2024: The Year in Drama

Streaming retrenchment, ad woes and lingering impacts of the Hollywood strikes continued to cast a cloud on the scripted sector in 2024 as the entire industry came to grips with the actual peak of peak TV. Amid continued concerns over viewer fatigue and the challenges of discovery, the drama space was dominated by known IP and safe bets last year—despite the breakout success of Baby Reindeer—while the media sector’s overall shift toward rationalized spending and diminished budgets meant a greater emphasis on collaboration, rights sharing and finding new ways to monetize.

The overwhelming interest in known IP was clear from the rash of book adaptations ordered in 2024. Prime Video was especially busy in this space, with commissions that included Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta, Michelle Frances’ The Girlfriend, Alafair Burke’s The Better Sister and Richard Dominguez’s El Gato Negro, as well as Criminal, based on the graphic novel series created by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Netflix announced a screen adaptation of Bella Mackie’s How to Kill Your Family. Apple TV+ added adaptations of Marissa Stapley’s Lucky, Ryan David Jahn’s The Dispatcher, Mick Herron’s Down Cemetery Road, William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Araminta Hall’s Imperfect Women to its original orders. Peacock commissioned a take on Liz Moore’s novel Long Bright River. Paramount+ UK & Ireland slated a thriller based on Sarah Vaughan’s Little Disasters and The Crow Girl, a screen adaptation of Erik Axl Sund’s trilogy. SkyShowtime commissioned Langer, a Polish original series based on the novel by Remigiusz Mróz. MGM+ ordered The Institute, based on the Stephen King title. And it wasn’t just streamers demonstrating a penchant for book-based series. The BBC opted for The Other Bennet Sister, based on the Janice Hadlow novel, and Jordan Tannahill’s The Listeners. AMC Networks greenlit the third series in its expanding Anne Rice Immortal Universe. Channel 4 unveiled Trespasses, based on Louise Kennedy’s debut novel; Summerwater, adapted from the best-selling book by Sarah Moss; and Brian and Margaret, based on Rob Burley’s Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me: Searching for the Truth on Political TV. ITV went for Secret Service, based on ITV News anchor Tom Bradby’s novel of the same name, and I Fought the Law, from Ann Ming’s For the Love of Julie. TF1 in France commissioned a show inspired by Michel Bussi’s Rien ne t’efface. Atresmedia TV is working with Diagonal for a scripted series adaptation of Olympic gymnast Gervasio Deferr’s autobiographical book. Australia’s Lingo Pictures secured the rights to adapt Rick Morton’s Mean Streak as Robodebt for ABC iview and ABC TV. Channel 5 went for Reverend Richard Coles’ Murder Before Evensong (in partnership with Acorn TV) and Lesley Kara’s The Rumour.

Producers were busy shoring up the rights to buzzy titles to feed the appetite for known IP. Key deals included Fremantle’s Australian division optioning the rights to works from Paul Jennings, while Lux Vide aligned with Rai Fiction for Sandokan, a new take on Emilio Salgari’s pirate adventure saga. Universal Television pre-empted the rights to Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas’s Climbing in Heels. New Pictures, an All3Media company, secured Geoff Dembicki’s The Petroleum Papers: Inside the Far-Right Conspiracy to Cover Up Climate Change. ZDF Studios aligned with BlackBox Multimedia to adapt Phaedra Patrick’s The Little Italian Hotel, Paramount’s Ananey Studios on Daniel Edelson’s The Tea House on the Death Pass and ACT4 for a Nordic thriller based on Skúli Sigurdsson’s debut novel. Harlan Coben remained prolific with a new Netflix novel adaptation order, I Will Find You. And the Agatha Christie canon is a well producers keep going back to, with Mammoth Screen working on Towards Zero for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, while Chris Chibnall is developing The Seven Dials Mystery for Netflix.

The need for known IP extended well beyond publishing. Spin-offs abounded, including the expansion of the CBS NCIS franchise; more Dexter for Showtime and Paramount+; a Prime Video Reacher extension, The Boys prequel and Young Sherlock series; the reveal of a new show set in the Whoniverse; a Green Lantern series for HBO; and the greenlight of Suits: LA for NBC. Feature films proved ripe for series adaptation: Apple TV+ greenlit Cape Fear, while Lionsgate Television teamed with Park Chan-wook on Oldboy. Video game adaptations, on the heels of the success of The Last of Us and Fallout, are picking up pace: Amazon MGM Studios is in development on Mass Effect from Electronic Arts (EA), while Prime Video ordered a Tomb Raider series. True stories are always a draw for viewers, and the people and events that captured the interest of producers and commissioners last year included the Murdaugh murders, the JonBenét Ramsey mystery, the gambling scandal surrounding LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, the official biography of Muhammad Ali and the October 2023 attack on Israel. There’s even a show being developed in the LALIGA universe, given the global fandom of the Spanish football league.

