The National in International Co-Productions

Abstract

As the previous chapters have indicated, the UK and the US have forged close ties in television drama production and consumption, with producers and audiences in both countries normally acutely aware of trends and developments across the Atlantic. The close relationships are particularly noticeable in the increasing number of co-productions between the two countries. As transnational entities, these dramas are evidence of the growing convergence of drama production on both sides of the Atlantic. Such a convergence also impacts on other areas of the production process: thus, US television increasingly uses shorter-run seasons (six to ten in comparison to the traditional 24 episodes), particularly for off-network productions; both countries rely on a number of format adaptations, and creative personnel move easily between the two countries (Plunkett 2011). Importantly, these co-productions also increasingly address the audiences’ transnational experiences which they gain both by travelling and via the media themselves.