{"id":12555,"date":"2020-01-07T12:17:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T17:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-year-drama\/"},"modified":"2020-01-08T08:57:55","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T13:57:55","slug":"2019-the-year-in-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-the-year-in-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"2019: The Year in Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Screen recaps the major trends in the drama business in 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

As the number of scripted series broadcast in the U.S. alone topped the 500-mark last year, producers, networks and platforms continued to clamor for access to big-name talent, in front of and behind the camera. Netflix landed a deal with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, creators of Game of Thrones <\/em>(for a reported $200 million), just a few months after that show ended its run on HBO. WarnerMedia was able to hold onto its alliance with J.J. Abrams and sealed a pact with Bryan Cranston. Fresh off her multiple Emmy wins, Phoebe Waller-Bridge entered into an overall deal with Amazon Studios, which also inked a first-look agreement with Carnival Row<\/em> star Orlando Bloom. Sony Pictures Television secured an overall television deal with Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Lionsgate sealed a first-look deal with Mary J. Blige. MGM TV partnered with Ren\u00e9e Zellweger and Carmella Casinelli\u2019s production company, as well as with Akiva Goldsman and his production company.<\/p>\n

The quest to access leading writers and producers was equally intense outside of the U.S. Fremantle, for example, partnered with Natalie Dormer\u2019s Dog Rose Productions, Fabula (founded by Pablo and Juan de Dios Larra\u00edn) and Richard Brown\u2019s Passenger; launched the new label Castlefield; and made an equity investment in the production company The Immigrant. all3media launched a new scripted production label, West Road Pictures, fronted by Jonathan Fisher. BBC Studios invested in Firebird Pictures. Banijay Rights aligned with Ellie Wood of the U.K. indie Clearwood Films. Dominic Treadwell-Collins (A Very English Scandal<\/em>) teamed with ITV Studios for a new scripted label.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Walter Iuzzolino, Jo McGrath and Jason Thorp, the team behind Walter Presents, unveiled Eagle Eye Drama, which will focus on producing English-language drama series inspired by hit foreign-language shows they have championed on the on-demand service. Channel 4 has a minority stake in the venture.<\/p>\n

Known IP remained crucial in 2019, with a host of reboots and franchise extensions. The CW picked up Batwoman<\/em> and revealed development on Superman & Lois<\/em>. CBS All Access said it was developing a new series set in the Star Trek<\/em> universe. HBO ordered a Game of Thrones<\/em> prequel. FOX announced a 9-1-1<\/em> spin-off. Freeform unveiled a Party of Five<\/em> reboot. Viacom International Studios adapted the Hitchcock classic To Catch a Thief<\/em> as a Spanish-language series. A reboot of the classic police drama Bergerac<\/em> is in the works for Paramount Network International. Paramount Network in the U.S. ordered a ten-episode first season of Sexy Beast<\/em>, based on the award-winning film. The 1999 teen movie Varsity Blues<\/em> is being resurrected for Quibi, which also ordered Swimming with Sharks<\/em>. all3media international notched up a slew of deals for a Van der Valk<\/em> reboot.<\/p>\n

And then there were all the book and graphic novel adaptations announced in 2019. Netflix alone said it was working on Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez\u2019s One Hundred Years of Solitude<\/em>, Neil Gaiman\u2019s The Sandman<\/em>, Leigh Bardugo\u2019s Grishaverse<\/em> novels, Harlan Coben\u2019s The Stranger<\/em>, Karin Slaughter\u2019s Pieces of Her<\/em>, Liu Cixin\u2019s The Wandering Earth<\/em>, Kristin Hannah\u2019s Firefly Lane<\/em>, Walter Tevis\u2019 The Queen\u2019s Gambit<\/em> and S\u00f8ren Sveistrup\u2019s The Chestnut Man<\/em>, among others. The streamer also announced The Girls on the Bus<\/em>, inspired by a chapter of Amy Chozick\u2019s Chasing Hillary<\/em>.<\/p>\n

At Amazon, which rolled out Good Omens<\/em> globally in 2019, book-based projects include Thirteen<\/em> (from the graphic novel Six<\/em>), Agatha Christie\u2019s The Pale Horse<\/em> (with BBC One), a Jack Reacher series and The Banker\u2019s Wife<\/em> (based on the Cristina Alger novel). Hulu partnered with BBC Three on Normal People<\/em>, adapted from Sally Rooney’s best-selling book, and with MGM for The Testaments<\/em>, Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/em>. Gearing up for its 2020 launch, HBO Max said it was developing Circe<\/em>, based on the Madeline Miller bestseller, and UNpregnant<\/em>, adapted from the YA novel. CBS All Access ordered The Stand<\/em>, based on the Stephen King novel, and The Man Who Fell to Earth<\/em>. Apple TV+ slated Foundation<\/em>, based on Isaac Asimov\u2019s novel series of the same name. And that\u2019s just the streamers.<\/p>\n

