Question about Masterpiece Theater

Does Masterpiece Theater produce (fund, direct, etc) all these imported British series (Downton Abbey, Selfridges, Call the Midwife, Endeavour, etc) or does it just lease them.

They have been on TV for decades (my parent's loved Upstairs Downstairs, etc) but I get the impression they are almost always imports to this continent.

 

Syndication deal. But this extra revenue allows the BBC and other British program suppliers to effectively add a big chunk of their budget. Without the American market, it'd be a very big problem for them. I'm glad they're there -- in fact, I'd say the BBC shows are as strong as they've been in years, plus it also helps America's struggling PBS stations, who continue to endure tough budget cuts on this side of the pond.

 

Makes sense. But it's interesting that not much of that costume drama gets produced this side of the pond. Or were The Sopranos big in Britain?

 

a Sunday night favorite

 

Masterpiece is awesome TV and always has been.

 

Must see TV.

 

I thought that the head of PBS Masterpiece Theater 'shops' around for what new shows to buy into and that the producers of these shows make sales pitches to energize and secure funding, so it is more of an up front deal, not just PBS paying to air shows already finished.

Or, it could be a combination of both?

 

It's both. I wouldn't be surprised that the number of American actors in shows like Downton Abbey happen solely because they know that PBS is putting up a big chunk of the money, and seeing a couple of faces like Elizabeth McGovern and Shirley MacLaine are good for U.S. viewers. On the other hand, Sherlock is an enormous hit, too, and (as far as I know) it's 100% as British as kidney pie.

Note that Downton creator Julian Fellowes is now in the process of creating an American costume drama for NBC set in the 1880s, The Gilded Age. There are reports that this may be the last season for Downton to allow Fellowes to supervise writing and production in the U.S., but I think a wiser move would be to just have him hire other people to take over while he's gone.

 

I wish they still used the full intro with Mouret's Fanfare-Rondeau.

 

As I recall, season 2 of Downton was the result of him farming out some of the writing responsibilities to his staff while he worked on his Titanic miniseries and Romeo & Juliet theatrical movie, both of which were tepidly received. This might account for some of the head-slapping inanities of season 2...season 3 was much better.