{"id":16326,"date":"2022-02-15T08:50:49","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T13:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2022-02-16T09:26:05","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T14:26:05","slug":"dan-sefton-on-adapting-driving-over-lemons-for-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/dan-sefton-on-adapting-driving-over-lemons-for-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan Sefton on Adapting Driving Over Lemons for TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

Driving Over Lemons<\/em> tells the story of ex-Genesis drummer Chris Stewart\u2019s life, following as this outsider from England buys a rundown farm in southern Spain. The journey, from rock star to sheep shearer, endeared readers of Stewart\u2019s novel and is now being brought to television by a team that includes screenwriter Dan Sefton, who counts among his credits Trust Me<\/em>, The Good Karma Hospital<\/em> and The Mallorca Files<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When Sefton was approached about the project, he \u201cjumped at it immediately. I had read all the books years ago, actually, and really loved them.\u201d The idea was brought to him through Nick Leese of Tin Hat Film and TV Productions, who was already in touch with \u00c1lvaro Alonso of the Spanish production outfit La Pepa Films (which had the rights to the book).<\/p>\n

As one of the founders of Seven Seas Films, along with Simon Lupton, Sefton wanted to be involved not just as a writer, but also as a production company. \u201cThat seemed to work out really well,\u201d he tells TV Drama Weekly<\/em>. \u201cThey needed somebody with our experience, so the three production companies [Seven Seas, Tin Hat and La Pepa] teamed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book is \u201chugely atmospheric and has lots of interesting ideas in it,\u201d Sefton says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have a huge amount of narrative, but it\u2019s got enough. My philosophy is, people who like the book like the book; they\u2019re not wanting to have it ripped up and started fresh. They want to see what they like. The initial narrative of Chris settling down in southern Spain and all the challenges he had to overcome translate really well to a TV narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that there\u2019s a scope after that to start to take it in different directions as well, \u201cto develop other characters and explore stories that might not have been in the book straightaway. The initial approach is to be pretty faithful to the story of Chris and his partner trying to make it in southern Spain in the late \u201980s and early \u201990s,\u201d a period that he says people will be excited to revisit.<\/p>\n

Sefton\u2019s experience with shows such as The Good Karma Hospital<\/em>, Delicious<\/em>and The Mallorca Files <\/em>has served him well on Driving Over Lemons<\/em>, he says. \u201cThose projects have all hit a type of show that\u2019s always solidly popular but sometimes has gotten a bit lost in the last five or ten years; some of those shows are pushing against the tide. So much other [television] is very narrative-heavy; it\u2019s very serialized, very hook-y, and people love those shows\u2014it\u2019s great stuff! But a lot of people do love shows that are slightly gentler, have a different vibe to them, are escapist with a bit more emotion in them. All of the shows that I\u2019ve done have an element of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

This, he says, is also why he liked the books: \u201cIt\u2019s very much the stuff I like! Shows like The Durrells<\/em>, The Larkins<\/em>, there\u2019s a quality about them that\u2019s escapist, but when it\u2019s done well, there\u2019s a little bit of an edge to it. That\u2019s what this book has: It\u2019s purely escapist in many ways, but there is a little edge to it. When you read the books, you realize he didn\u2019t have a particularly easy time. Some of the characters he met were not always on his side. Those stories are really fascinating. It does give you that escapist sunshine, and it\u2019s a lovely experience, but it also has a little bit more about it; it\u2019s not just wallpaper TV.\u201d<\/p>\n

In setting up Seven Seas, the partners were aiming to tell different stories. \u201cWe have a broad range of projects, with completely different tones,\u201d Sefton says. \u201cWhat\u2019s really nice about having that is we don\u2019t have to have a single tone; we just look for good stories, which might be nonfiction as well. We have a wide range of interests, and it\u2019s great to have a company to use to explore all those interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that he\u2019d love Seven Seas to be known for delivering shows that have \u201ca real solid commercial potential, but also have a little bit more about them. The sort of show that when you\u2019re watching, it\u2019s got a bit more about it than you might expect. That\u2019s what I want to try to do with all the shows that I\u2019ve created. The Mallorca Files<\/em> is a good example of something that\u2019s really fun and is light and accessible, but there are moments in it that make you think a little bit\u2014and that\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Screenwriter Dan Sefton on the TV adaptation of Driving Over Lemons, based on a book by ex-Genesis drummer Chris Stewart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":16327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,70],"tags":[2572,4863],"class_list":["post-16326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-dan-sefton","tag-driving-over-lemons","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nDan Sefton on Adapting Driving Over Lemons for TV - 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\/dan-sefton-on-adapting-driving-over-lemons-for-tv\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dan Sefton on Adapting Driving Over Lemons for TV - 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