Australian drama Wentworth has now been sold into 20-plus territories as a ready- made drama and into Germany and the Netherlands as a scripted format.
Mark Twain famously said that he liked a good story well told, quipping, “That is the
reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
Judging by the current boom in scripted format sales, the global content industry
feels much the same way. There’s a lot of storytelling going on—or, more accurately,
story-retelling, as it becomes clear that, while audiences everywhere like a good
story, they like it even better if it’s told in their own language, is anchored in their
own culture and resonates with their own experiences.
Neil Bailey, the commercial director of all3media international, sums it up neatly:
“Broadcasters need drama. Most are seeking local content. Few have the luxury of
time and money to create things from scratch. And we all take comfort in concepts
and ideas that have been proven and succeeded elsewhere.”
Examples abound, from SVT Sweden/DR Denmark’s cult crime series Bron/Broen
(The Bridge) to Disney’s Desperate Housewives, now powering into its sixth local
adaptation in Nigeria, to Turkey’s Forbidden Love, reincarnated by Telemundo
as Pasión Prohibida for the U.S. Hispanic market. And let’s not forget the masters of
scripted reality, the Israelis, responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed
shows on U.S. television, most notably Showtime’s brilliantly complex thriller
Homeland, inspired by Keshet’s Prisoners of War.
So what exactly is a scripted format? How does it vary from an old-school adaptation,
such as CBS’s retooling of the ’70s British sitcom Till Death Us Do Part to create All
in the Family, or, to cite a more topical example, Movie Central/The Movie
Network’s adaptation of the 2005 BBC comedy Sensitive Skin, now in production in
Canada?
“For me, a scripted format provides both a story line and a method of production that
will reduce development time and make the program more cost-effective,” Bailey
says. “An adaptation won’t necessarily be cheaper, quicker or easier, nor [mimic] the
processes used to develop and produce the original or seek to replicate them.”
As with all successful drama, a scripted format needs a strong original idea at its
core. But it helps, Bailey says, if there are no “idiosyncratic gimmicks” and the plot or
premise can be easily adapted to reflect local cultural differences and locations.
“There also needs to be some economies of scale, so that you can learn from each
version and see ways to improve the concept each time,” he adds. “This means the
proposition can be commoditized, which helps with rollout.”
Bailey names Cases of Doubt and Berlin: Day & Night, from all3media’s Filmpool, as
examples of constructed reality formats that blend “strong accessible stories with
refined production techniques and straightforward locations that can be easily
replicated in multiple territories.”
ON THE HOOK
Andrea Jackson, the managing director of acquisitions and formats at DRG, agrees
with Bailey that, for a drama to travel in scripted form, it needs a “distinctive hook.”
But she has a slightly different take on the importance of simple settings. As an
example, she points to DRG’s breakthrough scripted format, ITV’s hit Doc Martin,
the location of which—a sleepy Cornish fishing village—is arguably as big a star as the
comedy drama’s eponymous central character.
DRG did its first format deal for Doc Martin back in 2005. “I think it’s fair to say we
pioneered the scripted space with Doc Martin,” Jackson says. Since 2005 it has been
remade in six territories and is under option in several others. “It’s been really
interesting to see each country identify their equivalent to Cornwall,” she adds. “But
they have all succeeded in replicating that sense of remoteness and localness, and a
small community in which the arrival of a doctor makes a big impact.”
Jackson also believes that the casting of the original drama is crucial. In the ITV
series, Doc Martin is played by Martin Clunes, whose brilliant portrayal of a socially
inept physician around whom rich comedy unfolds undoubtedly made it easier for
DRG to sell the show as a format, not to mention as a finished series, which has now
aired in some 200 territories.
DRG’s current slate includes several dramas that combine a unique hook with
cultural portability, including NRK Norway’s political thriller Mammon and TVNZ’s
mystery drama The Cult, recently sold to Russian state broadcaster Rossiya 1.
Jackson is particularly excited about two Finnish dramas from Moskito Television:
the award-winning Easy Living, a high-octane thriller that centers on the secret
criminal life of a respectable family man; and Black Widows, a darkly humorous tale
of three unhappily married women who decide to murder their objectionable husbands.
“I think Black Widows will do very well as a scripted format,” Jackson says. “It’s brilliant, it’s different and it has universal resonance. In every country and culture, the idea of being stuck in the wrong relationship resonates.”
Nadine Nohr, the CEO of Shine International, identifies another topic that has universal traction when analyzing the success of Bron/Broen, which has now inspired two distinct adaptations: Shine America’s version for cable network FX set on the U.S.-Mexico border; and The Tunnel for Sky Atlantic and CANAL+, produced by Shine France and Kudos, set in the Channel Tunnel between France and the U.K.
“Every country has a neighbor with whom there are cultural conflicts and issues,” Nohr says of Bron’s “highly transposable premise.” But ultimately, she adds, every- thing must flow from brilliant writing and original, compelling story lines. “Drama is always an expensive risk. It’s high profile and if it fails, it can fail big. However, it is also channel-defining and can punch above its weight in terms of impact,” she says.
