Special Report: Cut backs at ITV
Drama’s at ITV are falling victim to cut-backs at the broadcaster as The Bill loses half of its episodes per year and is shunted back to a 9pm slot and Heartbeat and The Royal are both effectively cancelled. So which ITV drama series could be next for the chop.
Putting aside the spin and hype that any channel puts out about its shows the facts speak for themselves and for commercial channels nothing speaks louder than ratings. If a show commands a huge audience advertisers will be falling over themselves to secure slots in the ad-breaks of those shows but if a show doesn’t perform well there won’t be as much interest in those slots and the channels will find it harder to fill.
Ratings for Heartbeat and The Royal had slipped over the past year to dangerous levels, in the eyes of ITV, which is why both shows have been effectively cancelled. Production may well resume on both series’ in 2011 but it’s unlikely at the moment judging by the facts before us. Heartbeat and The Royal used to enjoy ratings of around 7/8 million viewers but now The Royal hovers around 4 million viewers while Heartbeat usually rates slightly higher with 5 million viewers.
Meanwhile The Bill rarely makes it above the six million mark and usually ranges between four to five million viewers. It may well win the slot it’s in and it may well have seen of BBC One’s Holby/Blue but these are not good ratings for a drama that only a few years ago commanded 8 million viewers. But then The Bill is often dropped for Football and any other event ITV deem more important and so over time the audience drops away.
ITV has moved against all three shows but will the cut-backs at the Network end there? Or will the Network take a look at its other output and decide the time is nigh for a bit of spring cleaning?
Let’s be honest the vast majority of ITV’s returning drama series’ are crime related and just how many crime-related drama’s can one channel have? Later this year the Network will launch another crime-related drama in the form of their British remake of Law and Order. Surely it’s saturation point in terms of crime-related drama for ITV?
Taggart: Perhaps infamous for the phrase “There’s been a Murder”, Taggart is now in its 25th season and ranks alongside The Bill as the longest running drama on ITV. After 25 years is there any steam left in the murder series? Just how many more murders can the writers come up with before they start to recycle plots? The series is also suffering from being chopped up by ITV schedulers and isn’t showing consistently but spread out across the year which causes viewers discontinuity and viewers to lose interest. Viewers don’t know when the drama series is next on and may mistake new episodes for repeats as Taggart is also often repeated by ITV leading to further confusion.
Looking at the ratings for the drama towards the end of last year and it doesn’t make good reading. The lowest rated episode was 3.6 million while the highest was 5.9 million but most episodes only attracted 4.8 million viewers, possibly putting the drama in the danger list. Classic Taggart is currently proving popular on UKTV’s Alibi channel, suggesting even if it is axed fans of the show will be able to watch past episodes for a long while yet..
Trial & Retribution: Created by Lynda La Plante, the drama series started in 1997 and has so far clocked up 12 seasons. Looking at the ratings and last year the series didn’t perform too well with 4.3 million and 4.6 million viewers tuning in two episodes we looked at. However, new episodes soon earlier this year performed better with 5.8 million watching the season opener and then 5.1 and 5.3 million watching subsequent episodes. The improvement in ratings this year could be enough to save it from the danger list but some critics have called the series tired and old.
Doc Martin: Quirky comedy drama series set in a Cornish village and revolving around Martin Clunes’ character of Doc Martin, the village’s Doctor, who doesn’t have the best of bed-side manners. Three seasons have been so far with a fourth due to air later this year. It has proved to be a rating hit for ITV and also a critically success. The fact it draws ratings of up to ten million should secure the show’s future for now.
Primeval: Sci-Fi drama series that hasn’t quiet managed to rival Doctor Who but has attracted modest audiences despite its sometimes clumsy scripts and dodgy special effects. Its first season was very hit and miss but ITV gave the drama another season which then lead to a third season which is due to air later this year. Ratings wise the drama usually attracts six million viewers once final figures are taken into account and as long as the third series continues this trend its likely Primeval will be back. Considering that Demons, which is currently airing, is under performing in the Saturday night slot the channel should be keen to secure more Primeval.
Lewis: Successful spin-off series from the hugely popular Inspector Morse series. Lewis stars Kevin Whately, reprising his role from Morse, and Laurence Fox. Two seasons have aired so far with a third due to air later this year. Critically reception to the spin-off has generally been good and viewers also received the series well. The first season averaged eight million viewers. Good chance of surviving any cut-backs at ITV.
Marple: Television adaptations of the Miss Marple books by legendary crime-writer Agatha Christie. The series launched in 2004 with Geraldine McEwan in the title role but the actress retired from the series and replaced by Julia McKenzie. A fourth season of adaptations is expected to air this Spring with McKenzie in her first full season as Miss Marple, The drama did enjoy good ratings but more recent episodes have suffered from a dip of late with the last episode of the third season attracting just 3.8 million viewers. Viewers and critics have also criticised the series for its lack of resemblance to the books. Marple is a costly production as it’s considered a period piece so unless ratings improve for the fourth season there’s a fair chance ITV will drop it.
Poirot: Again adaptations based on the Agatha Christie novels, the series stars David Suchet in the 
title role and has been running since the late 1980s. Originally an hourly series by LWT it switched to “television movie” format in the 1990’s and appears less frequently on television now. Seasons usually consist of no more than four adaptations at a time. However, like its counter-part Marple, the Poirot adaptations have also seen ratings drop some-what with only 5 million watching new adaptations last year. However, Suchet has spoken of his desire to complete the series and adapt every Poirot book and there aren’t many left to be adapted and Poirot sells well abroad for ITV.
Midsomer Murders: Barmy murder series set in the Home Counties and starring John Nettles who was is probably used to dealing with barmy plots having spent ten years as Jersey detective, Bergerac. Midsomer Murders has been killing its way through the populations of various Midsomer villages since 1997 and its’ a surprise there’s anyone left to be brutally murdered as each episode usually features a spree of murders. Surely the most deadliest place in the world to life, Midsomer Murders has a limited life-span – how many more murders can take place in such a tranquil place? Then again the series hasn’t really ever sided on creditability and so maybe it could continue to butcher its way through the Home Counties. The series is often repeated; sometimes in daytime slots and sometimes prime-time slots.
Blue Murder: Another police-drama series starring Caroline Quentin and Ian Kelsey, based in Manchester. So far the drama has clocked up four seasons with a fifth due to air shortly. The drama revolves around Quentin’s character trying to balance her family life – her husband has left her with the children – and her professional life. The series future will be determined by the performance of its upcoming fifth season.
Wire in the Blood: Dark and gritty physiological murder series starring Robson Green as tormented profiler Tony Hill and Simone Lahbib as DI Alex Fielding. So far the series has clocked up six seasons and the last one averaged five million viewers but reports in the media this week suggest that ITV have also swung the axe on this drama too. The broadcaster has yet to confirm this.
Wild at Heart: Drama set in South Africa about a family who moved out there to start a new life. The fourth season is currently airing on ITV and is attracting good ratings. Its high production costs, filming in South Africa, may mean fewer episodes are ordered by ITV in the future but the fact it still performs well for the channel should see it re-commissioned.
