You may say that the title of this post is old news and, in a way, it is. British shows and actors have been making their way across the pond for quite some time with their main gateway being our favorite network, PBS. In fact Masterpiece’s executive producer Rebecca Eaton estimates that since the early 1970’s, they have “put half a billion dollars into British drama. Either via financing it, acquiring rights or publicity, by flying over the casts to meet the American press.”
With the rise in popularity of British programming, premium pay channels have been following suit with collaborations on series such Rome and Extras for HBO, The Tudors and Episodes for Showtime and The Missing and The White Queen for Starz. It’s too complicated to tease the national origins of the money, locations and creative-types on any of the shows referenced above. Suffice it to say, American TV execs have sussed that their audiences like British stuff in general and they are doing all they can to cash in on that trend.
And if the beginning of 2016 is any indication, it appears it will be a banner year for British fare on American network and basic cable channels.
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