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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'.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1.
Spooks2.
Foyle's War3.
Hustle4.
Life on Mars5.
Ashes to Ashes6.
Downton Abbey7.
Sherlock8.
BroadchurchNotes
Bibliography
Index
Über den Autor / die Autorin
James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK.
Zusammenfassung
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'.
Vorwort
An introduction to contemporary British television drama, through case studies of well-known series.
Zusatztext
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.
