The sheer quantity and quality of programming output that we now see on television is quite incredible.
Being able to generate strong dramatic stories and flesh out unforgettable characters on a weekly basis is impressive and there is certainly a very British feel to many of the current most popular shows, and this influence has travelled across the seas to our American counterparts.
Shameless
Manchester-based comedy-drama Shameless landed in the UK back in 2004 and introduced us to the Gallagher clan. Skip forward to 2011 and thanks to Paul Abbot, the creator of the original series being on board in a producing capacity, the US version of the show was born.
The brilliant David Threlfall was replaced by the equally brilliant William H Macy as the unapologetic alcoholic Frank Gallagher and after a shaky start the show found its legs and works as a great tribute to the gritty British drama we all know and love.
Game of Thrones
HBO’s fantasy drama series has become an incredibly popular international hit, and has already spawned plenty of merchandise and spin-off games such as the GoT game on the Vegas casino app.
Based on the best-selling series of books by American author George R.R. Martin the show has gone from strength to strength gaining a wide spectrum of viewers and even those who would normally shy away from general fantasy themed movies and TV shows.
Interestingly enough the largely British and Irish accents used by the entire cast in the show was a strategic decision made by the producers. It seems widely acceptable to have British accents in place when it comes to fantasy shows, as if it’s almost a deep-rooted requirement.
Luther
If gritty British police dramas are your thing – and let’s face it us Brits often do it better than anyone else – then BBC One’s Luther will be right up your street.
On paper it’s about a loose canon detective who is constantly fighting his own demons whilst coming up against brutal murderers and criminals in the process. Now admittedly that sounds like an endless stream of crime dramas we’ve seen in the past – however, with the intensity and emotional range that Idris Elba portrayed in the title role and the quality in writing has pushed this British class act right to the top of the list.
Whilst a new two-part story is scheduled to arrive later this year, it also does appear that the US network Fox are interested in bringing Luther to the States. A US remake has been on the cards for a while now and Idris Elba himself is being lined up as a producer on the remake. Word is that Elba himself will not be playing the flawed detective this time around and it’ll be very interesting to see who’ll be filling his shoes.