Anyone NOT a fan of uk dramas any more and prefer well made well written American shows?

[Graphista]

I keep trying uk stuff and every time I'm disappointed!

So I'm increasingly reluctant to try new stuff. I find this is particularly true of shows "everyone" raves about!

The main one I thought was utterly shit was dr foster.

I keep getting sucked in by them being touted on chat shows and online (both marketing stuff and family and friends and recommendations on forums like here)

So I get excited at the prospect and then try them - and they're crap!

I much prefer well made, good long series (24 episodes or thereabouts, several series at least 3) American shows

Lie to me, white collar, suits, bull, the rookie, prodigal son (really bummed that's been cancelled!), this is us, lucifer, castle, the mentalist, house, criminal minds, bones, desperate housewives, friends, the good wife, the good fight, charmed (original), elementary, greys anatomy, the practice. ER, ncis, Mrs maisel,

Very very few uk shows come close - not least I think because they aren't given the same investment! In terms of both money and time. Most are 6-8 episodes per series but that isn't the whole story I feel the quality of writing and production is lacking too. Lots of very predictable, non innovative ideas and storylines.

So this thread has 2 aims

1 I'm looking for a new quality show to watch I tend to end up watching old favourites on repeat as I struggle to find new shows I enjoy as much

2 I'm wondering if I'm the only person that feels this way?

I want uk tv and film to do well but it seems to be really struggling at the moment and I'd like to discuss why that may be.

I can't remember the last time there was a genuinely good new uk show that I enjoyed came out. I keep trying ones that get good reviews and good "public" response but when I try them they're shit!

I WANT to support uk tv and film making but I'm not finding this easy to do at all!

Sorry but After Life doesn’t cut the mustard for me. It’s okay but no comparison to the quality stuff the US are doing.

[quote Graphista]@gukvguk a friend of mine has similar tastes to me and she likes k-drama too but again the issue for me is subtitles as I can no longer read them quickly or clearly enough to follow along. [/quote]
I've watched a few K dramas and found them all very drawn out, with schmaltzy romances and wildly implausible plots. On the plus side, they're great to look at, with high production values, pretty people in pretty clothes, and good, if often overwrought, acting. Kind of an acquired taste.

Have you tried Show Trial, I foung that quite watchable

And on the US theme The Good Wife/Good Fight

Have you tried Oz or Sons of Anarchy? Would recommend both. I agree with you about some of the latest UK dramas, absolutely dire and I can't believe I watched them!

I prefer short dramas or miniseries (and thankfully there's a lot more of this coming out of the US these days), but I do agree that UK dramas tend to be quite poor by comparison. The writing in particular is often very clunky.

@JunkIsland top of the lake was fantastic but a tough watch. I really enjoyed it but it's not the type of show I would normally choose

I've never seen even a single episode of line of duty just does not appeal to me at all - and quite honestly what DOES piss me off is the assumption that certain series EVERYONE will like! But I have to admit same goes for breaking bad I have absolutely no interest in watching that show.

Yet whenever one asks for recommendations either on forums like this or on sm or from friends/family there are certain shows that are REPEATEDLY suggested even IF the person asking specifically says that they have no interest in those shows. I've had that happen a few times on here when asking for ideas of what to watch next - even if I very clearly state that I don't fancy those shows!

Generally speaking I'm fed up of there being a lot of hype around certain shows when imo they really don't deserve it.

There seems to be a certain amount of "bandwagon jumping" when it comes to certain shows.

Some if you say you haven't watched them - or worse that you tried and didn't like! You get horrified and shocked reactions! Why? It's weird! Of course not everyone likes the same stuff!

I've also never seen a single episode of game of thrones! Absolutely no interest in seeing it whatsoever, the reactions I've had to that opinion both on here and irl have been utterly bizarre at points - as if I'm seriously weird for not wanting to watch it

The writing in particular is often very clunky.

Yep.

Seems to really lack flow. I've noticed too in some instances it's really obvious they've been forced to cut short/remove major plot points because of the limited number of episodes available

… not watched Game of Thrones?

I mean. It’s the very definition of what you’re seeking OP, big US production with lots of seasons.

As a general rule I do prefer American dramas - I wonder if it's because of the budgets? Who knows. I remember being so disappointed by His Dark Materials because the script/acting felt so stilted and wooden, and I've felt that about a few British things I've seen... perhaps I'm just used to a more American style now.

Having said all that, there are a few British series I absolutely love: Fleabag and Green Wing. Both very British wit/humour and top quality IMO.
I also enjoyed Broadchurch and The Fall. (None of these are recent but they were good enough for me to remember them!)

Showtrial reviews inc comments like "predictable" "on the edge of ham" "slow burner" "open ending" (hate those) so no I don't think I'll be bothering

@PuppyMonkey but where's the wit? Where's the levity? And from what I DO know about it it's heavy on gratuitous and particularly sexual violence which I have NO interest in watching

I liked broadchurch too - but now I feel there are too many shows that spin ONE crime out over a whole series (and not very well in most cases)

I don't prefer American stuff, and in general I think the long series format is often a detriment, but I will say that I think a lot of the newer UK dramas are not up to the standard they used to be.

Recently more than half the things I've tried, I have either just not been crazy about, or I've actually disliked enough to stop watching.