THE WRITE STUFF
Sarah Doole, the director of global drama at FremantleMedia, also names writing talent as a key driver of the scripted formats boom. She points out that writers are at a premium throughout the world, with top talent booked up to three years in advance. “The most difficult thing [to write] is the plotline for a crime drama, because you have to come up with all the twists and turns and scenarios,” she adds. “But if you have the plots already written, you can bring in local writers to shape characters and settings to fit cultural concepts. That’s a huge advantage.”
Another aspect of the scripted phenomenon that fascinates Doole is drama’s ability to shine a light on social and political trends. “In territories that are closed culturally because of, say, religious or political beliefs, it can be difficult for broadcasters to tell contemporary stories via news or current-affairs programming because of media control,” she says. “But drama can tackle hard-hitting or intimate issues, like divorce and adultery, in a way that’s more culturally acceptable and that broadcasters can get away with showing.”
An example from FremantleMedia’s scripted portfolio is Confrontation, which launched in Indonesia in 2011 and went on to be a hit in India. The drama, which takes the form of a talk show, pits brother against brother, wife against mistress, faith healer against fraud, in a tightly scripted format that offers all the surprises and reveals of a drama. “It allows brave stories to be told—ones that real contributors would struggle to reveal—and gives broadcasters the opportunity to provide a strong take-home message,” Doole adds.
FremantleMedia’s scripted format lineup also includes Danish producer Miso Film’s Dicte, a contemporary drama about a woman juggling her career as a crime reporter with single motherhood, which has blazed a trail across Scandinavia and is now set for the international market; ITV’s highest-rated sitcom launch in a decade, Birds of a Feather, produced by FremantleMedia UK label Retort; and the gritty Australian drama Wentworth, set in the brutal world of a women’s prison.
A reimagining of the classic Australian drama Prisoner: Cell Block
H, Wentworth also serves as an illustration of one of the trickiest challenges for
rights holders in terms of scripted format sales: ensuring that a remake
complements, rather than competes with, the original drama. Wentworth has now
been sold into 20-plus territories as a ready-made drama and into Germany and the
Netherlands as a scripted format. “Managing those windows to make sure your
format sales don’t cannibalize your tape sales is a job in itself,” Doole says, noting
that FremantleMedia has a dedicated team in London to orchestrate the process.
After identifying a strong idea that reflects the universality of the human condition
but is able to be tweaked to suit local lifestyle, cultural and religious differences, the
next challenge is to determine how involved the rights owner, or original producer,
should be in the adaptation process. How far beyond the original script does—or
should—a scripted format go? On one hand, the local producer has the advantage of
knowing the local audience; on the other, the format owner has a duty “to maintain
the high production values of the original and thus give it the same level of success,”
says Andrew Zein, the senior VP of creative, format development and sales at Warner
Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP). “The overall design concept of
a scripted format is something that WBITVP takes very seriously. Our clients have to
embrace the original design elements, including costumes, make-up, locations and
studio set.”
IF IT AIN’T BROKE…
Keeping remakes as true to the primary production as possible is based on the sound
principle that “there are reasons why the original was a success,” Zein says. For the
same reason, the production team involved in any local adaptation of a WBITVP
scripted format must be capable of making the show, on the basis that, if the director
and producer aren’t up to par, the adaptation will suffer—and with it so will
WBITVP’s reputation.
Zein reports a significant rise over the past 12 months in the number of local versions
of WBITVP’s scripted shows, with highlights including The O.C. remade in Turkey by
Star TV, Nip/Tuck given a make-over by Colombia’s Caracol TV—the first-ever
reversioning of a U.S. scripted format in the Latin American country—and The New
Adventures of Old Christine reincarnated on RTL in Germany.
Zein agrees with the general view that a strong, original story is always the starting
point for a scripted format—“trying to find a generic formula would hamper
creativity,” he says. Zein has found that buyers are drawn to long-running series,
both current and historic, and formats that have clear target-audience segmentation
profiles, such as younger-skewing dramas or comedies with a female bias.
Peter Iacono, the managing director of international television at Lionsgate, echoes
Zein when he says, “it all starts with the script and story,” but disagrees about the
necessity of sticking rigidly to the original version. In fact, he believes it is critical not
to be too firmly wedded to the primary script. “It’s so important not to copy but
instead to build upon the original in order to create something new and fresh for
each market, yet still maintain all the elements that made the audience fall in love
with the initial program,” he says.
Nurse Jackie, one of Lionsgate’s first forays into the scripted format market, serves
as a good example. The Showtime comedy drama was picked up in late 2012 by
Dutch pubcaster AVRO for Nederland 3, where it aired under the nameCharlie.
Iacono says that while the Dutch remake featured new local elements and developed
its own distinctive “voice,” it remained true to the inspiration of the original series.
TRAVEL TIPS
As to what genres travel best in scripted form, Iacono reports as much interest in
Lionsgate’s comedies, includingWeeds, House of Payne and Are We There Yet?, as in
its dramas Boss, The Kill Point and Hidden Palms.
