American shows can go on for 20 years. I respond more to the British format. Three seasons is a long run for them to tell a story.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was dreading all of the ghost stories of working on American television, not in the least, the length. In Britain, a series is six episodes of an hour drama, maybe sometimes eight, but never twenty-two, so I was petrified of that.
Five years on TV is a really, really long time.
British actors used to be scared of the multi-year options that U.S. TV shows demand. That has changed, because the same is now happening in the U.K.
I'm currently doing Undeclared an American TV show set in a college. It just got aired and got massive ratings so hopefully that'll screen in the UK soon.
We've had American TV shows in Britain for years and that hasn't affected our culture at all.
I think we can launch - successfully, high quality - around 20 original scripted shows a year, which means every 2 1/2 to three weeks you're launching a new season or a new show on Netflix meant to be for really diverse tastes all around the world.
The longest show I've ever done was four and a half years, so I can only imagine what ending an eight year show is like.
It frustrates me that Britain can't make something like 'CSI' or 'The Sopranos'. Instead, British TV puts soap in primetime while every other civilized nation leaves it in daytime. Viewers should be more demanding.
I admit the last couple of years shows were not up to par.
When I was a kid growing up, there might be 10 shows on the air that had been on for ten seasons or eleven seasons. 'Gunsmoke' ran for over twenty years.
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