Wolf Hall is a 2015 historical drama starring Thomas Cromwell, who was an aide to England’s Henry VIII in the 16th century. The show, which was originally produced as a limited series, has now received a second season, but production costs for British dramas have soared over the past 10 years, causing problems for producers. This was reported by Variety in the US.
Netflix‘s huge investment will change things
Colin Callender, producer of Wolf Hall, spoke at a preview for season 2 of how the landscape of British drama production has changed over the past 10 years.
“It has been 10 years since we produced Season 1, and drama production costs in the UK are through the roof and are increasing exponentially. Ironically, US investment in the UK is good for the industry. Despite this, it’s a serious problem because video streaming services (in the U.S.) are spending a lot of money on talent, filming locations, etc., as well as inflation, living costs, and video streaming. Producing a drama of this scale is extremely difficult for British producers, especially when you take into account the unusually high fees for talent associated with the service.”
In 2015, the first season was released on the BBC, and in 2013, Netflix became a hot topic by distributing all 13 episodes of the first season of House of Cards in 2013. Years later. It was a time when the term “binge watching” was becoming established, and at that time, Disney+ and Apple TV+ did not yet exist, and video distribution services were in their infancy.
After that, competition intensified as new video distribution services were created one after another, and Netflix, which was one step ahead of the times, invested a huge amount of money into content production in order to further differentiate itself from its competitors. The British royal drama “The Crown,” which was said to cost more than $14 million (approximately 210 billion yen) to produce per episode with its gorgeous costumes and stage design, became a huge hit, and many stars were born from such works. Naturally, performance fees increase with each season.
As a result, British producers, including Calendar, appear to be worried about rising production costs.
Season 2 of “Wolf Hall” will include Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies”) who plays Thomas Cromwell, Damian Lewis (“HOMELAND”) who plays Henry VIII, Kate Phillips (“Peaky Blinders”) will play third wife Jane Seymour, and Jonathan Pryce (“The Crown”) will play Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
In Season 2, Damian wore pads to play Henry VIII, who had gained weight. In a preview interview, Damian was asked how he played Henry VIII in Season 2, and he simply answered, “I’m obese.” The padded costume protected her from the cold British weather. “He has an impressive physique, and you can’t predict what he’s thinking,” he said.
Wolf Hall Season 2 will be released on Sunday, November 10th on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Season 1 isAmazon Prime VideoIt is being distributed at. (Foreign Drama NAVI)
‘Wolf Hall’ Producer Says Cost of Making U.K. Drama Has Risen ‘Exponentially’ Due to U.S. Streamers: ‘It’s Caused Us a Real Problem’ https://t.co/w9dd1Mplmu
— Variety (@Variety) November 7, 2024
Reference yuan:米Variety
