention to contemporary British TV drama of the last 20 years: from Spooks and Hustle to Sherlock and Broadchurch?. Clear and accessible, this volume will appeal to students and scholars alike as well as to the general reader curious to find out more about how British TV drama has reinvented itself in the twenty first century.” —Professor John Cook, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK

“In this highly readable study of some of the most remarkable British TV dramas of recent years, Chapman shows how they make the most of new circumstances of production, new modes of storytelling, and engage with current social and political concerns. He shows how the best UK dramas of our time have not only been innovative but also build on past TV successes to give foundation to our new TV “golden age”.” —Jonathan Bignell, Professor of Television and Film, University of Reading, UK

“This is a wonderful piece of scholarship and timely in that it corrects the assumption that high quality television is purely the achievement of US television drama. James Chapman uses his considerable skills as one of the finest scholars of popular film and television in order to carefully and keenly explore the significance and value of some of the best British dramas of the past two decades. His lively prose effortlessly details their production and critical contexts while marshalling his not inconsiderable insights in order to give us a compelling and important book.” —Jason Jacobs, Professor of Film and Television Studies, The University of Queensland, Australia

“Engagingly written, easily digestible, and informative, Chapman's important work on British Quality Television clearly shows his expertise in the field. The author has taken both genre and high-concept programmes like Foyle's War and Ashes to Ashes and shown how they have impacted on both the television landscape and audience in a post-millennial world.” —Dr Steven Gerrard, Northern Film School, Leeds Beckett University, UK

From the Publisher