Small Nation/Big Neighbours: Co-producing Stories in a European Context

Abstract

This chapter explores Irish TV drama and its history of European co-production, the discussion unravels the losses and gains of TV drama as fashions change. Contingent on changing technological, economic, political and cultural factors, it is a relationship that is fragmented, episodic and in constant flux. Ireland’s situation as a small country in a big community is not unique, but a combination of features, including but not limited to, English-speaking status, island nation, post-colonial and a long history of emigration, suggests difference. How Irish TV drama has evolved since its inception in 1961 is teased out with this frame in mind. The chapter traces the historical development of the coproduction deal in TV drama as the political and economic landscape for broadcasting changed significantly in the 1980s, and what happened subsequently in a time of economic boom. The last economic recession in Ireland in the 1980s brought with it a policy of co-production and TV drama which phased out with economic growth a decade later. In contrast, co-production deals became the norm for film production finance since the 1990s, coinciding with the emergence of EU-funded programmes under the MEDIA umbrella and Eurimages. With a return to economic recession since 2008, the current status of funding TV drama is examined.