It’s a whole new set of challenges.”Īnna Gunn as Detective Ellie Miller in Gracepoint. “When we look at the switch, we change that slow, measured cadence, and try to squeeze it into eight minutes between breaks. “The pacing in Broadchruch is so integral to the series, how it was about an investigation and a small town dealing with grief,” Lavigne says. There is a formatting change based on the way American television deals with commercial breaks Broadchurch was eight episodes of about 50 minutes each, whereas Gracepoint is going to be 10 episodes of about 42 minutes each. The biggest difference, according to Fox executives, is a different ending. If it’s a success in both places, it means that quality writing, directing and acting will always win out in the end.īut the two shows aren’t exactly the same. If a show with the same creative team fails in America it will be due almost entirely to time slot, marketing budget, budget per episode and other factors. Lavigne is interested to see how Gracepoint performs, however, because with so many similarities to the original, there are a set of constants in place to provide comparisons. “Honestly, I think if we knew the secret, they would all be successful,” she says. Lavigne says that there is no playbook when it comes to translating a show from one culture to another. For every The Office there is a Coupling, and for every Who Wants to Be a Millionaire there is a Weakest Link. You can look at Doctor Who and Sherlock and Downton Abbey and see that Americans don’t mind accents,” says Lavigne.Īlong with reaching untapped audiences, Fox’s remake means they have more control over the production and, if it’s a hit, sell Gracepoint internationally and on streaming services for a much larger profit than would come from leasing Broadchurch and selling ads.īut remaking a show from across the pond is always a dicey proposition.
“It’s not as simple as American audiences like things with people with American accents. David Tennant as Alec Hardy and Olivia Colman as Ellie Miller in the ITV/BBC America show Broadchurch Photograph: Patrick Redmond/ITVĬarlen Lavigne, a communications professor at Canada’s Red Deer College and the co-editor of the essay collection American Remakes of British Shows, says that its been shown across the board that viewers like to see stories about people like themselves in places they recognise, which is why remakes often change locations, names, occupations, and other cultural references as well as the accents.
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