Wanted: Procedurals

Numerous distributors are looking to fill the gap in the procedurals market.

On the face of it, you wouldn’t think there was a shortage of American procedural dramas on the global market. A casual glance at U.S. network schedules shows Dick Wolf’s Law & Order: SVU and Chicago trilogy (Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago P.D.) dominating the lineup on NBC. Over at CBS, leading procedurals include the NCIS franchise (three shows) and Criminal Minds (which recently spawned Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders). On FOX, Bones has been renewed for its 12th (and final) season. There are even some procedurals on cable, such as TNT’s Major Crimes.

Nevertheless, over the last year the message from leading buyers such as TF1 in France, RTL in Germany and Mediaset in Italy has been pretty clear: there are not enough episodic dramas available.

Executives on the front line of the global drama business agree that there is a shortage of U.S. procedurals and cite a number of reasons for this. To Pancho Mansfield, the president of global scripted programming at Entertainment One (eOne) Television, a big factor has been the editorial rethink at leading American cable channels such as USA Network, TNT, A&E and Lifetime. “These four networks used to provide a lot of long-running procedurals with good international appeal like The Closer, Perception, Burn Notice and The Glades. But as they have reinvented themselves, I’d say we’ve lost 10 to 15 procedurals.”

The reason for this, says Mansfield, is the pressure these networks have come under from the likes of AMC, FX and the new SVOD platforms, which have enjoyed notable success with high-concept serialized dramas. “That’s why you’ve seen USA Network come back with a show like Mr. Robot and A&E supporting Bates Motel for the last few years,” he says.

CHANGING TASTES
Alongside this new approach at the cable networks is what Julien Leroux, deputy managing director at Newen Distribution, identifies as a growing disparity between what American and international audiences want to watch. “The mainstream U.S. audience is happy to watch superhero-procedural hybrids like CBS’s Supergirl because that is part of their culture. But superheroes are not so interesting to the audience in France.”

Supergirl is not an isolated example, adds Leroux. On ABC, slots have gone to two Marvel-based shows (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter) while The CW’s best-performing titles are three DC Comics-derived shows (The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow). On FOX, there is Gotham, based on characters from DC Comics’s Batman.

It’s not just France that is ambivalent about superheroes. If you look at the U.S. imports in Germany, Italy and South Korea, it is classic American procedurals rather than the sci-fi/fantasy upstarts that perform best. Only markets such as the U.K., Australia, Scandinavia and Spain appear to have shifted in line with American editorial tastes—though even in these territories, classics including CSI, NCIS and Criminal Minds continue to be schedule stalwarts.

Cathy Payne, CEO of Endemol Shine International (ESI), says the disparity between the U.S. and global markets is evident in other ways. “Take a show like Empire, which has done incredibly well for FOX but has not had much of an impact internationally. I think this divergence in tastes has become even more noticeable because some of the really big, successful procedurals are coming to an end. CSI, The Mentalist and Castle are all popular titles internationally, but the first two have now ended and the third is in the balance.”

“The lack of procedurals is a fact,” observes Greg Phillips, the president of Content Television & Digital, “but it can be rectified by all the guys around the world who complain that the Americans aren’t providing them—they can step up more vigorously to create their own. We’re seeing the opportunity to do that. Our Jack Taylor series, financed in Ireland [along with] ZDF and ZDF Enterprises in Germany and ourselves, is an example. We’ll have another three movies, so then we’ll have nine altogether. If the foreign buyers want procedurals, either hours or movies, that’s one way to do it.”

TAKING THE LEAD
The big discussion is about whether it is possible to create a “U.S.-style” international procedural that is not triggered by a commission from an American broadcaster. Currently, the most high-profile attempt to achieve this is an alliance between NBCUniversal International Television Production (NBCU-ITVP), TF1 and RTL that was formed with the specific goal of securing “a pipeline of high-quality, U.S.-style procedural content.” Under the terms of this partnership, JoAnn Alfano, NBCU-ITVP’s executive VP of scripted programming, and her team in L.A. are responsible for developing and producing projects that have been written, shot and cast in North America. NBCU-ITVP is not yet ready to unveil titles, but the company’s plan is to create 12- to 14-episode dramas that have broad international appeal. The goal is to be in production in spring 2016 for a fall or winter delivery.

Explaining the rationale for the alliance at the time, Alfano said, “There is an incredible talent pool of procedural writers and producers in the U.S. For some time now, they have had few outlets for their ideas. We look forward to working with the wealth of talent that exists in the U.S. and developing the next generation of procedural hits.”

From the perspective of the alliance’s European partners, it’s about finding successors to shows like Bones, which have been huge hits.

