TV experts have their say

British TV needs more successful, long-running comedy shows to nurture new talent and establish a bigger audience for the genre.

That was the conclusion of broadcasting experts at the TV Comedy Forum in London on Friday.

The British system of writing six-episode sitcom series means programmes don’t have time to establish themselves as hits, nor does it allow new writers to cut their teeth like the US writers’ room set-up allows.

And a Saturday Live-style show is likewise needed to stimulate sketch and stand-up comedy, the delegates said.

Avalon Television boss Jon Thoday told the conference at the Soho Theatre: ‘What broadcasters need is comedy produced in volume. It’s no more complicated to that.

‘If you’re a US writer you can write a spec script for Seinfeld. In Britain, you can do that in drama with EastEnders - but there’s no way of doing that in comedy.’

Channel Five’s commissioning editor Graham Smith said a broadcaster should ‘make a commitment to comedy like BBC Two does with music Later With Jules Holland’.

‘Supposedly creative commissioners have to convince broadcasters that this is worth doing.’

When challenged that Five should put its limited comedy budget into such a venture, Smith said he didn’t; think his boss Lisa Opie would greenlight the idea.

‘I would love to do a Saturday Night Live style show,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t be able to sell it to Lisa for a year or so, but I would love to do it. A broadcaster – and hopefully it will be Five – should dip their toe in the water.’

ITV’s Comedy Cuts was cited as a valiant example of trying to bring new faces to the screen, with Avalon agent Rob Aslett saying: ‘With Comedy Cuts, there is an ambition there, even on a limited budget.’

BBC Three boss Kenton Allen agreed that comedies needed to be given more time to establish themselves.

‘I can’t think of any show that’s been a hit right out of the gate,’ he said. ‘The Office didn’t really take off till the second series repeat. You’ve got to get over that instant rejection of new comedy. You’ve got to know what to stick with.’

Thoday said that launching new comedies on minority channels such as BBC Three was detrimental, as they could never become bona fide hits – and he said broadcasters shouldn’t lower their expectations for viewing figures when it comes to comedy.

‘Comedy is a hit when it’s got bums on seats, same as any other show,’ he said. ‘You shouldn’t just compare yourself to other comedy shows, you should compare yourself to other genres It’s rather sad but there are fewer and fewer hits that break out

‘BBC Two used to be the home of Fry and Laurie, French and Saunders and Harry Enfield. But being shown on BBC Three and Four does stop shows becoming hits.

‘There’s also a danger that if you get a hit on BBC Three, the talent can disappear up its own arse because they can’t tell if they are doing well or not.

‘Take Harry Hill’s TV Burp. The fact that it’s been kept on air is what’s made it a hit. Before, it was in the periphery and it built up a cult following – now it gets six million viewers for ITV1.

Thoday cited The Mighty Boosh as an example – saying no one could be sure if it was a hit until BBC Two scheduled both series back-to-back at 10pm and saw whether the audience built.

Allen said broadcasters were too focused on quick results to give programmes such a long bedding-in period.

‘It’s all about “how do we fuck the opposition next Tuesday”, not the heritage of comedy,’ he said. ‘But you’ve got to know what shows to stick with.’

Thoday also challenged the perception that comedy was an expensive genre with a high failure rate – pointing out that if you create a hit, comedies have a much longer shelf life than any other sort of programming. ‘If it’s a hit, you can still run the shows 12 years later,’ he said.

And he repeated his call for comedy not to be ghettoised on digital channels.

‘Success breeds success,’ he added. ‘If you’ve got fewer hits, it’s harder. Morecambe and Wise and the Two Ronnies were in the heart of the mainstream; there’s no reason why that couldn’t happen again.’

Published: 25 Mar 2007