Danish thriller paves way for wave of European crime drama including Italy's Romanzo Criminale and France's Braquo
When your lead character spends much of her time creeping around darkened buildings with only a flashlight for protection, it probably doesn't much matter which language she's doing it in.
But The Killing's Sarah Lund ? who returns with her torch to British screens on Saturday night for a second investigation ? seems to have paved the way for a wave of subtitled European crime dramas.
Fans of the genre find themselves spoilt for choice this autumn; while BBC4 has the second series of its Danish thriller, Sky Arts is airing Italy's Romanzo Criminale, its first subtitled drama series, and FX ? best known for its quality US imports ? has the French cop show Braquo.
"The Killing did make a difference. It proved that it was possible [to show subtitled drama]," said Toby Etheridge, head of programming at FX.
Braquo ? described by some as the French equivalent of US police drama The Shield ? has had about the same viewing figures as The Wire when FX first aired it. "These things don't pay the bills for us but they help us to become the channel we want to be," Etheridge said.
The award-winning Romanzo Criminale marks Sky Arts first move into subtitled drama ? although it already shows subtitled opera, animation and European films, said Lucy Criddle, acquisitions manager for Sky Entertainment.
BBC4 had established an audience for European crime dramas with the Swedish Wallander and two series of the French show Spiral. But The Killing ? which was as successful as the much-lauded US drama Mad Men for the channel ? surpassed expectations.
"The Killing certainly was a game-changer, and has without doubt been one of the big drama stories of 2011," said Richard Klein, controller of BBC4.
Klein is unsure whether we're likely to see large growth in similar shows. "Subtitles do limit audiences because some people just don't want to be bothered. But one also has to be aware that truly great drama is hard to find ? and make ? at any time and supply will always be limited."
Etheridge echoes this opinion. We have been seeing the cream of European offerings, the FX head of programming said. "There is a finite number of them at the right level."
The Killing, 9pm, BBC4 . Join our episode-by-episode blog straight after the show to discuss Lund's new investigation
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/nov/18/the-killing-torchlight-subtitled-drama
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