The companies in this partnership are not the only ones attempting to fill the procedural void. Others reported to be scouting this space include FremantleMedia, Red Arrow Entertainment Group, Endemol Shine Group and Gaumont Television. The latter has been working on Crosshair, a 13-part English-language series from Ken Sanzel, an American showrunner whose credits include Numb3rs and Blue Bloods.

PROBLEM SOLVING
Also exploring opportunities in the international procedural market is Tele München Group (TMG). Herbert L. Kloiber, the managing director of TMG, is responsible for a lot of the U.S. film and scripted TV content that is licensed into the German-speaking market. Like his peers, he notes that the gap between American and mainstream German viewing has become “problematic.”

According to Kloiber, “smaller channels like RTL II [which is part-owned by TMG] have succeeded with shows like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Teen Wolf. But audiences on RTL, SAT.1, ProSieben and ZDF haven’t adapted their preferences.”

An impact of that on TMG’s business, says Kloiber, is that “we have moved away from TV output deals with the U.S. studios because they produce a lot of shows that don’t really work on the main German channels. To fill the gap we are going to different sources and becoming more closely aligned with production companies.”

TMG has formed a partnership with TF1 and Federation Entertainment on an English-language medical procedural. “I think the idea of developing a commercial scripted show in North America as part of a consortium is very interesting,” says Kloiber.

While the primary motivation for these shows is demand from the European market, there is always the hope that they can be sold back into the U.S. after they’ve been made. And there are recent examples of this. Crossing Lines is a crime procedural made as part of a concerted drive by STUDIOCANAL-owned TANDEM Productions to target this section of the business. A co-production with TF1 in France, the show was made in English with showrunner Ed Bernero at the helm. It was initially picked up by NBC in the U.S. and by Sony Pictures Television’s AXN in the international market. Although NBC didn’t renew the show for season two, the other parties kept it on air. Netflix subsequently acquired streaming rights and U.K. pay-TV channel Alibi also picked up the show.

Houdini & Doyle, a British-Canadian co-production backed by ITV Encore and Global and headed by David Shore (House), is a period crime procedural that reimagines the relationship between Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle. The show has been sold to FOX in the U.S.

The success of shows like these proves that there are opportunities for story-of-the-week procedurals that don’t require an upfront commission from a U.S. network. However they need to be approached with caution, says eOne’s Mansfield.

eOne is no stranger to setting up an international scripted co-production with a procedural profile. A classic example is Rookie Blue, which was produced in Canada for Global and then sold under license to ABC in the U.S., where it survived for six seasons. eOne is also working on Ransom, a series about a crisis negotiator that is being put together in partnership with TF1 and Canada’s Shaw Media. While Mansfield recognizes the appeal of building procedurals without an upfront U.S. partner, he says in the current market there’s no guarantee you’ll secure the American deal you’re hoping for. “I think people still expect to sell their show into the U.S. after it has been made. But they are up against a shortage of slots for story-of-the-week procedurals. And if your show doesn’t get a U.S. license, that’s tough.”

EPISODIC WOES
There are other problems with internationally led procedural co-productions that make them less reliable than the classic American ones. One is that they generally come in smaller batches of episodes. CSI, for example, racked up 337 episodes over 15 seasons. But most of the co-pro series made internationally would only deliver 150 to 200 episodes in that time frame (and it’s unlikely that any of them would surpass 50 episodes).

Another problem is the fact that most international co-pro procedurals seem to require a mix of free-TV and pay-TV partners or distributors looking to sell into pay-TV channels. This can lead to hybrid shows that are too dark for mainstream channels.

Newen’s Leroux says his company is engaged in the debate about how to replace U.S. procedurals and that it is “forming a few co-pro partnerships.” But he also says there is a partial solution in acquiring completed procedural shows from markets outside the U.S. “The French networks make some good procedural shows that can be alternatives. We have a great show called Candice Renoir that airs on France 2 but has also sold to markets like Germany, Italy, Portugal and Canada.”

According to Leroux, Candice Renoir is “a kind of French Columbo that is much more in line with mainstream audience tastes than HBO or Netflix shows are. We’re just about to shoot season four, which means there will be 38 episodes in total.”

The notion that there are ready-made alternatives to U.S. procedurals is not completely new. ESI’s Payne says there is a role for British crime drama. “The U.K. doesn’t do long-running, U.S.-style series, but it does have shows like Sherlock, Vera, Endeavour, Silent Witness and Midsomer Murders, which all have a procedural feel about them.”

Payne says there is no particular urgency for ESI to try to fill the gap vacated by U.S. procedurals because there is such strong demand for serialized shows. But the company does have some shows that play in that direction: “The Good Karma Hospital—which is about a team of British and Indian medics at an over-worked and under-resourced cottage hospital in Goa—only has an opening run of six episodes, but we think it has the potential to develop along the lines of Death in Paradise,” a BBC One and France 2 co-pro now up to 40 episodes.