I agree that a lot of them are just depressing. And in the past I have never particularly minded dark shows about difficult topics, it's not always the mood you want but sometimes it is. But I feel like in many cases there is not much payoff. I watched Traces not long ago and it was so flat - the main character was boring and kind of dumb, the romance seemed unbelievable, it was difficult to care about anyone. I am finding more and more shows like that now. It feels like they are going through the motions.

It's also a problem with lighter family shows and in those cases it seems to be about this weird lack of faith in viewers. Dr Who is unwatchable, Call the Midwife has lot it's sense of tackling real stories and it's sense of being set in the past, Fr Brown is apparently actually an CofE priest who has time traveled in from the year 2000.

I'm more and more rewatching older things, in the past year or so Life on Mars, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Cracker, even early seasons of CTM.

Yep flat, boring, poorly developed characters - totally relate to those ideas

Is it lack of investment?

As a Scot I always hope shows like traces will be good and do well... again found the trailer fairly disappointing and couldn't make it through even the 1st episode! Just so badly written!

I often find British television rather drab, and I think the budget constraints show. However I much prefer the shorter length of UK series, and I think there is more commitment to telling a story from beginning to end, whereas US series are more concerned with stringing out the production for as long as it is profitable, then killing it off with a perfunctory ending when viewing figures eventually decline.

Take your point about the sexual stuff in GOT but if you think it lacks wit, you haven’t been paying attention.

I agree its all so gritty, I want to escape when I watch something and if its uplifting all the better. I watched A Discovery of Witches recently though and that was fun, worth a go.

I also think that, because the UK is small and there is goodwill towards certain people in the industry, some shows are not only greenlighted but also receive critical praise when the truth is they are not that strong.

I want to escape when I watch something and if its uplifting all the better.

Exactly - I don't necessarily want a comedy (I find it VERY hard to find comedies I like!) but I want to be entertained, distracted and hopefully uplifted

some shows are not only greenlighted but also receive critical praise when the truth is they are not that strong.

Totally agree there's a lot of cliqueyness

I'm also fed up with seeing the same actors over and over again

@Graphista

Yep flat, boring, poorly developed characters - totally relate to those ideas

Is it lack of investment?

I tend not to think so. Not exactally. Because you know, they did it well with older series in the British format, and often on much smaller budgets.

But I do wonder if part of the issue is that people's expectations about production values have changed enough that it consumes more of the budget. So that may be a factor. If you look at some of the big American shows, the good ones like, say The Expanse - they have huge budgets in terms of production. As I think shows like Succession do though they don't have the same needs as a sci-fi show does.

UK productions don't tend to have that kind of money.

But I would argue that while there are a few good American shows at the moment, it's not as clear as you might think. Some of the things you mentioned, like Bones, are basically older - they were making better UK television then too.

Others, the really big shows, are effectively international. They may be big American dollars but the writers, directors, actors, come from all over the place, they are filmed all over the place. Oftn the companies behind them are international too when you get right down to it. These are shows made for international audiences and distribution.

And I think the writing for a lot of the American shows (and film too) is also suffering. I've been watching the Book of Boba Fett, which I hopes would be up to the reasonable standard of the Mandalorian - no dice. The problem is what affects so many things now - from Marvel to shows like Killing Eve - it's style over substance. It's like someone has cool ideas for certain scenes, and some funny one liners maybe, and a cool protagonist, and then some hacks write the plot around that.

I can't help but think that writing issues being so ubiquitous points to something larger going on. Maybe it's the cultural climate - a lot of the older good shows couldn't be made now. Look at Ashes to Ashes compared to LoM - it was as good, but some people criticized it because they thought Gene was too politically regressive.

But @PuppyMonkey the violence and sexual violence in got is NOT something I want to watch so why would I watch the show or pay attention to its marketing? It's not for me.

I don't understand why people can't accept that not everyone is going to like every show, that certain shows liked by many ARE going to have a few people with zero interest in watching them.

There seems to be a thing now where certain shows you're considered "weird" if you've never seen them AND have no interest in watching them.

Main culprits seem to be line of duty. Got, breaking bad, the office - there are others

Just because a lot of people have seen and liked them doesn't mean everyone has to!

What about Sex Education?

I’d also recommend catastrophe.

@PuppyMonkey

Take your point about the sexual stuff in GOT but if you think it lacks wit, you haven’t been paying attention.

It became witless though, just a bunch of in-jokes for nerds.

Bridgerton was also good fun.

I suppose another issue is that there is now SO much content. Way more than there used to be.

But maybe there aren't so many really compelling stories.

They can start to seem very samey, or they try and do something different but it just seems sort of silly.

The main two differences are budget and writers. US has massive budgets and each episode is written by a team of multiple writers but in the UK budgets are tiny in comparison and each episode or sometimes the entire series is written by one person. You get a completely different product and the competition is incredibly fierce to write so they choose only the best. Brits tend to have a more parochial and microscopic view of life like it's one big village but the US is so diverse economically and culturally that plot lines and characters are going to be larger than life hence more interesting. Surprisingly many UK shows are a hit in the US because they either love the grittiness of I may destroy You or the period aspects of The Crown. A crossover that gets a ton of hype is Ted Lasso which I thought was a load of corny drivel.