Drama without Drama

Abstract

This article revisits the history of television (TV) formats—concepts of TV shows that are licensed for local adaptations—focusing on scripted entertainment. While the TV format revolution of the 1990s bypassed scripted formats, they have been catching up in recent years. This article analyzes both the reasons for this late rise and the factors behind the recent growth. It argues that the adaptation of scripted formats is more complex, and risks remain higher than for other genres. The underlying economics of their production and distribution also differ from nonscripted formats. The stars aligned when demand for drama increased worldwide, Hollywood studios began to mine their catalogues, new exporters and scripted genres emerged, and knowledge transfer techniques improved. Finally, this paper analyzes the significance of the rise of scripted entertainment in the global TV format trading system.