Channel 4 news boss Louisa Compton has accused Netflix of behaving like “TV tourists” over the streamer’s breakout hit Adolescence.
During the opening debate at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Compton described Channel 4 as “proud parents” of Adolescence because of the way in which the network blooded Adolescence co-creators Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham over many years and multiple shows. Thorne has made a number of Channel 4 shows down the years, including This is England ’86 and Help, both of which Graham appeared in.
“We’ve developed and nurtured the talent that has allowed Netflix to come in as TV tourists and effectively commission [Adolescence],” said Compton, who runs news, current affairs and sport for Channel 4. “Without us that wouldn’t have happened.”
“We nurture where the streamers don’t,” added Compton. “Where are the investigations on the streamers into Gaza or Trump? There’s no current affairs on the streamers. Everything is retrospective. [Current affairs] is a unique thing PSBs offer.”
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Adolescence is Netflix’s second most-watched English-language show of all time. Execs from the broadcasters have previously said that the show would have been too expensive for them to make without co-pro money.
Line of Duty EP Simon Heath, who runs World Productions, said there is a risk that “you stop making shows like Adolescence” if UK producers become too tempted to only make internationally-facing shows, which need their budgets topped up from outside the UK.
“What happens is you change the nature of the show you are trying to make with more than half an eye on the international market,” added Heath. “The risk is that the chase for international funding fundamentally alters the kinds of stories we can tell.”
World Productions recently made splashy BBC-Netflix Lockerbie drama The Bombing of Pan Am 103 but Heath said this kind of co-pro is a “rarity.” “More and more streamers want to pursue their own shows, they don’t want to be in a co-pro situation,” he added.
World Productions launched three decades ago with a remit to “make low cost drama that gave us creative control,” according to Heath, and he said the ITV Studios-backed indie is now thinking about returning to those low-cost roots.
“But you’re in a world where audiences are seeking the production value of cinemas because of what the streamers are putting out there, and that’s a challenge,” he said.
Locking horns over in-house
Compton also locked horns with John McVay, the outgoing CEO of producer trade body Pact, about the controversial new Channel 4 in-house productions unit.
McVay called the unit “wrong” and a “waste of time and executive attention,” as he posited: “I’m not sure it will make the difference that Channel 4 needs.”
But Compton reminded McVay Channel 4 “did not ask for it” – the unit was in fact gifted to them by the government – and she said “everything we do is for the indie sector, and a robust and healthy Channel 4 is good for the indie sector.”
The group were speaking during the opening debate at the Edinburgh TV Festival before the likes of Shonda Rhimes, Tina Fey and Graham Norton.