A hybrid combination of 1970s police series and science fiction time travel, Life on Mars (Kudos/BBC Wales 2006-07) exemplifies the capacity of contemporary British television to find a loyal audience for work that it is innovative and unsettling. The programme rapidly garnered both critical and popular attention, regularly gaining in excess of 7m viewers. It was also screened internationally, including on US network television. An American remake was broadcast in 2008-9, and a Spanish ver...

This book presents a compelling case for a paradigmatic shift in the analysis of television drama production that recentres questions of power, control and sustainability. Television drama production has become an increasingly lucrative global export business as drama as a form enjoys increased prestige. However, this book argues that the growing emphasis on international markets and global players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime neglects the realities of commissioning and making televisi...

Contemporary British Television Crime Drama examines one of the medium’s most popular genres and places it within its historical and industrial context. The television crime drama has proved itself capable of numerous generic reinventions and continues to enjoy some of the highest viewing figures. Crime drama offers audiences stories of right and wrong, moral authority asserted and resisted, and professionals and criminals, doing so in ways that are often highly entertaining, innovative, a...

On a November day forty-five years ago, the first episode of Days of our Lives appeared on the NBC Network. What few know though is that the show started as the dream of one family, the Corday family, who still owns and runs the show to this day.These are the days of their lives.The Days of our Lives is the first insider account of the history behind one of our most beloved soap operas. It is about the family who believed in it, conceived it, and sometimes ...

James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales's definitive oral history of Saturday Night Live, hailed as "incredible" (Vulture) and "required reading" (People).When first published to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, Live from New York was immediately proclaimed the best book ever produced on the landmark and legendary late-night show. In their own words, unfiltered and uncensored, a dazzling galaxy of trail-blazing t...

From his early days videotaping crazy skateboard stunts to starring in the Jackass movies, there was little that the comedic reality TV star wouldn't do.Whether it was stapling his nutsack to his leg or diving into a pool full of elephant crap, almost nothing was out of bounds for Stephen "Steve-O" Glover. As the stunts got crazier, his life kept pace. He developed a crippling addiction to drugs and alcohol, and an obses...

The complete, uncensored history of the award-winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as told by its correspondents, writers, and host.For almost seventeen years, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart brilliantly redefined the borders between television comedy, political satire, and opinionated news coverage. It launched the careers of some of today's most significant comedians, highlighted the hypocrisies of the powerful, and garnered 23 Emmys. Now th...

The moment Jade Goody stepped into the Big Brother house in 2002, her life changed forever. As soon as she opened her mouth on national TV, Jade secured her place as the unofficial winner of the third series of Big Brother and became the most famous reality TV star in the UK. The glitz and glamour of Jade s sudden fame was a far cry from the real-life drama of the estate where she made her start. Brought up in a run-down part of Bermondsey, South London, caring for her disabled mum and wit...

The real stories, lives and dramas behind the smash hit BBC series Call the Midwife which premieres on PBS September 30, 2012.The official companion to seasons one and two, The Life and Times of Call the Midwife, gives fans a deeper insight into the period, the stories and the characters, and how Call the Midwife, based on the bestselling memoirs by Jennifer Worth, was brought to the screen.With never before seen photographs taken on set as well as unique sketches and exclu...

In this book Richard Ayoade - actor, writer, director, and amateur dentist - reflects on his cinematic legacy as only he can: in conversation with himself. Over ten brilliantly insightful and often erotic interviews, Ayoade examines himself fully and without mercy, leading a breathless investigation into this once-in-a-generation visionary.Only Ayoade can appreciate Ayoade's unique methodology. Only Ayoade can recognise Ayoade's talent. Only Ayoade can withstand Ayoade's peculiar s...

In this “fast-paced and charming…absorbing cultural history” (Publishers Weekly), Jennifer Keishin Armstrong presents an engaging behind-the-scenes look at the making of a classic and groundbreaking TV show that defined the sitcom genre and revolutionized the way women were portrayed on television, as experienced by its producers, writers, and cast.When writer-producers James L. Brooks and Allan Burns dreamed up an edgy show about a divorced woman with a c...

The Untold History of Television provides an exciting glimpse behind the scenes of the groundbreaking series that have defined the landscape of popular culture.Critically acclaimed for its writing, acting, and cinematography, Breaking Bad follows Walter White, an everyday chemistry teacher who, when faced with a life-changing terminal cancer diagnosis, turns to a life of crime in order to secure his family’s future. Gritty and real, Breaking Bad explores what happ...