Hollywood has ‘depoliticised’ bad guys for fear of causing offence, The Crown producer says
Hollywood studios and US streaming giants have “de-politicised” villains in drama because they are scared of causing controversy over race or religion, the producer of The Crown has said.
Andy Harries, whose past hits include Prime Suspect, Cracker and New Labour drama The Deal,
In the former, on streaming service Apple TV+, the hijackers of a flight from Dubai to London are British, and the motive is stock market manipulation. In Top Gun: Maverick, an unnamed country is threatening the world order.
Speaking at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, Harries said: “We live in times when drama on TV is becoming de-politicised. No global company is rushing to make dramas which involve religious, racial or political controversy.
“For example, who has ever heard of a plane being hijacked because the guy behind it was hoping to make a few bob through the share price crashing as quickly as the plane? Fun though Hijack was on Apple, the actual premise of the story was clearly apolitical and uncontentious.
“This is a trend which has spread from Hollywood’s big global movies. The country that Tom Cruise is bombing to s--- in Top Gun: Maverick is never named. The people are never named. They are just the bad guys.”
Harries received the Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting at the event.
He told an audience of fellow winners, including Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire, that ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office was an example of a British drama tackling a political issue – but on a local scale that would not interest the likes of Netflix.
“TV is a big business and we are very good it. Much of our top UK talent play a key part in US-funded TV shows, and mega Hollywood movies are being here in the UK. But, despite all our success, I am worried that the very heart of our UK business – our public broadcasters – are increasing looking vulnerable with ad money now draining from ITV and Channel 4 to Amazon and Netflix, and the BBC’s licence fee falling far short of the rate of inflation,” Harries said.
He added: “This means that all of their drama budgets are under huge pressure and the sort of shows that are at risk in the future are the ones about us and our lives in the UK… there is very little appetite from the US and global TV market for shows that are essentially about very local and contentious – and I mean political – subjects.
“Mr Bates vs The Post Office was a timely reminder of the impact and importance of a show about a specific British scandal. But it was touch and go on the budget before it was greenlit, and I understand all the actors took a pay cut in order to get the show on air.”
Harries continued: “I ask: would Boys from the Blackstuff, Hillsborough, Our Friends in the North, be made these days? How about Five Daughters, This Is England, The Deal, Longford or even The Royle Family? I am not so sure.
“Are we in danger of our business ending up as a first class, top-end service industry to the US?”
Mr Bates vs The Post Office won the Jury Prize at the BPG Awards as “a piece of landmark television that created massive headlines, gripped a huge TV audience and helped clear the names of the victims of a gross miscarriage of justice”.
