2022 may have finally been the year that \u201cpeak TV\u201d peaked. That was the assessment by the man who coined the phrase, FX Networks’ John Landgraf, in the summer, when he told reporters at TCA: \u201cI\u2019m going to foolishly make another prediction, which is that 2022 will be the high watermark\u201d of scripted TV output. \u201cIn other words, that it will mark the peak of the peak TV era.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amid inflation, a squeeze on subscription revenues in a crowded SVOD market and bleak ad revenue forecasts for the year ahead, platforms and broadcasters are certainly reassessing their scripted TV investments. Indeed, last year saw an abundance of cancellations as well as truly staggering budgets. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power\u00a0<\/em><\/a>emerged as the most expensive TV production in history<\/a>, according to a study by VPN Overview. Each episode of the series was produced with a budget of $60 million; the year\u2019s other big blockbuster TV moment, HBO\u2019sHouse of the Dragon<\/em>, came in third with a budget of about $20 million an episode.<\/p>\n Both shows, along with many others on that list\u2014including several based on Disney franchises\u2014also illustrated the importance of known IP in making an impact with audiences. That theme was clear from last year\u2019s commissions and development deals, with a slew of books, graphic novels, feature films, games and podcasts landing adaptation agreements, among them God of War<\/em><\/a> and James Patterson\u2019s <\/a>Alex Cross<\/em><\/a> books for Prime Video<\/a>; The Wicked Girls\u00a0<\/em><\/a>by Playground<\/a>; John le Carr\u00e9\u2019s <\/a>A Most Wanted Man<\/em><\/a> from The Ink Factory and Amusement Park<\/a>; a slate of live-action shows based on the Sony Pictures universe of Marvel characters for MGM+ and Prime Video<\/a>; Judy Blume\u2019s <\/a>Forever<\/em><\/a> for Netflix<\/a>; and\u00a0The Day of the Jackal<\/em><\/a> for Sky and Peacock<\/a>.<\/p>\n True stories also proved to be reliable fodder for producers, with Cineflix Productions aligning with Gladys Knight<\/a> to tell the story of her life; ITV ordering a series about footballers Justin and John Fashanu<\/a> and one focused on Cary Grant<\/a>; Applause Entertainment prepping a series about Mahatma Gandhi<\/a>; and Sky lining up a series about Benito Mussolini\u2019s rise to power<\/a>, while also teaming with Peacock for a production about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103<\/a>.<\/p>\n And there were plenty of announcements about reboots\u2014including Amazon Freevee aligning with Fremantle to resurrect the long-running Australian drama <\/a>Neighbours<\/em><\/a>; Viaplay, Eleventh Hour Films and author Ian Rankin prepping a new series around iconic detective John Rebus<\/a>; and Criminal Minds<\/em><\/a> returning for Paramount+<\/a>\u2014and prequels, among them one for <\/a>Outlander<\/em><\/a>. AMC Networks and Boat Rocker Media, meanwhile, unveiled a return to the <\/a>Orphan Black<\/em><\/a> universe<\/a> with a new series starring Krysten Ritter.<\/p>\n It was also a year marked by continued consolidation, largely led out of Europe. Fremantle acquired Passenger<\/a>, took majority stakes in Element Pictures<\/a> and Lux Vide<\/a>, upped its interest in Dancing Ledge Productions<\/a> and invested in Henrik Bastin\u2019s Fabel Entertainment<\/a>. Banijay, too, widened its global scripted footprint, picking up a majority interest in Israel\u2019s MoviePlus Productions<\/a>, taking ownership of Mam Tor Productions in the U.K<\/a>. and adding the Italian scripted producer Gr\u00f8enlandia Group to Banijay Italy<\/a>. BBC Studios invested in the British scripted indie production company Turbine Studios<\/a>, took full ownership of Sid Gentle Films<\/a> and upped its stake in Firebird Pictures<\/a>. Other significant M&A deals in 2022 included ITV Studios taking a majority interest in Lingo Pictures in Australia<\/a>, Newen Studios acquiring<\/a>Scandinavia-based Anagram, Federation taking a majority stake in Vertigo Films<\/a>, Herbert L. Kloiber’s Night Train Media acquiring Eccho Rights from CJ ENM<\/a> and Embracer Group taking control of Middle-earth Enterprises<\/a>, a division of The Saul Zaentz Company that owns, among other IPs, the rights related to The Lord of the Rings<\/em> trilogy and The Hobbit<\/em> by J.R.R. Tolkien.<\/p>\n Stay tuned to all the developments in the drama business by signing up for TV Drama Daily<\/em>, TV Drama Weekly<\/em> and TV Drama Breaking News<\/em> here<\/a>, and visit TVDrama.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A look back at the major stories from the drama business in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":18044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n