Steven Knight’s highly anticipated drama series This Town, which begins airing on BBC 1 at the end of March, shows there is life in Birmingham’s television industry following recent setbacks, according to a leading media expert from Birmingham City University (BCU).
Dr Vanessa Jackson says the welcome resurgence may have come a little too late for some of the region’s actors and production staff but believes the future looks rosy nonetheless.
“With the downturn in television production across the whole of the UK - and the closure of BBC show Doctors specifically - the danger is that that some of those skilled crew won’t be able to wait for new productions to start staffing up in Birmingham,” she said.
“But This Town, which embraces the culture, history and talent of the city, marks the long-anticipated revitalisation of film and television production in the West Midlands.”
Currently the interim Deputy Head of English and Media at BCU, Dr Jackson was among a number of guests to attend a red-carpet screening of This Town.
Written and created by Knight, who was behind the blockbuster Peaky Blinders series, This Town is the story of an extended family and a group of young people who are drawn into an explosive and thrilling music scene in the Midlands in the 1980s.
With an exciting cast including Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), it was filmed on location in the Birmingham area and at Knight’s new Digbeth Loc. Film and TV Studios.
“Knight describes the six-part series as a love letter to the area he grew up in - and I would have to agree with him in that respect,” said Dr Jackson.
“It’s a good watch, especially for those of us who spent some of our youth in 1980s Birmingham and Coventry. The contemporary but nostalgic 80s soundtrack is spot on.
“There is an appetite for authentic, gritty dramas that reflect life outside London. This is not new. The BBC and others have been creating authentic, gritty dramas in Birmingham since the 1950s.”
Despite a number of blows, including the loss of Doctors, which comes to an end in December after generating thousands of hours of drama since its launch in March 2000, Dr Jackson believes This Town can continue the revival of television production in the region. “The much-awaited move of MasterChef to Birmingham is happening later this year, which will bring a couple of hundred production jobs to the region when it is fully up and running,” she said.
“Silent Witness is also moving in due course. The West Midlands is also privileged to have been selected as one of the British Film Institute’s six Skills Cluster areas, which comes with a commitment to fund training programmes to address skills shortages in the sector.”
BCU, in partnership with University of Wolverhampton, is also playing its part, delivering the ‘Rock Up Ready’ training programme for graduate trainees.
Mission Accomplished, a creative media company, has also teamed with Birmingham Ormiston Academy, a stage school, to deliver two programmes - ‘TV and Film Fusion’ and ‘Step Up to HoD’ - to fast-track local talent into the film, television and digital media industries.
“The signs look positive that there will be screen industry jobs for these trainees, as well as more established production workers,” said Dr Jackson.
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