FX picked up Y: The Last Man<\/em>, based on the graphic novel. EPIX greenlit a drama based on the short story Jerusalem\u2019s Lot<\/em> by Stephen King.\u00a0Showtime opted for The<\/em> Good Lord Bird<\/em>, based on the novel by James McBride; Ripley<\/em>, based on Patricia Highsmith\u2019s best-selling quintet of Tom Ripley novels; Three Women<\/em>, based on the nonfiction bestseller by Lisa Taddeo; and Michael Chabon\u2019s The Amazing Adventures of<\/em> Kavalier and Clay<\/em>. Ture Sventon and the Secret of the Bermuda Triangle<\/em>, based on \u00c5ke Holmberg\u2019s classic novels, is headed to TV4 and C More. ITV commissioned Tenacity<\/em>, based on the J.S. Law novel. Channel 5 commissioned\u00a0All Creatures Great and Small<\/em>, with Masterpiece on PBS co-producing. France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions, ZDF, Rai and Seven are on board an adaptation of Jules Verne\u2019s classic Around the World in 80 Days<\/em>. Shekhar Kapur is directing a series based on Amitav Ghosh\u2019s best-selling Ibis<\/em> trilogy.<\/p>\n

Other books optioned for TV in 2019 include Mahesh Rao\u2019s Polite Society<\/em>, Cherie Dimaline\u2019s The Marrow Thieves<\/em>, \u00d3skar Gu\u00f0mundsson\u2019s Hilma<\/em>, Preti Taneja\u2019s We That Are Young<\/em>, Robert Harris\u2019 The Second Sleep<\/em>, Chuck Palahniuk\u2019s Invisible Monsters<\/em>, Jan Guillou\u2019s\u00a0The Great Century<\/em>, Jamila Gavin\u2019s The Robber Baron\u2019s Daughter<\/em> and Peter James\u2019 Perfect People<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In addition, A+E Studios partnered with Macmillan Publishers\u2019 YA imprint Swoon Reads, CTV struck up a brand and content agreement with Harlequin Studios for a slate of TV movies, and a host of companies partnered with Wattpad, including Sony Pictures Television.<\/p>\n

Crime remained a top-seller in drama in 2019, including series based on real-life cases. Of note, BBC One and Netflix are partnering to tell the story of serial killer Charles Sobhraj in The Serpent<\/em>; UCP is working on Dr. Death<\/em>, about Dr. Christopher Duntsch; ITV and AMC are telling the story behind the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?<\/em> cheating scandal; and White House Farm<\/em>, about a family murdered in Essex in 1985, is headed to ITV, as is Des<\/em>, about serial killer Dennis Nilsen.<\/p>\n

Biopics also remain popular, with the year seeing announcements about series or movies inspired by Dame Joan and Jackie Collins, Marilyn Monroe, Howard Marks, Evel Knievel, Leonardo da Vinci and Spanish musician Joaqu\u00edn Sabina, among many others.<\/p>\n

The last year saw the arrival of several new buyers and commissioners (Alibi ordered its first scripted original, Spectrum nabbed a number of series, Topic launched in the U.S., Joyn started operations in Germany). This year brings HBO Max, Quibi and others. And yet while the number of potential homes for a project is proliferating, financing isn\u2019t getting any easier as budgets rise\u2014alongside audience expectations. Coming up with smarter ways to cobble together budgets while keeping the quality on-screen will be a key priority for producers and distributors in the year ahead. As will finding ways to make an impact as the number of series in production continues to mushroom.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned to all the developments in the drama business by signing up for\u00a0TV Drama Daily<\/em>,\u00a0TV Drama Weekly<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0TV Drama Breaking News<\/em>\u00a0here<\/a><\/u>, and visit\u00a0TVDrama.ws<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World Screen recaps the major trends in the drama business in 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":12556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n2019: The Year in Drama - TVDRAMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-the-year-in-drama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2019: The Year in Drama - TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"World Screen recaps the major trends in the drama business in 2019.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-the-year-in-drama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-07T17:17:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-08T13:57:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/07\/2019-Part-II-10.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-the-year-in-drama\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-the-year-in-drama\/\",\"name\":\"2019: The Year in Drama - TVDRAMA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-07T17:17:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-08T13:57:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-the-year-in-drama\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-the-year-in-drama\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/2019-the-year-in-drama\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2019: The Year in Drama\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\",\"name\":\"TVDRAMA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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