Channel 4’s latest programme could be a sign of where television is heading in the pandemic era.
Snoop Dogs, a rapidly commissioned series announced on Wednesday, recreates the feel of Through the Keyhole by offering viewers the chance to take a tour of a celebrity’s house and guess who lives there. The twist is that because producers can’t access people’s homes due to physical distancing, the crew are strapping cameras to the celebrity’s pets and sending the animals in to do the filming.
The show’s announcement – which immediately led to it being dubbed ‘Through the Catflap’ and ‘Beagle’s About’ – comes amid warnings that broadcasters are at risk of running out of high-quality original television programmes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Global television production ground to a halt in mid-March, destroying long-planned shooting schedules and leading to warnings that viewers will notice a lack of material on-screen for years to come. EastEnders, already broadcasting on a reduced schedule, is at risk of running out of new episodes by the summer, while this autumn’s Strictly Come Dancing could be filmed without a studio audience.
In response the industry is now seeking programmes that can be filmed while abiding by physical distancing rules – prompting talk of sending keen young actors, directors, and crew into long-term quarantine in order to restart filming and keep popular shows on air and the nation entertained. New series of long-running BBC shows such as The Apprentice, Top Gear, and Dragons’ Den are also set to be delayed.
Ian Katz, Channel 4’s director of programming, said the pandemic and the prospect of months of lockdown will inevitably force his channel to seek out projects that are easier to film in a world with reduced movement – and reduced budgets.
This could mean “smaller casts, or more contained precincts, or involve younger casts” he told a virtual session of the Edinburgh TV festival conducted on YouTube. Although his team pushed to finish filming on some projects in early March as it became apparent that the lockdown would shut down production – meaning they can now be edited remotely for broadcast – other programmes were less lucky.
The result is that big Channel 4 programmes such as The Great British Bake Off have been delayed indefinitely, while production of some high-end scripted dramas were pulled off air mid-shoot. This raises questions about whether the original footage will have to be scrapped even if production can be resumed many months later.
“There isn’t scope to be making drama for quite a few months,” said Katz, suggesting there may be an increased need to rely on archive footage as he announced new commissions such as Ramadan in Lockdown and Sex Tips in Isolation. He added that this posed a problem for broadcasters as audiences are desperate to watch shows that don’t involve people trapped at home: “This craving for escapism is only going to get greater.”
His comments echo those made by Piers Wenger, head of BBC drama commissioning, who said on Tuesday that one option under consideration by the corporation is “quarantining actors and crew in order to allow actors to interact in the same space”.
British-filmed productions are likely to be prioritised over foreign productions. Wenger said the BBC was also looking at ways to film new episodes while observing physical distancing rules by looking to the Australian television industry: “There are ways of cheating, actors being close enough together to act in a scene. Neighbours is experimenting with different ways of shooting while social distancing is in place.”
As a result the cost of unloved already-produced shows has suddenly jumped, with the likes of Netflix keen to use its chequebook to buy up programmes that had been filmed pre-lockdown but are available for purchase in certain territories. ITV Studios, which makes programmes for many broadcasters, has been advertising shows it made for audiences in the US and China which they hope to sell to broadcasters elsewhere in the world.
There is also the risk that commercial broadcasters, who are currently seeing record-high viewing figures with record-low advertising income as the economy contracts, could be left with major gaps in their autumn and winter schedules. Channel 4 has already had to make enormous cuts to its programming budget in order to avoid financial collapse.
Charlotte Moore, BBC director of content, told an Edinburgh TV festival session that audiences were tiring of programmes that look like they were filmed on videoconference calls and are instead yearning for more substantive and slick programmes.
“We’re very keen not everything is made on Zoom,” she said. “At the moment people are enjoying ‘we’re all in it together’ and seeing inside everyone’s house … But there’s also a massive appetite for all the flashy shows.”