But Shine’s Nohr believes comedy is a harder sell than crime. “The basic structure of
a whodunit is arguably more straightforward than comedy, which is more subjective
and presents a particular set of challenges,” she says. “Ask any stand-up comedian—
what works in one territory might not play so well in another. The joke, quite
literally, can get lost in translation.”
Catherine Stryker, the head of sales for Global Agency, agrees that comedy doesn’t
always migrate across cultures. That said, there are no hard and fast rules. The
popularity of Turkish drama formats, particularly with Middle Eastern viewers, has
been one of the most talked-about TV trends of recent years. But these tales of
passion and intrigue, of sultans and sinners, are about as far from Nordic noir’s dark
menace as it is possible to get. Both genres, however, have proved to be export gold.
“Turkish storytelling tends to center on a romantic interest and relationships within
extended families,” Stryker says. “These themes can be very appealing to societies
with the same close familial ties and dynamics. That’s one of the reasons our drama
has taken off like wildfire in the CEE and MENA regions. Also, many viewers like to
be swept away from their everyday lives by a powerful love story—and that’s where
Turkish stories really deliver.”
ISRAELI INSPIRATION
Few would dispute, following the massive success of Homeland, that Israeli scripted
formats are among the hottest properties on the international market. In recent
months, Dori Media Group has sold three scripted dramas into the U.S.: its
thriller New York, and its comedies Little Mom and Magic Malabi Express. Late last
year, Armoza Formats reported that the Israeli version of its psychological
thriller Hostages, the scripted format behind the recent CBS series, has been bought
by the BBC—the first time the British public broadcaster will air an Israeli series. And
in early February, CBS announced that it is to pilot Armoza’s The Ran Quadruplets,
which tells the moving story of the first quadruplets born in Israel, whose lives have
been played out in the media spotlight.
Avi Armoza, the founder and CEO of Armoza Formats, believes there are three
reasons behind Israel’s current status as the world’s go-to supplier of drama. “The
first is that Israeli culture is very comfortable with risk-taking,” he says. “That helps
us take the risks that are necessary for creating successful formats. Second, there’s
something in the essence of Israeli dramas that makes them universally
appealing. Hostages is a good example. It’s a powerful story about a very real family
thrown into an impossible dilemma. That makes it very easy to relate to and gives it
inherent potential for adaptation.”
The third reason is financial, Armoza suggests. He points out that Israeli budgets are
comparatively low but local audience expectations are high—a contradiction that has
resulted in a talent for producing shows that cost relatively little but look and feel like
big-budget productions. “Take The Naked Truth, also from Hostages producer
Chaim Sharir,” Armoza adds. “It’s a suspense-filled drama that follows a police team
looking into the disappearance of a 17-year-old girl. The action takes place in an
interrogation room, which creates a dramatic pressure-cooker effect, but is also
extremely cost effective.”
TWEET IT
Interestingly, Armoza believes that good old-fashioned word-of-mouth, far from
being obsolete in today’s hyper-connected world, is playing a bigger role than ever in
creating drama hits. “Thanks to social media and consumer-created content,
conversations about successful dramas are more prevalent than ever,” he says. “And
the more controversial the drama, the more there is to discuss. That’s what happened
with our psychological thriller Allenby, which generated a huge amount of online
chatter when it aired on Channel 10 Israel. It’s set in Tel Aviv’s red-light district and
it reveals, in a very authentic way, the lives of those who live and work in this dark
underworld.”
So what’s next for scripted formats? DRG’s Jackson thinks we’re in for some
unpleasantness. “The crime detective thing is getting a bit tired,” she says. “I think
it’s time for something more spine-chilling. It doesn’t have to be uber-gruesome, but
it could be something broadly in the horror genre, like The Returned (Les
Revenants) or In the Flesh.”
Shine’s Nohr, whose scripted format slate includes ITV’s audacious, addictive crime
drama Broadchurch, now being remade as Gracepoint for FOX in the U.S., also
thinks the future looks sinister. She adds, “The current trend in the U.K. seems to be
for dark thrillers, populated by flawed central characters.”
Lionsgate’s Iacono predicts there will be fewer formulaic cop, legal and medical
formats as “we begin to see a similar renaissance in extraordinary television
internationally as we have seen in the U.S.” And WBITVP’s Zein sees the demand for
scripted drama expanding out of the TV heartlands of the U.S. and Western Europe
to encompass the likes of China, Serbia, Thailand and the Philippines.
“If WBITVP is any indication of the wider business, I think the appetite for scripted
formats is going to continue to rise,” Zein adds, a view endorsed by all3media’s
Bailey. “We are all looking for things that perform and that are quicker and cheaper
to make and less risky,” Bailey concludes. “So I see further growth and sophistication
as producers, distributors and broadcasters increase their focus on this key area and
try to improve their expertise and understanding.”
By Joanna Stephens – WorldScreen
