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!

If you like It's a Sin, have you tried about Queer as Folk and Banana/cucumber? Also Fleabag, This Life, Killing Eve, A Very Peculiar Practice, Fresh Meat, Misfits, Back, The End of the F**king World, Derry Girls, Gap Year, Motherland, White Teeth, My Mad Fat Diary, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, She Devil...American ones have you watched White Lotus and 9 Perfect strangers? Also The Gilmore Girls, Dawson Creek....erm I think I watch too much TV I'll stop now

I think a lot of it is the lighting.
All the US stuff has bright clean glossy lighting.

A lot of the UK stuff has flat (probably more realistic but depressingly dull) lighting.

Doesn't make sense because I know there are awesome lighting directors, colourists etc... in this country so it's not that they can't do it, but everything just looks so desaturated (compared to US stuff) on most shows.
You can literally see the difference even if the sound is down & the only actor/actress you can see is a recognisable Brit.

@SandrasAnnoyingFriend

Yes I really do agree. Most Uk dramas are predicatable, trite and underwhelming. I did quite enjoy Vigil recently and Happy Valley is very well done, but I totally take your point.

Definitely crack on with Succession, it's one of the smartest tv shows in years. White Lotus Hotel doesn't have multiple seasons but was a joy to watch last year

Succession will end with you and anyone you watch it with becoming vaguely foul-mouthed, though — DH and I have found ourselves muttering ‘Do I want to phone my dad? YOU want to phone your fucking dad?’ and ‘I thought you’d all be dressed like fucking Bjork!’ every time DS is out of earshot.

We’ve just finished the first season.

I'm just here for someone else who likes The Mentalist and White Collar

I'm glad someone else liked White Collar. I thought it was just me!

I'm with you OP.
Show trial was rubbish, really really poor acting across the board, and crap dialogue.
Line of duty is just so implausible and full of plot holes or unlikely plot points, seems very amateurish compared to US shows.
Ditto vigil, although it has some slightly better moments. And all the Harlan Coben stuff.
Just not good. Can't be bothered to watch any of it any more.

We've enjoyed peaky blinders, struggling to think of any other British things...

Was Patrick Melrose a British production? That was brilliant.

But I generally agree most US stuff seems a cut above anything Brit. Just finished The White Lotus which was sooo good.

I think most Brit drama doesn't have the nuance or the satire, and most of it is written for middle of the road Saturday night audience, and can lack intelligence and insight.

UK drama love is Line of Duty, Vera. Hated Harlan Coben stuff, drama school obvious breathy acting.

US drama I love, Dexter & New Blood, Billions, Ozarks.
Loved ham fest of Virgin River too.

Can’t remember the last time I found a UK drama engrossing.

Now I think of it it would be decades ago. This Life or Go Now are the name I remember. Or there was something John Sim was in about loan sharks. And something based on the Moors Murders with Maxine Peake in it.

But the fact I can’t remember the series’ names would suggest it was the individual performances that stood out not the programme as a whole.

Have you tried "the tourist" on BBC iPlayer. Set in Australia and with Jamie Dornan. Also on iPlayer the one with the community service group. Had Christopher Walken. Maybe the outsiders?

I love sex education and end of the fucking world. I do like American shows but sometimes the seasons are too long I'm glad they seem to have stopped the 24 episodes long series like in the vampire diaries. I also get annoyed because they drag it out until the viewing figures drop and you get a crap ending.

Game of thrones had the worst ending ever but D &D got lazy I felt like I had wasted 8 years of my life.

24 episode series made more sense when they were episodic, I think. There actually aren't that many episodic dramas on anymore.

The other reason you don't see so many of those are production requirements. It is really hard to film 24 hours worth of television with film-quality production values. It took them a year (or more?) to film the 8 shows in the last series of GoT - that's more intensive than many shows because of all the fantasy elements, but it's also stuff like locations around the world, multiple cameras.

You may be able to know out 24 episodes of Star Trek or Grey's Anatomy on studio sets and the location nearby, but probably not Succession.

I'm the other way round, I prefer non-US dramas and only like a few US ones. I really hate stuff with loads of episodes. 6 or 8 is ample.

@Farrandau

I’m very hard to please — in that anything involving violence or men talking to other men about crimes bores me rigid — but am currently enormously enjoying Succession. The script is funny and clever (and enormously foul-mouthed), excellent cast, complex (often monstrous) characters, well-paced.

I’ve just finished season 3. It was a fantastic watch! The family dynamics changing at every turn, the sibling rivalry, the politics, the all powerful Patriarchal father. It had everything 👏👏👏

waves @Graphista 👋

I wish there was a channel that showed the best (and only the best) series from around the world - the original version, with subtitles. I just know there are loads of 3 part or 6 part shows from Germany or Argentina or Morocco which are better than an English language rip off, and would give a real insight into the country they are made for.

@Wtfdidwedo

I'm just here for someone else who likes The Mentalist and White Collar

I bought DH a box set of The Mentalist for his birthday, we finished watching it last week. Loved it, sorry it's over.

And for Christmas I bought him...White Collar! Hope it is another hit.

Previously we watched Bones and Castle - agree with OP they were great!

British shows like Four Lives and Time (TV plays almost) have made for amazing watching recently for me. Loved Line Of Duty and will be watching Trigger Point when it starts soon.

However, I am super selective about new US shows too and don't see the joy in crazy long seasons that go on for too long with no substance past season 3- Walking Dead being a prime example of dragging it out.

I will say in the same post that my fav TV shows are:
The Wire
Sopranos
Sex and the City
The Simpsons
Law and Order: SVU

The last 2 definitely go against the point I was trying to make but I came to them before kids so I feel comfortable with them. New shows which may be similar are unappealing as I don't like the massive time investment in US shows.

I agree with OP. I find British drama is too slow, too political, too politically correct, etc. Much prefer the faster moving US drama series where you don’t get the long lingering facial shots, troubled background of lead characters, dis functional families etc.

@Graphista

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

We have this U.K./US drama discussion frequently in our household!

US dramas are done by a team of writers - the ‘writer’s room’ where they break storylines, A/B plots etc then writers will lead on different episodes. The showrunner - usually from a writing background- will be involved in it all. It’s very collaborative.

In the U.K. the writing is not set up that way. There’s a production team with developers and scriptwriters who work with freelance writers on individual episodes, there’s one viewpoint coming through. It’s very formulaic, I find. The Harlan Coben latest was a prime example, I think. Character development is less nuanced, A/B plot lines aren’t as well developed. Overall it just feels … less than.

Have you watched Bosch? I think you’d love it.

@shamalidacdak

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.

Hadn’t read this before I commented, but yes, all this!

I enjoyed White Collar too (Willie Garson in particular was excellent as a totally different character from Stanford in Sex And The City) and I've just finished watching Private Eyes which I think is still showing on Channel 5. Might try Castle and The Mentalist if they are available to watch atm.

I've just watched Gentleman Jack on BBC iplayer and thought it was fantastic - well worth the licence fee. A bit of comedy, romance, history and amazing acting, costumes and sets. Eight hour long episodes with another series due this year.

I think possibly money plays a part in as much as how much British dramas pay actors.
I like something like, for example, white collar, where each episode is its own story. Like Criminal Minds. There's a back story but seasons can go on and on and get renewed because the main story isn't finite like, say Broadchurch or Four Lives

But the US dramas have the ability to pay HUGE amounts to secure and retain a star for 10 years and 10 series. They stay because they are REALLY well paid. So it compensates for them wanting to explore new avenues etc.

We don't do this.