The Crafty Writer

If, like most British writers, you’ve been chipping away for years trying to ‘break’ into TV drama, or you’ve been one of the lucky ones but have recently fallen out of favour, then you may find Why Britain can’t do The Wire over at Prospect Magazine an eye-opening read.  Peter Jukes makes some interesting and at times controversial comparsion between the ‘quality’ of British and American TV writing.  He looks at the issues of monopolies vs commercialism and the brain drain of British talent across the pond.  He also points a finger at the BBC for the over-centralising of commissioning into the hands of four people.

WARNING: If you’re American (or anyone else!) and have bought into the self-promoted myth that British TV is the best in the world, you may be shocked by what you read!