It was also a good year for scripted formats as producers and commissioners sought shortened development timelines and the appeal of established track records. All3Media International was particularly prolific on this front with various deals, including Black Widows in South Korea, Liar in several markets and Boat Story and The Tourist in India. Nippon TV had a banner year on its flagship scripted format Mother, with deals in Greece, the Philippines and Mongolia. Elsewhere, yes Studios’ psychological drama Night Therapy is getting a German-language version. Turkey maintained a healthy scripted formats appetite while its distributors expanded their format footprints, including Inter Medya licensing the remake rights of Love Undercover to South Korea; a version of Insider (Içerde) arriving on MBC1 and Shahid; SIC acquiring the rights to remake Kanal D International’s Ruthless City; and Persona being adapted for France.

For brand-new original ideas, the busiest activity was in the tried-and-true crime drama space. ITV’s orders included the courtroom drama Saviour from first-time screenwriter Imran Mahmood and the Andrew Lincoln thriller Cold Water; Channel 5 greenlit Catch You Later, The Au Pair and The Puzzle Lady; the BBC’s commissions included a new Jimmy McGovern title; Peacock opted for a crime thriller from Ozark co-creator Bill Dubuque; and Prime Video took a new Two Brothers Pictures one and commissioned Haven, set to be penned by crime novelist S.A. Nikias. Luther creator Neil Cross landed a new original thriller at Sky. Netflix ordered the limited mystery series The Beast in Me from creator Gabe Rotter and showrunner Howard Gordon.

Even as the scripted market contracted, numerous new players arrived on the scene last year, and the chase to secure compelling talent, either via M&A or first-look deals, continued unabated. On the M&A front, ITV Studios acquired a majority stake in Eagle Eye Drama, launched by Walter Iuzzolino, Jo McGrath and Jason Thorp; and a minority interest in Hartswood Films. Banijay UK bought Caryn Mandabach Productions, while Banijay Germany furthered its scripted expansion with the joint venture Dynamic Ally Pictures. Sony Pictures Television backed the launch of Hot Sauce, a new production company based in Belfast, and increased its investment in Eleventh Hour Films. All3Media backed the new scripted label Sunburnt Penguin from Merman co-founder Clelia Mountford, while its New Pictures outfit teamed with George Kay to launch Observatory Pictures. Carlo Dusi, former managing director of Endor Productions, launched the new indie Turning Point with backing from Canada’s Shaftesbury. BBC Studios Productions Australia acquired Werner Film Productions. Newen Studios set up Spark Studios and acquired a majority stake in the German producer Dog Haus. STV Studios increased its stake in Two Cities Television. Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI invested in Media Res, the studio behind The Morning Show. Fremantle inked a slew of talent deals in 2024, including with Me+You Productions, Astral Projection, Fudge Park Productions, Roughcut TV and AlterEgo, and renewed its relationship with Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín’s Fabula. Lionsgate Television renewed its alliance with Alexi Hawley and entered into a pact with Power Book IV: Force showrunner Gary Lennon. Universal Television secured relationships with Darren Star and Kevin Williamson. In other creative alliances, FOX Entertainment closed a direct broadcast deal with Hank Steinberg; See-Saw Films aligned with British screenwriter and showrunner Ben Vanstone; Eleventh Hour Films and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) teamed with Tobi Olujinmi’s Hill 5.14; and Banijay France’s Screenline Productions entered a creative partnership with writers Matthieu Rumani and Nicolas Slomka.

The year also saw a raft of financing and distribution partnerships to get shows made, as well as innovative windowing models across streaming and broadcast. BBC Studios and ZDF renewed their long-term strategic partnership to co-produce and acquire scripted content. Newen Studios, TF1 Group and Netflix teamed up for an event series set in the world of music and dance. ITV ordered a second season of the drama After the Flood, produced by Nicola Shindler’s Quay Street Productions, with BritBox International as co-production partner. ZDF, Acorn TV and TVNZ co-commissioned A Remarkable Place to Die from Screentime New Zealand and Real Film Berlin. Eagle Eye Drama, PBS Distribution and Beta Film joined forces for Patience. Production began on The Kollective, a thriller produced by Submarine and commissioned by the European Alliance.

In 2024, amid the commissioning downturn, more IP owners were also looking to AVOD and FAST for new opportunities, especially as services like Tubi and Pluto TV scaled their user bases. All seven seasons of The Good Wife and the first three seasons of The Good Fight became available to stream via The Good Wife channel on Pluto TV. Canada’s CBC added two new entertainment channels to its FAST slate: Heartland and Murdoch Mysteries. NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution’s Suits headed to LG Channels. Fuse Media expanded its agreement with DIRECTV to include carriage of its FAST channels Somos Novelas and El Rey Rebel. Channel 4’s long-running soap opera Hollyoaks began streaming on YouTube globally.