Can UK creatives come up with the next Harry Potter or Marvel in a “British context?”
That was the challenge thrown down this morning by James Graham in the traditional Edinburgh post-MacTaggart the morning after he spoke of the need for TV’s gatekeepers to encourage “new universes” in place of the temptation to opt for tried and tested IP.
The Dear England creator called for the “encouragement and scale of ambition” to imagine what “new Harry Potter universes or Marvel would be in a British context,” and said writers need to be given “opportunity and space.”
Dishing during the post-MacTaggart as he responded to a question from Deadline, he praised the British ecosystem for having a direct line between different disciplines such as theater, gaming and YouTube in order to find fresh talent and ideas.
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He criticized the American system for having a “disconnect” between these disciplines due to the entertainment industry being based on the other side of the country to Broadway, but cited how “Fleabag and Baby Reindeer” were discovered at the Edinburgh Fringe in the UK.
“Any world building in gaming, for example, can be translated to the theater-TV talent pool as well,” said Graham.
“Corsets and horses”
Elaborating on his MacTaggart call for the creation of “new universes” in place of “tried and tested IP,” he raised concerns that British buyers are concerned local stories about the working classes won’t sell abroad.
“They think they will sell a historic, period, corsets and horses view of England rather than niche, specific, regional working-class stories that could be exclusionary because of the accents,” he added. “In this economic climate those shows don’t feel commercially viable.”
He said the world, and cultural gatekeepers, have been afraid of “newness” since the 2008 crash, pointing to the number of West End plays at present that are “based on 90s movies and musicals.”
“Think about when you go on a streamer you know you should start that prestige drama but your hand moves to the series of Below Deck you’ve watched before,” he added. “Something [about a lack of newness] in the mindset.”
Graham was speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, which has also featured the likes of Warren Littlefield, Anne Mensah and will.i.am.
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