Canada also has a track record with procedurals, including Shaftesbury’s period piece Murdoch Mysteries and the character-driven contemporary crime drama 19-2. The latter, repped by Content Television, is up to three seasons of ten episodes each.

SERIAL WINS
Susanne Müller, the executive director of feature films and TV series at German public broadcaster ZDF, is not convinced that other territories can easily fill the U.S. procedural gap; her experience has been that these territories are also moving away from procedurals. “We aren’t big buyers of U.S. shows, which tend to go to the commercial networks in Germany. But we have found that our key suppliers in the U.K. and Nordic markets are also shifting from procedurals to serialized shows, which is presenting an issue in our Sunday night drama slot. Instead of shows like Midsomer Murders, we are seeing titles like Broadchurch, The Missing and The Killing come through.”

Although Müller understands why the creative talent wants to make serialized dramas, she notes that “they aren’t always as popular with the audience and they are more difficult to schedule. It’s easier to lose momentum with a serialized show than it is with a procedural.”

For ZDF, the best solution to this issue is either domestic production (which has a cost implication) or a concerted drive towards procedural co-productions with the Nordic region. “We have a long-standing relationship with the Nordics and generally have more of a say about the shape of the show there than we do in, for example, the U.K. We’ve been discussing the way forward with companies like Endemol Shine-owned Filmlance International, which brought us series like Beck.”

Alexander Coridass, the president and CEO of ZDF’s commercial arm, ZDF Enterprises, notes that the distributor already has some procedural-style shows to offer the global market. “We are often asked when a European series like Derrick will come to 21st-century media. I think we already have it in our catalogue. A Case of Murder and series such as Dr. Klein or our SOKO franchise are urgently needed in many countries. For many years to come, there will still be requests for classical programs—including procedurals and TV movies—and for innovative limited series. And we’re delighted that we can meet all of these program needs.”

The conundrum, of course, is how you satisfy all the parties involved. ZDF signed on to a new Filmlance project called Spring Tide, which is being distributed internationally by ESI. A 10×45-minute production, Spring Tide, about a single cold-case murder, is based on the first novel in a crime trilogy. Perhaps the best solution for broadcasters like ZDF will be shows that are positioned as serial-procedural hybrids.

Of course, Müller’s point about the role of domestic production shouldn’t be ignored, especially in light of the rising quality of drama around the world. While U.S. procedurals have always been regarded as the benchmark against which international shows are judged, Javier Llorente García at Spanish public broadcaster RTVE says the days when his organization bought shows like Desperate Housewives as part of packages are over. “Series production in Spain has improved in quality and is now at a very high level. So we are seeing a lot more [locally produced] shows instead of foreign acquisitions.”

Among them is the brand-new El Caso: Crónica de Sucesos, set in 1960s Madrid. Each episode focuses on a duo of journalists—one an ex-cop, the other a young reporter—investigating a headlines-making crime. The show is being launched to the international market as Crime Times.

FINDING FORMATS
International broadcasters have another solution to the shortage of U.S. procedurals: adapting U.S. archive shows. While some channel chiefs may balk at the idea of commissioning completely new procedurals to make up for the U.S. shortfall, updating and localizing classic American procedurals can be a cost-effective option. One example is the deal that saw Resonant remake Warner Bros.’ medical procedural ER for RCN and FOX in Latin America. And Twentieth Century Fox’s Bones was remade in Russia.

Another option is the model whereby high-profile theatrical movies are rebooted as European procedurals, which benefit from built-in exposure. Atlantique’s Transporter series fits this model and STUDIOCANAL has hinted at the possibility of adapting its movie IP as returnable TV series.

TV execs are always saying the media business is cyclical, so it is possible that the U.S. networks will steer back in the direction of procedurals. After all, some of this year’s high-concept launches, such as Minority Report and Heroes Reborn, failed to fly, and there’s no particular commercial logic to making shows that international channel buyers don’t want.

There have been a few positive signs in this year’s U.S. pilot season. ABC has ordered two new legal-themed pilots (Notorious and Conviction) and CBS is backing two medical shows, Bunker Hill and Sensory. Even FOX is getting in on the action with the new crime-procedural pilot A.P.B.

Mansfield at eOne says there is clearly a role for procedurals in the free-to-air market, as ratings continue to show. However, he isn’t convinced that there will be a big swing back to procedurals, because the drama market has changed so decisively. “There are so many places for people to watch drama now that the cable networks feel a need to get noticed. The provocative serialized shows are the ones that cut through the clutter, so I don’t see them going away.”

TMG’s Kloiber takes a similar view: “I could see us possibly getting involved in one or two procedural-style shows a year. But viewing habits in markets like the U.S. and U.K. won’t go back. Audiences there have fundamentally changed their behavior.”

Pictured: NBCUniversal’s Law & Order: SVU.