Stab in the back for period drama as low ratings see ITV turn to crime book adaptations instead
- ITV is turning its back on period dramas to concentrate on crime fiction instead
- Head of drama Polly Hill said recent adaptations didn’t attract expected viewers
- Belgravia, Julian Fellowes’ adaptation of own book, drew average of only 3.77m
ITV is turning its back on period dramas because ratings are too low.
Head of drama Polly Hill said recent adaptations they ‘thought were really good’ didn’t attract the hoped-for audiences – so the broadcaster will concentrate on crime fiction instead.
She told the Edinburgh TV Festival: ‘We’re doing a lot of adaptations actually, but a lot of crime book adaptations.
‘We’re not doing so many period adaptations and that’s purely because we made some that we loved and the audiences didn’t come in the numbers that we hoped.’
ITV is turning its back on period dramas and will concentrate on crime fiction instead because ratings are too low. Pictured: Mark Stanley and Charlotte Spencer in Jane Austen-inspired Sanditon
Belgravia, Julian Fellowes’ adaptation of his own book, drew an average of only 3.77million viewers.
However, the Jane Austen-inspired Sanditon, which aired in 2019, has been recommissioned for a second series.
The eight-part series, which aired in August 2019, tells the story of the quiet village Sanditon, that Tom Parker – played by Love Actually star Kris Marshall – plans to turn into a fancy Regency resort.
ITV boss Kevin Lygo denied yesterday that Love Island has peaked but said producers face the challenge of trying to ‘spice it up’.
He rejected criticism of the 2021 edition, which drew more than 35,500 complaints – including nearly 25,000 for one episode featuring a foul-mouthed tirade – saying ‘it’s very easy now to complain’ and insisting producers usually ‘get the tone right’.
Mr Lygo described the latest series of the ITV2 dating show, which concluded on Monday, as ‘certainly the best-performing ever’.
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